Phantom Rider (Hamilton Slade)

Phantom Rider
The Western Ghost Rider #1 (Feb. 1967). Cover art by Dick Ayers.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Ghost Rider #1 (Feb. 1967)
Created by	Gary Friedrich Roy Thomas (writer) Dick Ayers (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Carter Slade
Notable aliases	Galloping Ghost Ghost Rider Haunted Horseman He Who Rides the Night Winds Night Rider
Abilities	Excellent horsemanship and sharpshooting skills Costume provides phosphorescent glowing effect

Phantom Rider is the name of several fictional characters, Old West heroic gunfighters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was originally called Ghost Rider, and was renamed following the introduction of Marvel's motorcycle-riding character which is now named Ghost Rider.

Marvel's first Ghost Rider look was based on the Magazine Enterprises character Ghost Rider (Rex Fury), created by writer Ray Krank and artist Dick Ayers for editor Vincent Sullivan in Tim Holt #11 (1949). The character appeared in horror-themed Western stories through the run of Tim Holt, Red Mask, and A-1 Comics up until the institution of the Comics Code.

After the trademark to the character's name and motif lapsed, Marvel Comics debuted its own near-identical, horror-free version of the character in Ghost Rider #1 (cover-dated Feb. 1967), by writers Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich and original Ghost Rider artist Ayers. The song "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend", being popular at the time, inspired the comics. The song was also the inspiration for the Magazine Enterprises' horror-Western comic-book character the Ghost Rider.

With the introduction of Marvel's supernatural Ghost Rider in the 1970s, Marvel renamed its Western Ghost Rider — first, to the unfortunate Night Rider (a term previously used in the Southern United States to refer to members of the Ku Klux Klan) in a 1974-1975 reprint series, and then to Phantom Rider. At least five men have been the Phantom Rider, one of whom is active in the modern day.