A Short Ghost Post for "Theme Thursday!"

So, the Powers That Be behind Theme Thursday decided that this week's theme should be "Ghost!"

My initial reaction to that was something along the lines of "Gosh darn it!" (And I mean "Gosh darn it!" with a capital "F"!) "I just did a four-part ghost story during the last week of June!"

So... how was I going to handle the same subject without repeating myself, more or less?

A few ways came to mind, but the one I settled on was to re-write -- and hopefully, improve -- an article I did several years ago for the newsletter of my former employer, the Worcester, Massachusetts, pop culture emporium known as That's Entertainment, winner of the coveted Eisner Award!*

(*In case you're wondering why that sentence included so much detail... It's a running joke around here that I'm always giving T.E. a free plug in my blogs, and it's been a while since I did so!)

This article was about the history of a comic book character called the Ghost Rider.** He was a Western "cowboy" type, not a real ghost, but rather a U.S. Marshal who donned a white costume and pretended to be a ghost in order to scare the crap out of his enemies. The Ghost Rider, created in 1949, was drawn by Dick Ayers.

(**Not to be confused with the flaming-skulled motorcyclist portrayed by Nicholas Cage in the 2007 movie.)

Ayers had started his comic career working for Siegel and Shuster (creators of Superman) in the late 1940s. And Dick Ayers is a name which should be very familiar to those who have even a casual interest in the early days of what has been called "The Marvel Age of Comics."

So... My plan was to add a whole bunch of cool visual images to my re-vamped Ghost Rider article.

Yeah. That was the plan.

However, as Theme Thursday neared, I had several intrusions from that nasty sumbitch called my personal life, and it also occurred to me that just because I love writing about comic books, not everyone else likes reading about them. And while I've often said that this is my blog, and the first person I need to keep happy is myself, I don't want to push too many of you away by constantly having a comics-related theme.

Having said all that, I'm just going to throw a bunch of "teaser" illustrations at you now. But if you're one of those who does like reading about comics, and/or wants to read a lengthy story about a project I worked on with the one and only Dick Ayers himself... click here to read a series of posts called "The Once and Future Aero!"***

(***By the way, my multi-part post, "The Once and Future Aero," contains unpublished Dick Ayers art, never seen elsewhere. Let me repeat that, for emphasis: "The Once and Future Aero" contains unpublished Dick Ayers art, never seen elsewhere! So basically, what I'm saying is, "The Once and Future Aero" contains unpublished Dick Ayers art, never seen elsewhere! Got it?)

And maybe some day, I'll take the time to re-work that blasted article anyway!

"The Ghost Rider" was originally published by a company called Magazine Enterprises.
Above is one of their typical "Ghost Rider" covers, with an appropriate horror theme!

The above cover was drawn by legendary fantasy artist
Frank Frazetta! (By the way, I own a copy of this issue!)

Here's the character's second incarnation, when Marvel Comics
revived him. Ayers once again handled the art chores!

And here's a nifty piece of original art from that period!

Boy! Would I like to get my hands on one of these!

Thanks for your time!