RETRO REVIEW: Hassenwald Lives in What If? Ghost Rider #1
In What If? Ghost Rider (2018) #1 feat. Hassenwald by Sebastian Girner, Casper Wijngaard, and Joe Sabino, with a main cover by Aleksi Briclot, we get a strange story that features members of the Marvel Comics publishing staff and threatens to not only break the fourth wall, but to stomp it into little pieces afterwards!
What If? Ghost Rider #1 feat. Hassenwald
What If? Ghost Rider. Photo: Marvel Unlimited.
Let’s get this out of the way first: this issue features Hassenwald, a black metal band from Latveria (that’s the country ruled by Doctor Doom, Marvel Blog True Believers)… and they’ve even booked gigs at clubs in Wakanda! Talk about world-class. But it turns out that they’ve raised some controversy thanks to the fact that strange occult occurrences take place at the locations where they’ve performed.
Hassenwald. Photo: Marvel Unlimited.
While Hassenwald may be a fake band, they end up running into a bunch of real-life individuals and history. For one thing, we see Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski (a somewhat controversial figure) and the publishing offices of Marvel Comics appear in this issue.
Marvel Comics offices. Photo: Marvel Unlimited.
Plus, Hassenwald wants to include some of their own blood in the ink used to print the comics they appear in, a reference to the fact that the band KISS did this in a Marvel Comic published in the 1970s (no kidding, Marvel Blog True Believers).
Photo: Marvel Unlimited.
Overall, this comic had plenty of awesome meta madness. And if you enjoyed this issue, you may also want to check out another What If? that was released around the same time, What If? Thor Was Raised by Frost Giants.
Available to Read on Marvel Unlimited Now
Photo: Avery Kaplan.
My copy of this issue features the Action Figure Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher, featuring one of the members of Hassenwald, Grarroth the Fleshweaver. Have you had a chance to read this issue? What did you think of it, Marvel Blog True Believers? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.
