Motor Crush and its powerful black woman protagonist have been an obsession of mine all year. The first time they popped up was on my press badge at DragonCon – the biggest comic book convention in Atlanta, GA. 

I missed the panel hosted by the book's team (Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, & Cameron Stewart) and it's the one thing I regretted about my con experience. So I did what any of us would do — I stalked them on Twitter. And I tweeted about the book. And I bugged and pestered them in true fanboy fashion. 

And after this tweet, I finally broke through. Brenden Fletcher reached out. And after a little more pestering, via email this time, I had a preview copy of Motor Crush – issue #0. And I fell in love with the world immediately. The story takes place on Nova Honda, a futuristic city where the number one pastime is being on a motorcycle. We follow Domino, a new WGP (World Grand Prix) racer through her journey as a pro in the limelight. But at night, in the shadows, we get to see another side of her that isn't so legal. 

The art is incredible. And I believe it has a lot to do with the color choices. Many panels and pages sit the landscape underneath filters of salmon pinks, magenta and violet. The style, handled by Tarr and Stewart, is extremely striking. And if that wasn't enough to catch your eye, the amount of world building is no small feat either. The most effective creative decision made about Motor Crush is the use of technology to create context for the viewer. Many panels have "buttons," blurbs, and red recording dots on them, creating the idea that we're seeing the action from a screen. That small nuance completely changes the experience and adds another layer that informs readers without having to use exposition. 

Photo: Motor Crush

This is the age of comic book adaptations. Comic book content rules the box office and the Nielsen TV ratings. And I can already tell, the pitch on this story is too sweet to pass up. It's Speed Racer with an edge, on motorcycles, wrapped up in a black girl magic bow. It's extremely easy to see it in my mind already, with only one issue under my belt. I've since read the entire first issue, and even the cliffhanger at the end is one I didn't see coming. That's really rare for a guy like me. 

There are tons of cool indie titles coming out, and other really talented creators making comic books that need to get funded. And they deserve our support. Somehow those facts always enter the conversation when we're talking about stuff like this. But without a doubt, this is the most interesting comic book I've read all year. It's the only creative project that I've remained excited about for this long. And that's not by accident. It deserves our support. And if you're looking to get into comics but don't have a point of entry, Motor Crush is it. 

The book comes out December 7th. Go and see for yourself. 

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