I honestly find Don McGregor to be almost completely unreadable at this point. Not just overwritten but given to describing exactly what the art is showing. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t re-read Nathanial Dusk in eons. I’m very afraid it won’t hold up because of the writing.

Hush is such a classic! Agree with everything you said, and awesome you got to meet Jim Lee!

I remember when it came out, and the ad for it seemed really interesting. A little "different", kind of cool and mysterious, and something about the character design I liked. Picked up the first issue and could not get into it, much as I really wanted to (one of those series I felt like I "should" like but had to be honest that I didn't).

I actually revisited it briefly just 5 months ago, decided to try skipping ahead and grab #4 since Superman was on the cover, and maybe that would hook me a little more. It did not

I've been reading the Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch Epic Collection (vol. 1): Vengeance Reborn. So far I've read Ghost Rider #1-7. It's like tangential nostalgia, because my twin brother was buying the series for a little bit. I read a couple of his issues, but never really got into it.

The seven issues I've read were all written by Howard Mackie. The art is usually Javier Saltares/Mark Texeira, but sometimes it's pencils/inks and other times it's breakdowns/finishes. For #7, Texeira handles the full art chores, and I like the art in that issue the best. Texeira has a moody, textured style that can be compelling at times.

I'm not as enamored with writing. Some aspects of it aren't working for me. I'm trying to make up my mind whether those are objective flaws or legitimate writing choices that just resonate with me or haven't paid off yet. For instance, Danny transforms in Ghost Rider, this demonic, violent being that seems to operate under his own will rather than being controlled by Danny. This should obviously lead to some angst and conflict for a conscientious person. However, I feel think is underexplored compared to what I would expect as a major theme. I'm questioning if that's a flaw in the writing or if I'm expected something too heavy-handed. Is Mackie using some subtlety that I should appreciate? 

I think one of the reasons I'm hoping for more meat to Danny's internal conflict is because the external conflict isn't so suspenseful. So far, it doesn't seem like any villain can actually harm Ghost Rider. The suspense of a fight is about whether a villain can knock Ghost Rider away far enough to escape. Or, in a slightly more suspenseful vein, will Ghost Rider stop the villain before this or that innocent person is killed. 

That brings me to depictions of violence. The stories seem to aim for high body counts. There's bad writing in pursuit of letting vicious serial killers up those body counts. For instance, at one point a supervillain named Blackout and his small group of thugs is confronted by a much large group of the Kingpin's gun-toting thugs. The way the scene is "blocked" (to use a movie term), Blackout is pretty much screwed if he does anything but a peaceful cooperative retreat. Somehow we get a nonsensical scenario in which Blackout sheds some blood and is free to kill some more without being riddled full of bullets. Danny also has a family member who ends up in a coma. I thought she might awaken, and it would lead to an interesting story. Instead, it just ends up as way to get in some extra violence.

There's a whole lot of things that don't get explained. Again, I'm not sure if that's sloppy storytelling or a conscious choice to learn through immersion rather than overdoing the exposition. Some of it though really feels like forgetting to explain. Ghost Rider has mental power called a "penance stare" which makes a criminal feel the suffering of his victims. But the name "penance stare" is used by a villain first, before we get any explanation of the power. Shouldn't Ghost Rider be the one to name it? And if a villain has a name for it and an understanding of what it does, shouldn't the script make Ghost Rider curious about where he got that knowledge?

Some things I did like were the character design for Ghost Rider and his motorcycle. Also, some of the existing villains who show up (curiously with an emphasis on villain who Captain America had faced most recently) are intriguing. I'm a Mr. Hyde fan. I think of Marvel's Scarecrow as more generic and less interesting than DC's Scarecrow, but Mackie and Texeira go a good job making him much more than a generic villain in #7. I also remain hopeful that the different pieces of world-building, plot threads, supporting characters, and villains will build to something bigger. It's also interesting that Mackie sets a lot of the story in a specific area of New York, the Cypress Hills neighborhood on the border of Brooklyn and Queens. It's know for his cemeteries, although my research tells me Mackie incorrectly places Harry Houdini's grave in Cypress Hills Cemetery itself rather than a different cemetery in the same area.

