The best Ghost Rider run is Jason Aaron's, with Tan Eng Huat and Roland Boschi, on the Johnny Blaze series launched in 2006. Next come the founding run of the 1970s (Marvel Spotlight #5, then the 1973 series), Howard Mackie's Danny Ketch era from 1990, Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore's All-New Ghost Rider from 2014 with Robbie Reyes, Garth Ennis's Road to Damnation and Benjamin Percy's run from 2022.

Ghost Rider has had three bearers, about ten series and as many tones. Ranking his runs comes down to answering a simple question: which flaming skull do you want to read, and in what form do you want it on your shelves?

As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of artwork or protected dialogue.

How we ranked these runs

Three criteria decided the order: the coherence of the story from first issue to last, the influence on what Ghost Rider has become, and how easy it is to get today. A brilliant run that is impossible to find, or impossible to read without thirty issues of context, drops down the ranking. We do not rank the films here: the 2007 adaptation is covered in its own comparison with the comics.

A methodological note on issue numbers: Ghost Rider has had several volumes numbered from issue one, and sources sometimes disagree on the exact division of the arcs. When we are not sure of a boundary, we leave it out rather than guess; the catalog lets you check the exact list before buying.

Top 1: Jason Aaron, Tan Eng Huat and Roland Boschi, Ghost Rider (2006-2009)

This run takes over the Johnny Blaze series launched in 2006 from issue 20, after the first arcs of the relaunch, and carries it to its close in 2009. Jason Aaron writes, Tan Eng Huat then Roland Boschi draw. The central idea is to lift Ghost Rider out of the simple story of a cursed biker: the spirits of vengeance become instruments in a war between heaven and its fallen angels, and Blaze finds himself caught between powers beyond him.

What makes the difference is the tone. Aaron writes a dark fantasy western, where black humor sits alongside very physical scenes of violence, and he finally gives the character an internal logic: why this spirit, why him, why now. It is also the run that fixes the version of Johnny Blaze that the writers of the following decade would pick up.

Who it is for: the reader discovering Ghost Rider who wants a complete block, with no prerequisites, and a real endpoint. How to collect it: the series fits in collected hardcover and softcover editions, which are the simplest route; in single issues, the 2006 to 2009 numbers are common and accessible, making it a series collection more than a key-issue hunt.

Top 2: Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, Mike Ploog then Tony Isabella and Don Perlin, Marvel Spotlight and Ghost Rider (1972-1983)

It all begins in Marvel Spotlight #5, dated August 1972, where Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich and Mike Ploog introduce Johnny Blaze, the stunt rider who signs a pact with Mephisto. The character stays in Marvel Spotlight until #12, then in 1973 gets a series of his own, Ghost Rider #1, which runs to #81 in 1983. Several writers follow one another there, including Tony Isabella and Michael Fleisher, and Don Perlin draws a large part of the period.

Why this run matters: it establishes everything. The motorcycle, the studded jacket, the nightly curse, the link to the demon Zarathos, the rogues' gallery. Johnny Blaze also joins the Champions team in 1975, a reminder that the character was first conceived as a possible team hero before becoming a loner again. The pace is that of the 1970s: short episodes, explanatory narration, an openly gothic B-movie tone.

Who it is for: the completist and the Bronze Age fan, not the beginner. How to collect it: it is the only run in this ranking where the original single issues carry most of the interest, with a clear hierarchy: Marvel Spotlight #5 first, the first series next, detailed in our entry on Marvel Spotlight #5. To read without buying an entire collection, the big chronological collected editions of the period are preferable.

Top 3: Howard Mackie, Javier Saltares and Mark Texeira, Ghost Rider (1990-1998)

In 1990, Marvel relaunches Ghost Rider with a new bearer: Danny Ketch, a high schooler who stumbles on a mystical motorcycle and becomes a spirit of vengeance. Howard Mackie writes most of the series, Javier Saltares draws the launch, Mark Texeira inks and gives the first issues their dark texture. The series passes ninety issues and remains one of the longest of the character.

The run does two lasting things. It creates an aesthetic of chains, metal and an oversized motorcycle, typical of the era, which becomes for a whole generation the reference image of Ghost Rider. And it builds a mystery that sustains years of reading: what is the link between Ketch and Johnny Blaze? That thread also feeds the Spirits of Vengeance duo and the supernatural family of the Midnight Sons, launched by the Rise of the Midnight Sons crossover.

The downside is well known: a series this long has its lulls, and the final cycles are uneven. It is not a run to read straight through without choosing; it is better to stop at the launch and the founding crossovers.

Who it is for: the reader nostalgic for the 1990s aesthetic and the one who wants to understand how Ghost Rider became a brand. How to collect it: the first issue of 1990 is the obvious step in single issues, the rest reads well in collected editions. To tell the two bearers apart before buying, see our article on two characters under one title.

