Full disclosure: I’ve never seen the Speed Racer anime. My only exposure to the franchise is the live action adaptation by the Wachowskis, which I did at least find visually stunning, and could see what they were going for with the incredible anime style. Yet I am not the biggest fan of the movie, so I had ignored this comic book reboot from Mad Cave.

Yet something about it pulled me in; despite not being a huge fan of the movie, and not having seen the original animation, something about it still appealed to me. So I gave it a chance, and I’m very glad I did.

A family tragedy has meant that Speed,  the middle sibling in the Racer family (yes, Speed Racer is his name) has had to enter underground races without the knowledge of his mechanic father. The pull of the big leagues is almost irresistible, but it’s going to take another tragic incident to push Speed into competing.

This was a fantastic, very well written ride from start to finish. Perfectly paced, brilliantly illustrated and with the right balance between a serious tone and the camp of the initial setting and characters.

It’s hardly subtle stuff, but the racing is thrilling, the action excellent and the drama very well done, though one violent scene perhaps does overstep a little given the lighthearted soap opera nature of the rest of the story.

Still, it’s very compelling, and I say that as someone with no nostalgia for Speed Racer whatsoever; I’m fully on board with this run, and having read several more issues already, I can tell you that you’re in for quite a treat if you check it out yourself.

It’s also worth noting that it’s available to read for free if you have a GlobalComix Gold subscription. So if you do, what are you waiting for? Start those engines…

Hi! I’m Jason, and I write for midlifegamergeek.com, every single day. If you’re interested in supporting original, regularly published, human created content (which has never been plagiarised or otherwise copied from the hard work of other writers), you can donate and help me to keep this site running.

Not only do I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from these links), but it seems that my work has, at times, been stolen and re-used by lazy, morally bankrupt idiots.

There’s no pressure of course, but I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Remember: this whole article was by Jason Brown, and appeared on midlifegamergeek.com. Take that, Skynet!