Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Dick Ayers' THE ORIGINAL GHOST RIDER Original "Origin"

We mourn the passing of Dick Ayers, one of the unsung heroes of comics' Silver and Bronze Ages (who actually started at the tail-end of the Golden Age)...
Insert from the cover to Tim Holt #11. Art by Dick Ayers
...but celebrate his life and art, including the premiere of Dick's most famous co-creation, from the very first appearance in Magazine Entertainment's Tim Holt #11 (1949).
You'll note that when the origin was retold in the first issue of Ghost Rider's own title, supernatural elements were added.
But, oddly, the later version  of the origin doesn't show Rex Fury tracking down Bart Lasher, though that particular villain is shown in both versions to be responsible for Fury and Sing-Song's near-deaths!
You can read that retcon HERE.
While the full-face mask wasn't initially part of the origin, it was incorporated into the revised version along with an explanation for the new, white, horse the Ghost Rider was now using.
Written by Ray Krank with art by Dick Ayers.
For you completists, here's the full cover from that issue...