''Hell-Rider'' is a short-lived, black-and-white

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

published by

Skywald Publications Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazines. Skywald's or ...

, a 1970s company best known for its horror-comics magazines ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. Like them and the similar publications of

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

, these were mature-audience magazines not covered by

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

. Its cover price was 60¢, typical for that format and time, during which standard comic books sold for 15¢.

Publication history

Main feature

Lasting two 64-page issues, ''Hell-Rider'' (

cover-dated The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unus ...

Aug. & Oct. 1971)''Hell-Rider''
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

starred the titular

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-engine displacement, displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in ...

, a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veteran,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, and black belt

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

named Brick Reese. With his customized,

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...

-equipped motorcycle, and intermittent super-strength courtesy of the experimental drug Q-47, the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-based Hell-Rider battled the Claw, a masked,

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

-smuggling,

secret society A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

leader in issue #1, and a bestial rampager called the Ripper in issue #2. The stories featured scantily clad rock starlets,

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

waitresses, and groovy, pot-smoking ' 70s chicks all quickly losing what little clothing they wore. The series was created by Gary Friedrich, who would go on to co-create the better-known,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

motorcyclist

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

, and illustrated by the veteran team of

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

Mike Esposito. Skywald partners

Sol Brodsky Soloman Brodsky (April 22, 1923 – June 4, 1984) was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He ...

and Israel Waldman are listed as

publishers Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, with Brodsky additionally credited as

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'', and, in the following era, for the series '' The Monster of ...

is listed as "script editor", while

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

great

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alle ...

, creator of the Sub-Mariner in 1939, has an unexplained credit for "special effects", which

Al Hewetson Alan Hewetson ( August 30, 1946 Interview conducted May 26, 1973. – January 6, 2004) Additional . was a Scottish people, Scottish-Canadians, Canadian writer and editor of American horror-comics magazines, best known for his work with the 197 ...

, an editor of other Skywald titles, said in 2004 "probably refers to art corrections, assists and/or character designs." The title character's name is sometimes spelled "Hell Rider", without a hyphen, in the stories. A house ad for the never-published ''Hell-Rider'' #3, with cover art by

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

for a story titled "The Zodiac Killers", appeared as the back cover of Skywald's ''Psycho'' #5 (Nov. 1971).

Backup features

The magazine's backup features, whose stories were interrelated with those of the main feature, were "The Butterfly" and "The Wild Bunch", both written by Friedrich. The former starred

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

singer/superheroine Marian Michaels, whose costume is equipped with bright lights to blind adversaries, a

jet pack A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket pack is a device worn on the back which uses jets of gas or liquid to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and became widespread in the 1960s. ...

for flying, and suction cups for climbing. The latter starred a rough but basically goodhearted

biker gang An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

that Reese had encountered, consisting of leader Animal;

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

-haired Deke; weaselly Slinker; tall, blond Curly; and blond biker-babe Ruby. Art credits for the first issue's backups are disputed, with sources suggesting either

John Celardo John Celardo (December 27, 1918 – January 6, 2012) was an American comic strip and comic book artist, best known for illustrating the ''Tarzan'' comic strip. Early life Born on Staten Island, Celardo continued to live there most of his life ...

and

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

as the "Butterfly" penciler, and either

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

Syd Shores Sydney Shores (1916 – June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books. Bi ...

as the "Wild Bunch" penciler. The second issue's "Butterfly" story is credited to penciler-inker Buckler, and its "Wild Bunch" story to Shores and inker Esposito, The magazine also included a motorcycle-related, Q&A and advice column, "Curly's Cycle Corner", also written by Friedrich.

References

External links

* {{cite web, first=Freeman , last=Williams , url=http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/evidence/EV19_hellrider.html , title=Hell-Rider: A Memoir of the '70s , publisher=StompTokyo.com , date=June 11, 2004 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628175823/http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/evidence/EV19_hellrider.html , archivedate=June 28, 2011 , url-status=bot: unknown Additional, June 28, 2011. American comics titles Characters created by Gary Friedrich Characters created by Ross Andru Fictional Vietnam War veterans