Review: Wacky Raceland #4

by Tony Farina
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[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]

Writer: Ken Pontac
Artist: Leonardo Manco
Inker: Marina Sanzone

Summary
The Slag Brothers win a segment of the race. I did not see that coming. The Racers are in Vegas which has become a den for the vile and soulless where there are atrocities happening on every single street corner; so you know, nothing much has changed. Red Baron gets a back story which is pretty horrific. The cars get some alone time and we learn that Muttley knows how to read. Yep. Just a normal day in Wacky Raceland.

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Positives
It is about time that the story focuses on someone other than Dick or Penelope. Of course, they get their share of face time. Red Baron has been almost mute through the first three books, so to see his story was interesting. Like the rest of the Racers, he has done some terrible things, and those things have carried over into this new, horrific world. Unlike the other Racers’ transgressions, his are coming back to harm everyone. The beautiful thing about Pontac’s writing style is that he makes the reader have a love/hate relationship with every person in the story. Seriously, Red Baron is awful, but man, it is hard not to feel bad for him and hope he wins. Maybe he does deserve it after what he had to see.  I am just unsure and I think that is just what Pontac wants from me.

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As mentioned above, the cars get some alone time. They finally get to express themselves in a way we have not seen before. It is touching in a lot of ways. Imagine if your car could tell you how much it wanted to protect you from the bugs and the weather and the things you encounter. Now imagine you encounter cannibals, mutants and, I am not making this up, Donald Trump threatening to build a wall around Vegas. Would you want to know that your car really loved you and wanted you to be safe? I would. These cars want that. I am sure mine does too. In fact, I am going to go give my car (whose name is Beastie) a hug right now. Hold on…

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As is the case with each issue, the characters that Pontac created are masterfully brought to life by Manco. Since my editor has told you there are spoilers ahead, I am just going to lay it out for you. There is a gangster who runs Vegas that has a metal umbilical cord coming out of his belly button. He is about 600 pounds. He is wearing a giant red diaper. He has metallic arms and spikes coming out of his head. He lies on his back in a gutted car because he can not move without the hydraulic supports coming out of his back. He is so disgusting. Every single roll and wrinkle is expertly drawn by Manco and shadowed by Sanzone. I am not doing it justice. I swear you can smell the stink of evil. It is so good.

Negatives
Nothing comes to mind. Unless you consider bloody violence, jokes at Trump’s expense, and witty dialogue negative. I don’t.

Verdict
Buy buy buy. This is only issue 4. If you have not picked these up yet, do so. Seriously, what is stopping you? Do you hate fun?

5outof5

 

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