Infinity Comics’ Kushala returns in an eight-part series. Werewolf by Night’s The Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo and B.Earl wrote the GHOST RIDER: KUSHALA #1. Marvel’s digital comic platform, Marvel Unlimited, releases a new installment each week. Both writers chatted with The Knockturnal to tell us more.
Kushala originated from the pages of 2016’s Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme #1, and has since attracted the attention of Marvel Universe fanatics. Her story was inspired by the real-life tensions between U.S. settlers and Apache nations in the 1800s. In the mythos, the U.S. army killed Kushala’s parents and other Apache tribespeople. Her fury brought on a demon that encrypted the Spirit of Vengeance within her. Both a Sorcerer Supreme and Ghost Rider, Kushala stands as a fighter of oppression and a representation of indigenious culture. Marvel mentioned her in Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 in 2020. Taboo, who is of First Nations and Mexican descent, told the Knockturnal that he and B. Earl are “proud to be the bridge between pop culture and indigenious communities.” They hope to continue to make “stories that resonate not only with Native American communities but also inclusive for everyone to be inspired by.”
Artist Guillermo Sanna, colorist Jordie Bellaire, and editor Sarah Brunstad joined writers in making Ghost Rider: Kushala #1 come to life.
Through the spreads of each comic Kushala is featured in, she materializes as a powerful matriarch in the Marvel Universe. As seen with her own life and her mission with Johnny Blaze in 2021’s Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider #1, Kushala is the connection between humans coming to terms with their own demons. She also gains a handle more and more on her own vengeance, despite not being able to exorcise herself.
The Spirits of Vengeance one-shot snatched her from the 1800s for a present day adventure. But Marvel’s latest plays with time a bit more. In this new Ghost Rider continuation, Kushala is a strong female character who would do anything for her ancestral line. A new threat not only comes for her but for her family members throughout time. “At the grand scheme of it, it’s about family and legacy and multi generations,” B. Earl told The Knockturnal. “And this story itself is really a time travel story as we hit her and her descendants’ relatives throughout different periods of time.”
We’ll save you the spoilers! Visit Marvel Unlimited to find out what happens to Kushala and her family.
