Written by Katelyn Powers
Last year, a team of creatives re-designed a popular DC Comics heroine known as Batgirl. (Note: If you haven’t read Batgirl of Burnside yet, you are wrong and must go fix this mistake immediately.) When DC announced their plans to launch Rebirth over the summer, readers were sad to discover that this team would not be continuing forward with our beloved heroine. So, it was a surprise and a thrill when they announced yet another collaboration on a new title from Image Comics called Motor Crush.
Now, I want to cut the formality and say that Batgirl of Burnside is what made me a DC Comics fan. I had avoided either of the Big Two, because it’s difficult to know where to start. Batgirl of Burnside was a comic that was realistic, and genuinely felt like Barbara Gordon was a real person. That being said, when I heard about the announcement of another comic project from this team, I rushed to my local comic shop and promptly added it to my pull list.
I have been patiently waiting for this comic to release for months now. Or, you know, maybe not patiently because I shrieked every time the team shared anything about Motor Crush. (Please, if you like good and pretty things, go look at Babs Tarr’s designs, drawings, etc about Motor Crush.) So, when Image sent the official review copy to me on Monday – I very literally screamed, and read it as soon as possible.
Motor Crush is like Fight Club mixed with motocross, with an added bonus of a kick-butt female lead.The writing is as brilliant as I would have expected from Fletcher and Stewart, as their writing is always clever and well thought out. Throughout every page of this comic, there’s a ton going on, so Stewart’s layouts are very impressive. There’s a feel of an in-app design on several pages so the layout feels almost interactive. Tarr’s artwork is gritty and raw, but also moody and beautiful. Her colors are bright and vibrant, which perfectly contrasts the grittiness. I would also like to make special mention of the letterer, Aditya Bidikar, because I thought the lettering in this issue was superb.
Overall, I would give this 4.5 stars out of 5. Only because that half star is me waiting desperately to know what happens next!
Motor Crush Issue #2 will hit comic shops on January 11, 2017. So if you haven’t yet, ask your local comic shop to order this so that all may partake in it’s brilliance!
