Comic Review: Cosmic Ghost Rider #5

Cosmic Ghost Rider #5

Marvel Comics

Writer: Donny Cates

Artist: Dylan Burnett

Cosmic Ghost Rider was a hit for Marvel this year. The insane premise was only one of the things that made it a standout. Once I dug in, I discovered the fantastic comedy writing of Donny Cates and the fun Dylan Burnett had creating the different Guardians of the Galaxy teams. It has been a brief journey with Frank, and the comedy left the series in the last issue. So, how did Cates do with this wrap-up issue?

I would say he did well. This was a hard premise to tie up, but he did it. In the final issue, we see Frank as Cosmic Ghost Rider battle the future Thanos that had become to the new version of The Punisher. Typing it out now, I can see that this whole time jump premise is extremely hard to convey, but you should be reading this series anyway! The showdown is pretty short, and the rest of the pages are used to handle Frank dealing with the Baby Thanos’ fate. Frank doesn’t make these decisions easily. A lot of his emotion about who he is and where he has come into play. The humor is still toned down here, and the book has a serious tone to it, and it plays nicely as Cates and Burnett send this beloved comic book out to sea after five short issues.

In all honesty, Cates had a lot of directions to go here. I think he picked the simplest route and probably the ending a lot of people thought was going to happen anyway. It is nothing mind-blowing or even different, but it is handled in a good way. Frank was fun and funny in the beginning, but when he saw the future for Baby Thanos, he had to get real and make hard decisions. It isn’t the perfect ending for Cosmic Ghost Rider, but it was a safe one.

Dylan Burnett has been great on this run. In this issue, he gets to show off the cosmic powers of Frank’s Ghost Rider. It wasn’t his best issue, but it also was a more somber issue and didn’t need crazy artwork from Burnett. He had his time to shine in the series, and he was great.

Cosmic Ghost Rider could be the best miniseries this year. The weakest issue was #1, so if you can get to #2, you’ll be roped in immediately. As always, I wish it didn’t have to be a mini, but the time spent was memorable and had some of the best comedic lines of any Marvel book. Cates didn’t give us any twist in the finale, but he did give it some heart, so I commend him on that. Frank Castle as Cosmic Ghost Raider is ridiculous, but it works thanks to Cates’ writing. Don’t miss this series.