Cosmic Ghost Rider

When Thanos wins, how does the newly introduced Cosmic Ghost Rider fit into the market?

I recently read the Donny Cates story, Thanos Wins and was happily surprised. I had some serious reservations in reading about the Mad Titan. How interesting can a story about the most powerful being in the universe really be? And I was even more hesitant about the Cosmic Ghost Rider character sidekick.

Fortunately, a lot of these reservations were unfounded and the story was fantastic. I don’t want to drop details to any of those who haven’t read it because it’s a lot of fun, but I’ll speak to the point of speculation.

In last week’s post, I mentioned the possibility of the Alejandra Jones Ghost Rider coming to the MCU via Blade. If that happens, not only will interest rise in the short Jones series but will increase in Ghost Rider more generally. Now, that’s great. Ghost Rider is really cool. He has an ancient Faustian origin story and is the 70s in the best possible way: leather, motorcycle, chains. (This is besides the very obvious and very cool flaming skull.)

The problem, as there is always a problem, is that new fans of the character will be priced out of Marvel Spotlight #5 and Ghost Rider #1. It was a super hot book before, and while sometimes it’s cooled off to a nice Danny Ketch blue, the flame has never gone out.

Enter the Cosmic Ghost Rider

Again, I had my “seriously?” moment when I saw a Ghost Rider with a glass casing on his head to keep the flames fed and a giant blue ball as a front wheel, but the character is great. He’s funny, witty, and irreverent. Remind anyone of a certain mouthy mercenary?

Let me stop here to assure you that the Cosmic Ghost Rider will never enter the MCU. As in never, ever. However, Ghost Rider is Ghost Rider and if fans of the MCU character become fans of Ghost Rider in general, the Cosmic Ghost Rider is the place for them to start. Right now, the character has an excellent writer behind him and a continuation of series that don’t look like they are going away. He’s likable.

Which makes Thanos #13 the ticket.

Cosmic Ghost Rider

Variants

There are so many variants of this comic and I would stay away from all of them. A lenticular variant was released recently, and while cool, it doesn’t do much for me. There’s the Leg variant, but I honestly don’t think it’s going to hold the value in the long term. I could be wrong, and if you are big into variants, then go for it, but if you want a cost-efficient investment without a ton of upfront costs, go for the main issue. You can pick a 9.8 up for a little over $200.

Cosmic Ghost Rider’s standalone series

I also think picking up a Cosmic Ghost Rider is a good idea. While it’s not the first appearance, you can pick up a 9.8 #1 for around a $100. Here I would recommend signatures. Those are going to keep the value in it. I am very happy with picking up this amazing Clayton Crain (the best Ghost Rider artist that’s ever lived) virgin variant signed by both Crain and Cates for less than $100. That’s a pretty safe bet given the incredibly cheap price of the book right now. Little risk for a possible big reward.

In the End

Thanos may have won, but it looks like the Cosmic Ghost Rider is going to take the gains in the meantime. When you see the flaming skull, think Cosmic.

 

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