3 out of 5

Chuck Austen is good at writing dumb stuff.  THERE, I SAID IT.  He has written some books of rewarding depth – Eden’s Trail (although this had the benefit of Steve Uy’s creativity), The Eternals MAX series – but his tone works best when he can get dumb with things, wringing some yuks from a sort of smart perversity.  When he’s unleashed, like on his Worldwatch series, the pigheadedness people like to complain about is all too apparent.  But when it’s roped in by some limitations, like those set in place by a publisher like Marvel, and when he doesn’t have to try and write a story, god forbid, like his soap-operay X-Men run…

Okay, so I’m way over qualifying.  I’m just trying to point out that “Ghost Riders” is by no means good, and it’s totally a tossaway book, but most of the “Mangaverse” was, and Chuck’s book was at least fun to read, regardless of its pointlessness.  His pencils also look good, which is sort of rare, as the production qualities on his computer-layered jive for some reason normally junk up the details.  But it looks pretty good here.  The Manga spin on Ghost Rider has Damon Hellstrom and his brother, who is the wise-talking Ghost Rider… or something.  Does it really matter?  If you find it in a dollar bin, slap a buck down, roll your eyes at it.