I read Shade a few years back when I bought 1-8 together like you did. I really liked it to, although the finer details of the story are a bit hazy now

I read Ghost Rider #8-12, the Ghost Rider/Wolverine serial from Marvel Comics Presents #64-71, Marc Spector: Moon #25, and Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #28, completing my reading of the Ghost Rider Danny Ketch Epic Collection vol. 1.

There are some improvements. Mark Texeira's inks have an increasing influence over the art. Unfortunately, the TPB ends the issue before Texeira takes over from Javier Saltares as penciler. Also, we do get more on Dan's moral dilemma about turning into Ghost Rider and some hints and contradictions about Ghost Rider's true nature. 

Some of the drawbacks are continuations of the same flaws. Sometimes backstories of supporting characters or explanations of things are lacking in a way that feels like poor writing or forgetting to include something in the story rather than an intentional slow burn. Also, Ghost Rider imperviousness to permanent continues to limit the dramatic potential. If there's really no chance the protagonist will be killed, you can only build so much drama from the suspense over which non-combatants will be killed before G.R. can stop the villain. There is one story in this TPB where Ghost Rider is obliterated about as completely as one could possibly imagine, but he comes back in very short order. Howard Mackie does try to build drama in our hero's increasing frustration that he can't capture a killer called Zodiak, and it sort of works.

There are crossovers and guest appearances galore. It seems there's a lot of cross-promotion for the series. X-Factor shows up in #9. I was so hopeful they'd have a lot to do, but we don't get any really cool moments for the team. At least there's a cameo from Baby Christopher. Also, Masque is involved in the issue, which calls to mind Jean Grey tangling with him/her (I can never quite tell with Masque) during a guest appearance in X-Men. Archangel is strangely missed from this issue, despite appearing on the cover. The issue also introduces an international team of female mercenaries called H.E.A.R.T. I think the intention was sexy and cool, but the execution is cheesy to me.

The G.R./Wolverie serial by Mackie with art by Texeira and inker Harry Candelario is just okay. I feel like Mackie doesn't have a good grasp on Wolverine. He has the Japanophile refer to ninja's outfits derisively as pajamas. Also, Danny's friend Jack turns out to be a karate student of a brilliant master, which is a heck of an implausible hook. The story does have some moments here and there.

Despite not writing a prior issue of Moon Knight, Mackie gets to write the double-sized #25 with G.R. in a guest role. It took me a while to realize that the main villain was from the Havok serial in MCP that Mackie wrote. I don't get the point of the story except to depict some carnage and promote G.R. in another book. Moon Knight is riddled with doubt when some terrorists claim to worship Khonshu, but it seems very flimsy.

The story ends with a crossover between Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider. The good doctor allows the story to raise some question about the nature of Ghost Rider. The crossover feels somewhat disjointed because Roy & Dann Thomas have such a different scripting style from Mackie. The Thomases actually drawn some negative attention to Mackie's scripting by having Doc point out how often G.R. refers to "the blood of innocents" or variations on that. It's those canned, seemingly gritty lines that keep the character from developing more depth. Do you know how clueless I was about Doctor Strange as a kid? Growing up, I never heard of Doc's apprentice Rintrah (the alien being who looks like a bipedal bull). I had no clue such a character existed. Now, I find out that he first appeared in the series that ended in the 1980s. Then, he was in Doc's entire run of Strange Tales vol. 2. Now, he's in the Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme run at least through #28. That's a run of several years, and he seems like an interesting, affable character.

I actually prefer the Lee/Colan and Thomas/Colan runs to Miller's. I haven't read much of the Conway/Colan issues that followed Thomas's but I don't usually like Conway's writing much so it's possible I would put Miller ahead of that one in spite of the Colan artwork.