M1: Monster Racing League #2 // Review
Dev can’t seem to lose. Everyone on the scene in Tokyo seems to be cheering for her. She came-in from out of nowhere. (Actually...it was San Francisco.) And now she’s one of the hottest racers around. The thing is: she’s driving a car that isn’t hers. It’s on loan to her. And so maybe there’s some feeling that it might be the car. She’s got something to prove in M1: Monster Racing League #2. The writing team of Lily Windom and Robert Windom continue to open-up a whole new series with artist Jae Lee and colorist June Chung. The horror fantasy/sci-fi serial seems off to a remarkably good start.
It doesn’t take Dev long to find her own car. Granted...she HAS used her dad’s credit card to buy it. And evidently she’s buying it from someone shady enough to sell it to her without even seeing her. So maybe there’s something that’s a bit strange about it. Maybe it’s too good a deal. Or maybe she’s still going to win races in a completely new vehicle. And maybe that’s going to make her the wrong kind of enemies, but she’s still young. She’s still working it out...
The Windoms don't wait for us solid second chapter in the series. Dev continues to be quite appealing. She's young and impetuous. She's still trying to work out who she is. And she's doing so in a foreign land. But further the more she's doing so in a way that is clearly going to put her in over her head. However, the Windoms clearly give Dev a very distinct couple of successes in her first couple of issues before leaving her down a path which will likely find her fully realizing just what kind of danger she's really in. This is a really fun way to open a series.
Jae Lee has been working in comics for well over three decades now. That experience really shows on the page and something like this. The fusion of science fiction and horror fantasy and action all hit the page with a stylish player that makes the email lead feel impeccably cool. The work is clearly inspired by pre-existing science fiction and fantasy. It really is not a whole lot distinctly knew about it. However, Lee channel is it ultimate to the page in a wave that feels fresh and new and interesting even if it's not always brilliant.
The entire creative team is definitely taking its time with series. That seems very focused on speed. The whole idea of racing and moving very quickly is rendered for the page...largely with vague visual suggestions and not a whole lot else. Lee and company are wise to focus on the drama for the first couple of issues...giving the page almost entirely to Dev and her own emotional journey as she finds her footing in a world that’s going to start to get really dark in a hurry.