Top 4: Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore, All-New Ghost Rider (2014-2015)

This is the character's sharpest break. All-New Ghost Rider introduces Robbie Reyes, a young mechanic from Los Angeles who looks after his disabled brother and inherits a spirit of vengeance after a night that goes wrong. No more motorcycle: he drives a black muscle car. Felipe Smith writes, Tradd Moore draws the start, in a fluid, very colorful style that owes as much to manga and animation as to the American comic book.

The series lasts twelve issues, which is short, and it is sometimes judged unfinished. But it fulfills its contract: it proves that a spirit of vengeance can work in a contemporary urban setting, with a hero whose stakes are family-based rather than metaphysical. Robbie Reyes later became the television face of the character in the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which widened his audience well beyond comic readers.

Who it is for: the reader who wants a Ghost Rider without the gothic and fans of stylized art. How to collect it: twelve single issues make an easy series to complete, and the first issue is the only target in single issues; the collected edition then gathers Moore's whole cycle.

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Top 5: Garth Ennis and Clayton Crain, Road to Damnation (2005-2006)

Garth Ennis, with Clayton Crain, delivers a six-issue miniseries that precedes the 2006 relaunch. Johnny Blaze regains a brutal, almost grotesque tone, with painted art heavy with textures and soot. The story is deliberately excessive, closer to violent horror than to superheroes, and it makes no attempt to reassure the reader about its protagonist's morals.

It ranks fifth because it is an excellent object but a poor entry point. Ennis writes for readers who already know the character's vocabulary, and his humor is readily provocative. The pleasure is real if you like his work elsewhere; it is much less so if you are looking for overall coherence.

Who it is for: Ennis fans and horror lovers who do not fear excess. How to collect it: six single issues, so a miniseries that shelves in one go, or a single collected edition; it operates on the margins of the main continuity and you do not need to complete it with other titles.

Top 6: Benjamin Percy and Cory Smith, Ghost Rider (2022)

Benjamin Percy and artist Cory Smith relaunch in 2022 a series simply titled Ghost Rider, and bring the character back toward unapologetic horror, with Johnny Blaze at the center again. After the years of reconfiguration that followed the Damnation event, it is a return to fundamentals: a spirit of vengeance, a pact, monsters, families tearing themselves apart.

This run closes our top because it is recent and still being digested: the perspective is missing to say whether it will become a reference. It does, however, offer the entry point closest to current continuity, and it is the logical option if you want to follow the character as he is published today.

Who it is for: the reader who wants to catch up to the editorial present. How to collect it: recent single issues are plentiful and complete without difficulty; collected editions follow publication with a lag of a few months.

Which one to start with, depending on your profile

If you don't yet know how to order the bearers relative to each other, our reading guide offers a complete chronological path; this ranking, for its part, answers the question "which one is worth the detour".

What these runs are worth as a collection

These six runs do not share the same collecting profile. The founding run of the 1970s is the only one played on the original single issues: the character's entry issues concentrate the interest, and the rest of the series sits far behind. The Mackie era of the 1990s had very high print runs; its first issue is a marker, but the abundance of copies makes it above all a matter of condition and grading. The three recent runs, Aaron's, Smith's and Percy's, are series collections: their interest lies in reading, and a copy is easily replaced.

The comparison method is simple. For an older single issue, always compare the ratio between the ungraded copy and the same issue certified at a given grade: the gap varies by era, and it is wider on a heavily printed title than on a rare issue. For a recent issue, first look at whether a collected edition containing the same arc exists: if so, buying the single issue only makes sense for the cover or to complete a series. Our article on the value of Ghost Rider comics develops these gaps by bearer.

One last precaution: the first issues of each era exist in several printings and alternate covers. Check the printing notice and the variant before buying, and do not confuse the cover with the issue. To find out where your own copy stands, use the collection estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Jason Aaron's run with Tan Eng Huat and Roland Boschi on the Johnny Blaze series launched in 2006 is the most complete: it reads almost on its own, advances the mythology of the spirit of vengeance and concludes cleanly. For historical influence, the founding run of the 1970s remains essential.

No. Each bearer has his own cycle, and Robbie Reyes, created in 2014 by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore, reads without knowing anything about the other two. Knowing Blaze enriches certain nods in the Ketch era, but never conditions understanding.

Yes, if you are looking for a short, recent read. The series runs twelve issues, sets up a new bearer and context, and requires no prior knowledge. Its flaw is that it is sometimes judged unfinished, which matters little for a first taste.

Yes, as a second step. The founding run from 1972 to 1983 fixes the iconography, and Howard Mackie's from 1990 popularizes the Penance Stare. Both carry the conventions of their era; it is better to approach them in collected editions, after a modern run.

For reading, collected editions almost always suffice and take up less room. Single issues are justified for the 1972 founding run, whose entry issues are sought after, and to complete a series you love. For the recent runs, the question rarely arises.

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