Prepare for ‘Ghost Rider: Kushala’ with Writers Taboo and B. Earl

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Read the first issue of GHOST RIDER: KUSHALA exclusively on the Marvel Unlimited app!

She’s the Sorcerer Supreme of the 1800s and a Ghost Rider-turned-Spirit Rider—the only one who’s managed to tame her spirit of vengeance. But when someone comes after Kushala and her ancestral line, all hell breaks loose. Taboo (of the Black Eyed Peas) and B. Earl join with artists Guillermo Sanna, Vanesa Del Rey, and Jordie Bellaire for a wild ride through the past, present, and future of the Marvel Universe—and tell the story of the one extraordinary family who must fight to save it all!

New issues of the 8-part series will be available on the Marvel Unlimited app every Thursday, the latest series in the Infinity Comics lineup. Start this vertically-scrolling story on Marvel Unlimited today, and learn more about Kushala’s powers, her unique mission, and special guest-stars (DOOM!) in our exclusive interview with series writers Taboo and B. Earl!

For readers not familiar with Kushala... How does she wield her Spirit of Vengeance differently than other Ghost Riders?

TABOO: Kushala’s Spirit of Vengeance is a cosmic trauma that wholly possesses her. With this Vengeance, Kushala is able to “ride the spirits,” or the consciousnesses of any sentient beings, through all space and time while harnessing the Vengeance's great metaphysical abilities using her sorcery. But as we discover, her weakness is that so much power can become uncontrollable, especially when it’s hers alone to wield.

This is the first time Marvel readers are meeting Olivia Obtera, Kushala's descendant. Who is Olivia, and what can readers expect from her mission?

B. EARL: Olivia is a distant relative of Kushala who is obsessed with learning as much as she can about her family lineage. Olivia works for Threats and Menaces, writing for their supernatural column. She believes that her family’s story would break the internet… if only she could solve the mysteries surrounding it!

Like your WEREWOLF BY NIGHT series, this run seems to share similar themes of familial legacy and heritage. How do both factor into Ghost Rider?

B. EARL: Being parents, family legacy and sharing in the discovery of our own respective cultural heritages means everything to us. GHOST RIDER and WEREWOLF BY NIGHT are about identity as well as realizing that the future and past are directly woven into the present. Ignoring where we come from will blind us to where we are going.

TABOO: In GHOST RIDER we explore this multi-generational connection with Olivia and Kushala as they travel together through time and space, discovering their connection to the cosmic tapestry and Doctor Doom’s nefarious plans to take over the Multiverse’s collective mind.

Any unique surprises scripting for the vertically-scrolling format?

TABOO: It was interesting not always thinking in panel shapes and pages as being the reader’s time devices.

B. EARL: My background as a filmmaker really lent itself to writing in this format since much of the scrolling is like using a moving camera. Yes, you can play a lot with tall spaces, but focusing on reveals through scrolls instead of page turns is a ton of fun! The hardest part is making sure that there isn’t too much dialogue or narration since a phone screen is much smaller than a typical page.

Tab, I know you have a particular love for Doc Doom! What excited you both the most about bringing Doom to the page?

TABOO: Doctor Doom is my favorite villain because of his manic narcissistic approach to everything he does (it's Doctor Doom’s world and everyone is just a visitor mentality). And also because of his impact on hip hop culture through artists such as the late MF Doom.

B. EARL: I loved writing Doctor Doom because he is the perfect blend of science and magic, utilizing a deep understanding of human philosophy as he relates it to the Multiverse through his own lens. Digging into the crates of the Stoics and Post-Modern philosophers like Deleuze and Guattari was some super nerdy fun… and finding ways to relate it to our audience was a challenge I was willing to take!

[RELATED: Taboo and B.Earl's Comic Favorites]

Read GHOST RIDER: KUSHALA #1 on Marvel Unlimited today, and stay tuned every Thursday for new chapters following Kushala and Olivia's mission against Doom!

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