Marvel cancels Ghost Rider comic, with four issues unreleased

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel Comics has canceled the ongoing comic book series Ghost Rider after seven issues. Series writer Ed Brisson announced the cancelation on Twitter.

"As many have assumed, Ghost Rider #7 was the last issue of the series," Brisson tweets. "I loved writing it; had a hell of a time telling Danny and Johnny's stories; & introducing the Spirit of Corruption. As far as their continued adventures, that will continue elsewhere in the Marvel Universe."

The Ghost Rider title was solicited through #9 prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once comics distribution resumed after a pandemic-influenced shutdown, Ghost Rider #7 - which was originally intended to go on sale April 8 - was released on July 8.

"I should have done this sooner, but I wanted to also thank Aaron Kuder, Juan Frigeri, and Jason Keith," the writer continues, referring to the principal artists on the series. "The book would have been nothing without them."

Prior to the COVID-19 comics distribution shutdown, Marvel solicited a Ghost Rider #8 and #9, along with two one-shots: Empyre: Ghost Rider #1 and Ghost Rider Annual #1. Empyre: Ghost Rider #1's release was already considered canceled due to its dis-inclusion from a revised checklist of Empyre tie-ins released in June.

Those four issues have not been re-solicited, and Brisson's announcement of the series cancelation with #7 would seemingly close the door on them being published later - especially issues #8 and #9.

Here are the solicited synopses for each issue:

Ghost Rider #8 by Brisson and Frigeri: "Enter the city of the damned! In a place beyond good and evil, Ghost Rider and Mephisto find a secret society of supernatural beings--and they aren’t fond of visitors!
Ghost Rider #9 by Brisson and Frigeri: "Classic Ghost Rider villains return! Danny Ketch might have punished Scarecrow, Deathwatch and Blackout before as a Spirit of Vengeance, but can he do the same as the Spirit of Corruption?"
Empyre: Ghost Rider #1 by Brisson and Jefte Palo: "An intergalactic war comes crashing into a supernatural showdown between the Spirit of Corruption and the Spirit of Pollution! But who will be left standing?"
Ghost Rider Annual #1 by Brisson, Howard Mackie, and Javier Saltares: "The one you've been waiting for - the return of Vengeance! Michael Badilino was a bad dude in life…and that landed him in hell. But not just any old rung of hell, a layer so deep it’s reserved for those special enemies of hell – one where a former Spirit of Vengeance may suffer for all eternity! As Lilith’s gambit against Johnny Blaze and Mephisto for the throne of hell heats up, you can bet other players will enter the arena… and Badilino will find a way to ride again as Vengeance!"

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A collection of the Ghost Rider #5-7 plus several previous one-shots remains on schedule for September 22.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)