Quick confession: I’ve always like Ghost Rider, often without having any good reason to do so. I blame it on the flaming skull. The writing has almost always disappointed, but…that flaming skull, the leather…the motorcycle. He’s just begging to be made cool.

Jason Aaron may be the writer to finally kickstart the potential I know is lurking there. I’ll admit, Johnny Blaze’s confession at the opening of the book really establishes that this is Aaron’s version of Blaze — more cowboy than anything. His dialect and rhythm seem different from anything I’ve read before.

And…that’s OK.

What follows is something I can only describe as Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing meets Preacher. Blaze is a modern cowboy, slightly in the vein of Jesse Custer in Preacher. The lone rider. The drifter. He’s bent on vengeance but doesn’t know how to get where he needs to go. And his journey across America brings him into conflict with the dark shadows in the corners of every little town he runs across.

Roland Boschi’s art is rough and expressive with a definite European flair. He’s a good fit for Aaron’s rugged, moody story. There were a few places where I thought his perspective, particularly in regards to the motorcycle were a bit off, but it’s a pretty forgivable offense.

I’ve wanted to like Ghost Rider for a long time, but I’ve almost always been disappointed. Aaron and Boschi, in this first issue, are looking to change that. I hope they succeed.