Some gloriously wacky ideas have come out of Marvel's plans for Secret Wars, from an Arkon series set in a fantasy world to a dinosaur vs biplanes story, but one of the ideas we're most excited about --- especially since we saw the preview pages --- is Ghost Racers, Felipe Smith and Juan Gedeon's tale of various Ghost Riders competing on a hellish racetrack for a chance to save their souls.

To add to our excitement, Marvel has given us an exclusive look at Gedeon's designs for the riders and their rides, including Carter Slade's centaur mode, Johnny Blaze's stuntman costume, and an electrified Zero Cochrane, aka Ghost Rider 2099. The sketches also include a new version of Zadkiel, the archangel charged with overseeing the Spirits of Vengeance that power the Ghost Riders.

They're fantastic character designs and crazy vehicle designs --- there's a lot of chainsaw going on here --- and a showcase of the best of what Secret Wars can offer. This is exactly the sort of unusual idea that might never happen without this crossover.

Click on the images to see them full size.

Here's the solicitation text:

GHOST RACERS #1

FELIPE SMITH (w) • JUAN GEDEON (a)

Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

SLADE VARIANT cover by DAN PANOSIAN

ROBBIE REYES VARIANT COVER BY TRADD MOORE

ANT-SIZED VARIANT COVER BY MARK TEXEIRA

FURIOUS RACE FROM HELL IN A BLAZING ARENA OF HORROR!!!

• Welcome to the scorching-hot track where cursed souls race at the speed of sin, anything and everything goes and the only rule is no rule--it’s the spectacle known as the GHOST RACES; the most hellish “entertainment” known to BATTLEWORLD!

• 1st place prize: Temporary freedom from the ARENA, but what happens to the unlucky and unholy losers?

• It’s all-out, high-speed warfare among the most bizarre and vicious GHOST RIDERS of the MARVEL UNIVERSE. Expect MANY familiar SKULLS!!

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Francesco Francavilla

For more awesome Secret Wars design sketches, check out Luca Pizzari's sketchbook of Egypt-themed X-Men characters for a story in Secret Wars Journal #2, courtesy of Marvel.com.