MIKE GOLD: The Curious Case of The Ghost Rider

Mike Gold

ComicMix's award-winning and spectacularly shy editor-in-chief Mike Gold also performs the weekly two-hour Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind ass-kicking rock, blues and blather radio show on The Point, www.getthepointradio.com and on iNetRadio, www.iNetRadio.com (search: Hit Oldies) every Sunday at 7:00 PM Eastern, rebroadcast three times during the week – check www.getthepointradio.com above for times and on-demand streaming information.

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8 Responses

  1. And what of the 1940s/1950s Ghost Rider, whom I believe was created by Ray Krank and Dick Ayers? He’s identical to the 1960s Western Ghost Rider. Where’s he fit in?

    http://toonopedia.com/ghrider1.htm

  2. Mike Gold says:

    In the ninth paragraph, Brandon. The one about Gardner Fox and Frank Frazetta and Tim Holt. He’s not QUITE the same as the 60s GR, but certainly close enough. I would have run some art, but he is identical to the 60s version and, besides, I didn’t want to shrink one of those great Frazetta covers to the size of a postage stamp. I’m fond of that version of the character as well.

    • Oops, I didn’t read the article cuz I was familar with the character. I just wanted an illustration that I knew was the 50s GR and not the 60s one.

      I do see now it lists Krank/Ayers and Vincent Sullivan as the creators with significant later contributions by Gardner Fox.

      So, I guess Marvel just swiped the name and look. Wonder how Mr. Ayers felt at the time about drawing Marvel’s version.

      • Mike Gold says:

        I wonder if Mr. Ayers felt he deserved a piece of the first movie.

        Let’s note that ME’s original editor, the aforementioned Vin Sullivan, was the editor of DC Comics (not All-American; a different but related company) at the time of, say, the publication of Superman and Batman.

  3. I have a question: lets say for the sake of it that a deal is made that allows Friedrich to get his name listed as creator (or as co-creator with Ploog) and a third “Ghost Rider” movie is made with the 90s version of the character does Disney/Marvel give Friedrich and Ploog the credit or do they give the credit to Howard Mackie and Javier Saltares?

    • Mike Gold says:

      They give credit to everybody who had an impact on the movie’s story. They’ve done that before. And that’s fair — financial considerations aside. At least DC would give you a nice bonus check. Or, at least, lunch.

  4. Funny, no one is taking credit for creating Ghost Dad.