Marvel Age #87
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Age #87 holds a genuinely significant place in the history of the Ghost Rider mythology: it contains the preview appearance of Danny Ketch, the all-new Spirit of Vengeance created by writer Howard Mackie and artist Javier Saltares, making it the first comic in which the character and his visual identity were introduced to readers ahead of Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #1 later that same year. The issue is therefore the earliest print record of one of the defining supernatural heroes of the 1990s Marvel Universe — a character who would anchor the entire Midnight Sons line and give the Ghost Rider concept its most durable modern redesign. Coming at a moment when Marvel was deliberately revitalizing dormant characters for a new decade, the issue also documents the promotional machinery that made that relaunch possible: a dedicated five-page preview, published through the 'Official Marvel News Magazine,' seeded reader anticipation before the series even hit shelves. The pairing of this preview content with Fred Hembeck's comedic 'Li'l Blazer' strip — treating the pre-curse Johnny Blaze as a lighthearted counterpoint — gives the issue an unusual tonal range that makes it a snapshot of Marvel's creative identity in early 1990.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Marvel Age was Marvel's official promotional magazine, running 140 issues from 1983 to 1994 and functioning, in the words of its own first issue, as 'a direct line to the fans' — essentially an expanded, comic-book-format version of the classic Bullpen Bulletins page. By issue #87, cover-dated April 1990 and released on February 20, 1990, the magazine had long settled into a format mixing upcoming-series previews, professional interviews, original humor strips, and behind-the-scenes editorial commentary. The Ghost Rider preview material in this issue was written by Howard Mackie — then transitioning from editor to full-time writer — with pencils by Javier Saltares, the same creative team that would launch Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #1; Bosco Ng is also credited as an artist on the issue. The 'Li'l Blazer' humor strip was produced by the magazine's long-running cartoon contributor Fred Hembeck, who was a regular fixture throughout Marvel Age's run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1990; on-sale date: February 20, 1990 (Marvel Age vol. 1, #87).
- Contains an exclusive five-page preview of the all-new Ghost Rider — the preview (cameo) appearance of Danny Ketch, recognized across multiple databases as his first appearance in any print comic.
- Danny Ketch was created by writer Howard Mackie and artist Javier Saltares; both were also the creative team on Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #1, the full debut series that followed.
- The issue also includes a Fred Hembeck humor strip titled 'Li'l Blazer: the Adventures of Johnny Blaze long before a demon saddled him with the curse of Ghost Rider,' featuring Johnny Blaze and Roxanne Simpson set on the imaginary Earth-77640.
- Bosco Ng is credited as an additional artist on the issue alongside Mackie, Saltares, and Hembeck.
- Marvel Age #87 was published in both a direct-edition and a Newsstand Edition variant.
- The Marvel Database records at least one reprint of this issue's content.
- Marvel Age was billed as 'The Official Marvel News Magazine' throughout its run and served as the primary vehicle for Marvel to preview new characters and series before their official launches — a function this issue exemplifies with the Ketch preview.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Marvel Two-in-One #75 (1981), Doctor Strange #49 (1981)
Reprinted in Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Epic Collection #1 (2023)
Key issues in Marvel Age
Variants (1)
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