Perhaps I was a bit too hard on nostalgia.
Not that it’s a person whose feelings I can actually hurt. Rather, when I recently compared it to a trap, I was being a touch unfair. Sure, too much nostalgia is a bad thing (it means we spend all our time in the past and avoid the occasionally important future), but given the sheer state of the world, I can’t begrudge everyone a dash of escapism via retromania.
And if you’re seeking some of that old-school joy and existential assurance, you really can’t find a better source than Biker Mice from Mars.
With last month’s debut (not a reboot but an add-on to the 2024 limited series), the creative team — writer Melissa Flores, artist Daniel Gete, colorist Alessandro Santoro, and letterer Taylor Esposito — continued the Nostalgia Express. We got lots of wonderfully cheesy dialogue, more sweet motorcycle action than there’s sugar in a can of Surge, some solid character work (mostly with Throttle), and, of course, a much-needed event/tragedy (the devastation of Brimstone) to push the Biker Mice’s beef with the nasty Plutarkians into full gear. Truly it was like 1994 again, and nothing could touch me.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
I did have some issues that seemed valid enough (the over-focus on Throttle, the one-note tendencies of the Plutarkians, etc.), but even I could see past much of that to enjoy Biker Mice for what it was meant to be: A slice of nostalgia that delivers what you want, in the emotional color/tone you’d expect, and with zero nasty surprises (like an abundance of needless updates or dumb new sidekicks). Any concerns were never meant to tarnish what should always be an entertainment slam dunk; just something to be cognizant of as we allow ourselves to indulge in the confines of nostalgia-tripping.
But wouldn’t you know, the team actually addressed some of my issues. Vinnie got himself a potential love interest, and Modo has more family drama (and joy) to manage. And these small but mighty decisions do a lot place the duo right alongside their bro Throttle, in a move that only makes the team more real and textured (and not just the vehicles for our Day-Glo nostalgia). Even Limburger from the Plutarkians may be plotting a coup among the villains, and while I don’t condone traitors of any station, at least we have a bad guy with real layers and happenings independent of their conflict with the good guys.
And those editorial decisions were just the beginning of Biker Mice’s continued elevation across this second issue. Perhaps the biggest of those is the continued positioning of the Brimstone disaster —it’s certainly intense for a comic book about rodent motorcycle enthusiasts, and the team treat that devastation with a depth and dignity. (In fact, all of the story in #2 pivots around it.) That not only respects the actual denizens of Mars, but it creates an interesting little narrative nougat to explore.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
Not only are the threats of further volcanic eruptions real, but giving lots of time for the logistical and emotional fallout of this eruption gives the story more room to grow and extend. I don’t want some one-and-done perils, and giving the Biker Mice a larger mission (in this issue, they’re seeking proof of the Plutarkians’ involvement to help recruit the Freedom Fighters) just makes them big and serious without taking away their ample cartoon joy.
And there’s other, slightly lesser decisions that made basically the same difference. It’s the Plutarkians calling one another fascists like a pet name. The ongoing development of Stoker in a “will he ride with the pack or will he betray the Biker Mice” kinda role. The fact that the team actually break up a slaving ring by the Sand Raiders — and it’s called that specifically. Carbine’s role in the Martian army, and the tension that fosters with the Biker Mice. They’re all decisions that, covertly or not, make this repurposed cartoon feel more daring, inventive, and deeply respectful of the readers’ time and intellect.
Little tweaks that may not actually seem like that much, but they do so much for augmenting all the cheesy joy and overt geekery of this series (while still letting that freak flag fly extra high). I know what I need and want from the Biker Mice, but that doesn’t also mean it can’t push and pull in the right way to give us a narrative that much is very more thoughtful and robust and also gets us to see parallels with our own world (or just notions that extend the scope of this world).
Courtesy of Oni Press.
You also get something similar with the look and feel of the world. Again, not to discredit Biker Mice’s old art team (including Francis Portela), but the duo of Gete and Santoro in this ongoing are totally brilliant. Gete has enough indie charm to make, say, giant sand monsters achieve a proper mix of Saturday morning awesomeness and understated absurdity to satisfy in a way that feels deeply compelling. (Likely because the colors from Santoro ride that same line and also scream with a power and intensity that fosters a specific reaction.)
Even something simple like Vinnie blushing when he gets a surprise kiss feels like it transcends that confines of this book’s aesthetic parameters and makes it all the more nuanced and wonderfully refreshing. It’s cheese, but quirky too, folks!
It’s a new enough look for the book’s latest lot in life, and having it feel dark and brimming with intent, on top of being hella cool (see the Akira-fication of their bikes), just makes Biker Mice exactly what we want and maybe something more entirely. If you’re going to pull something from the amber of the past, this is how you update it with vigor and intent.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
The future of Biker Mice is likely going to be more intense than a chopper with 1 million CCs. (Is that even possible?) The case around Brimstone could become even more jarring and emotionally resonant. The boys will have to worry further about their many friends and families. And who can predict what’ll happen with the Plutarkians? And, of course, there’ll likely be more Sand Raiders to bash around.
Whatever happens, though, I won’t second-guess this sweet cup of nostalgia too much more. Not that I won’t be engaged or observant enough to point out issues/concerns. Rather, Biker Mice are clearly on the road to the right kind of retro-tinged celebration of the very best part of the ‘90s: When we could be weird and wholesome AF, and that process made true magic.
Ride on, you sweet rodents, ride on forever.
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