Probably the most 90's page you'll see today:

I think that's more of a monologue on that page alone than Ghost Rider had in the first year or so of his own book, here in Quasar #23, "The Stillness of the Earth." Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Greg Capullo, inks by Keith Williams. Part five of the seven-part Cosmos in Collision storyline, Ghost Rider guests to boost sales...and avenge the brutally tortured, mutilated, crucified, and murdered Quasar. Maelstrom, a Deviant/Inhuman hybrid (and Gruenwald created villain from his run on Marvel Two-In-One) and would-be Cosmic Assassin, has been playing the long game for years in Quasar's book, and is in fact the threat Quas has been trying to guard the earth from since his first issue.


More readers are doubtless familiar with Infinity Gauntlet #4, where Thanos clobbers the hell out of Earth's collected heroes; including Quasar, who gets his quantum-bands (and his hands) blown off. First killed in his own series, then here, Quasar would be killed again in Quasar #40, an Infinity War issue. Man, I need to get all my Quasar comics together, since I think he was killed another time in there somewhere.

Also in #23, Quasar briefly possesses Cosmic Awareness, which is usually best known as the old Captain Mar-Vell's bit. (Quas is also accompanied by Kid Reaper, a Casper-like incarnation of Death that's either his imagination, how he sees Death, or a trick of Maelstrom's.) I always wonder, though, can other people see his starry-face? Or is that just symbolic, like the old Peter Parker half-Spidey spider-sense face? Either people can see the starry-face, or Quasar gets all spacey when he does it...

I know a certain comic book shop that tossed a ton of old Quasar back issues in a move, and still wish I'd been there to scoop them up. For that matter, I wish I could customize that silly blue-costume Aquaman into a halfway decent Quasar figure. Next week, something I'd better start now! See you then.

Scan from Infinity Gauntlet #4, "Cosmic Battle at the Edge of the Universe" Written by Jim Starlin, pencils by Ron Lim (and George Perez), inks by Josef Rubinstein and Bruce Solotoff. The rest of this series, good; this issue, the best.