Motor Crush #4 Review

Motor Crush has been one of the more exciting new series from Image Comics due to its unique premise and strong protagonist. She’s also got a dark secret she doesn’t even know about, which we learn more about this week…

Motor Crush #4 (Image Comics)

So what’s it about? The official summary reads:

Domino’s injuries threaten to force her out of the big race. Meanwhile, Team Swift uncovers the secret origin of the “machine narcotic” Crush. Featuring Part Four of ISOLA: PROLOGUE by BRENDEN FLETCHER & KARL KERSCHL!

Why does this book matter?

Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, and Cameron Stewart are building up a science fiction world that seems to have a lot more to it than fast cars and annoying social media blasts. It comes complete with a non-white and gay female protagonist who is written in a way that’s natural. They don’t play up these elements of the character, but make it realistic in a way that is progressive.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Cool black and white flashback to open the book.

This issue opens with an excellent flashback rendered in black and white, which is a bit unconventional for comics. It works beautifully here due to the colorful nature of this series and casts it in a somewhat sad and sorrowful light. That’s fitting, because what we see is tragic. Luckily for Domino, she’s rescued by her soon to be step-father and the rest is history. Or is it? This series has been slowly revealing something is up with Domino and some major developments take place in this issue to reveal it’s maybe weirder than you think. The story here got me thinking about the character and possible answers to the mystery, which made the read all the more fun.

This issue balances the melodrama with the action quite well. Domino confronts her father, things don’t go well, and then her ex-girlfriend gets involved too. This leads to hurt feelings, but in a natural way readers can relate to. The mysterious drug that would kill you if you drank it continues to be a major element of the story and there’s one trippy scene in this issue that shows what the stuff can do to a motorbike. This leads to a fun chase sequence via skateboard that ends up flowing into a well choreographed fight scene.

The use of color in this issue is key to a character trait and it’s well used. In fact, the book is bookended in darkness (or in the black and white flashback) which juxtaposes well with the colorful nature of the main pages in the book. The series as a whole has used night time scenes to break up day time scenes quite well, which in a way is symbolic for the darker underbelly of Domino’s mysterious past.

Yeah, what it is?!

It can’t be perfect can it?

The cliffhanger in this issue is more a recap of an emotional scene earlier in the issue. I suppose there’s a new blip of information, but I wasn’t left dying to know what would happen next. Given the incredible scene that happens two pages earlier–which isn’t even referenced in the final page–I was left wanting to know how Domino managed to get to the final scene more than what her father could possibly be hiding.

Is It Good?

Possibly the most exciting and well paced issue yet; if you’re not reading Motor Crush get in on it now, because it’s about to get a whole lot trippier.