Speed Racer has a pretty storied history in comics. The character first appeared in the Japanese manga Mach GoGoGo which was pretty faithfully adapted into the classic Speed Racer cartoon. Speed’s large popularity in the US spawned a re-imagining in the 80’s taking place in then contemporary times. Later, Tommy Yune and WildStorm had a pretty well-received pair of mini series in the 90’s. Most recently, IDW had a mini series starring Speed that in my opinion is best forgotten. Now, Allegory Media has taken the wheel of the Mach 5 with their interpretation of a legend. Read on to find out how it compares to past efforts!
First, I will admit I am a big fan of Speed Racer. When something is good, I’ll praise it to the nines. If it’s bad like the aforementioned IDW series or stuff like Speed Racer: The Next Generation, you won’t be able to get me to shut up about what missteps were taken. With that in mind, I am very happy to say that Speed Racer: Circle of Vengeance #1 falls firmly into the first camp. A big reason for that is the writing efforts of Tommy Yune. He already has a good track record with the character. In that older story though, he mostly re-told Speed’s beginnings. In Vengeance though, Speed is already an established racer. Speed’s character is a bit brash and cocky, but he’s also got that indomitable will that makes him a character you want to root for. Suffice to say, there is much love for the characters in this tale, and it shows in the strength of the writing. The legendary Len Wein on editing duties is also a huge coup in the credibility department.
It's not a Speed Racer tale without Spritle & Chim-Chim in the Mach 5's trunk!
The art on the other hand… It’s not bad. Far from it in fact. When I first cracked the book open, I was a bit taken aback by Robby Musso’s art. That was mainly because I was expecting Yune as writer/artist. That in no way means that Musso is not up to the task. In fact, as I read on, I came to think of Musso’s style as a tribute to the original Tatsuo Yoshida art, but with a flair all his own. Musso is an artist who’s work was unfamiliar to me before I read Speed, but the consistency of style and pleasantness and fluidity of his work means I’ll be following his career with much gusto. In fact, I’d go far enough to say that sans dialog, the art could easily be used to storyboard an actual episode of the show.
"Unknown to Speed, Racer X is secretly his brother Rex Racer!"
Speaking of which, the comic is actually a retelling of the classic Speed episode The Most Dangerous Race. In fact, the first couple of pages are almost verbatim from the show. It’s the differences that make the book appealing though. We’re introduced to the Car Acrobatic Team, as well as Snake Oiler and Captain Terror, but they’re ever so slightly different from what you may know. Snake is apparently a bishōnen, for instance. The story also delves into Pops’ past and how he met Mom Racer. Hopefully, as the story continues, we’ll get a name for her like we did for Pops in this issue (Pete). The story ends on the reveal of Captain Terror, looking much more horrific than 60’s TV would allow. Because of the story’s divergences from the source material, I really have no idea what’ll happen next, but I am certainly on board for more adventure!
How he DOESN'T have helmet hair is beyond me.
Speed Racer: Circle of Vengeance #1 is available at finer comic shops everywhere for $3.99 and is also available digitally via Graphicly for $1.99