Better Late than Never: NASCAR Heroes FCBD Comic
Filed under: Comics
With the 2009 NASCAR season just starting1, I thought it was about time to finally get around to looking at the NASCAR Heroes Free Comic Day issue2 from last year.
The story takes place shortly after the third issue of the comic3, but the scene shifts from the race track to a movie set. It’s the best issue of the series yet, probably because the racetrack is left behind4 — but with a slightly different ending, it could have been even better.
The director of the Zoom Speedster movie is in trouble. He has gone through three different lead actors because the set is haunted by a headless ghost — and not just any ghost, but the ghost of a racecar driver. In desperation, the director calls Jimmy Dash and asks him to play the role of Zoom Speedster. Dash agrees and when he asks why the previous stars quit, the director and his staff claim to have no idea.
The first day on the set goes well even though Dash encounters the ghost. His friends are scared, but Dash tells them that he doesn’t believe in ghosts. The next day, the ghost kidnaps the lead actress and in order to rescue her, Dash has to race him. It’s an eye pleasing — if unrealistic race — including vertical loops, flaming rings, alligators, and games of chicken at over 150 miles per hour5. In the end, Dash wins and the ghost mysteriously disappears. It’s not a happy ending though, as Dash is fired from the movie for wrecking the set.
The story is set up an awful lot like an episode of Scooby Doo, and there are many of the familiar characters and situations: a confident skeptical hero, cowardly friends, a mysterious ghost, and authority figures who know more than they’re letting on. There’s an important part of Scooby Doo that the writers of this story forgot though: the reveal at the end. That was always the best part of Scooby Doo.
As far as I can tell, this was the last issue of the comic distributed through standard comic retail channels. There have been two more issues released by Starbridge Media Group — and available at their site — but they don’t appear to have had distribution through Diamond6. Issue #4 appears to be this same comic with a slightly different cover, and issue #5 purports to start a new story arc7.
1. It was my weekend to work the clinic, so I was only able to catch the last handful of laps, basically from the aftermath of the “big one” to the rain shortened finale. Kudos to Matt Kenseth for winning, and while I don’t think Dale Jr was entirely responsible for the crashes he was involved in, the way he was shooting off his mouth afterward made his sound like a particularly petulant junior high kid.
2. For the record, the comic was on time, it’s my review that’s late. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Mike Sterling for providing the comic, as my local comic book failed to carry it.
3. For those of you who missed the previous three issues, here is a quick recap:
James Dashiell is a lowly janitor working for Jack Diesel, the NASCAR points leader who happens to be quite the bastard. One night, when Diesel is experimenting with an illegal fuel additive there is a lab accident, and Diesel, Dashiell, and the members of the Flatstock racing team next door are all bathed in a mysterious radiation. True to comic book physics, the radiation doesn’t kill them, but instead grants them super-powers. Diesel uses his to become even more of a villain, but Dashiell hides his identity by becoming the mysterious driver Jimmy Dash and leads Team Flatstock against Diesel to take the NASCAR championship.
4. Car racing just doesn’t translate well to the comic book page, at least in the hands of Western writers and artists.
5. The cars were going 150mph, not the alligators.
6. This is not a slight on the publisher. The comic has always been heavily marketed to sports fans as a NASCAR collectible and I suspect the publisher decided it was easier for them to go that route exclusively since they didn’t seem to have much success at the local comic book shop level.
7. Issue #5 was released in September 2009 2008, nearly six months ago. This makes me wonder if the series is dead in the water or if they were just waiting for the NASCAR season to start up again to release any new issues.
Previous NASCAR posts: Review of NASCAR Heroes #1Review of NASCAR Heroes #2Review of NASCAR Heroes #3A History of Comics and NASCAR |
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February 18th, 2009 at 1:15 am
Hrm…that cover art looks…so familiar…can’t quite place my finger on what its supposed to be….*ponders sarcastically*
February 18th, 2009 at 2:29 am
[...] Original post by Polite Dissent [...]
February 18th, 2009 at 7:00 am
cough..September 2009?
February 18th, 2009 at 8:57 am
In retrospect it was a bit rude of me to seemingly criticise like that on my first post. Sorry.
I’ve been looking here for a few weeks, so I’m not a drive by corrector. I am interested to know something. Have you ever examined Dr Vertigo?. I have menieres disease like him and I was astounded the first time I read a comic where it was covered. I think it was a JSA where Mr Terrific figured he had Menieres and messed with Dr Vertigo’s hearing aides.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:59 am
oops. messed up my doctors. It’s Count Vertigo and it was Dr Mid-Nite that did the diagnosis.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Car racing just doesn’t translate well to the comic book page, at least in the hands of Western writers and artists.
I hope you’ll feel a bit differently after you take a look at my upcoming Disney/Pixar CARS comic from BOOM! Studios. (Issue #1 is out next month and we also have a FCBD issue this year.)
In writing it I tried to make the racing as accurate as possible while still keeping the feel of the movie. As a total racing geek I’ve been delighted with the look of the art work so far (I’ve seen pencils for up to issue #3 so far).
You can find a preview of the first six pages HERE which give a taste of the racing action.
As a fellow comics/racing geek and collector of racing comics I’d love to read your review.
If we get anywhere close to great racing series like Michel Vaillant (France) or Skid Solo (England) I’d be delighted.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:33 am
If NASCAR actually had races like that, I’d totally watch it.
February 21st, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Perhaps not in the hands of western writers and artist, but you should take a look at Shuichi Shigeno’s Initial D, if you haven’t already. Though it’s clearly over the top and exaggerated (a 1986-87 Toyota Corolla GT 1.6l going up against Lancer Evolutions and Skyline GT-Rs is not going to win, not even in downhill, at least if the other drivers know anything about racing), it’s still grounded in reality, quite heavily so, and is great fun.
Also a great example of drifting being Serious Business.
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