By Tatsuo Yoshida, translated by Nat Gertler (Now Comics)
ISBN: 0-70989-331-34
During the 1960s when Japanese anime was first starting to appear in the West, one of the most surprising television hits in America was a classy little cartoon series entitled Speed Racer. It first aired in 1967-1968 (52 high velocity episodes) and back then nobody knew the show was based on and adapted from a wonderful action/science fiction/sports comic strip created by manga pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida in 1966 for Shueisha’s ShÅnen Book periodical.
The comic series was itself a recycled version of Yoshida’s earlier racing hit ‘Pilot Ace’.
The original title ‘Mach Go Go Go’ was a torturously multi-layered pun, and played on the fact that boy-racer GÅ Mifune – more correctly Mifune GÅ – drove the super-car Mach 5. “Go†is the Japanese word for five and a suffix applied to ship names whilst the phrase Gogogo is the usual graphic sound effect for “rumbleâ€. All in all, the title means “Mach-go, GÅ Mifune, Go!†which was adapted on US screens as “Go, Speed Racer, Go!â€
In 1985 Chicago-based Now Comics took advantage of the explosion in comics creativity to release a bevy of full-colour licensed titles based on popular nostalgic icons such as Astro Boy, Green Hornet, Fright Night and Ghostbusters, but started the ball rolling with new adventures of Speed Racer.
The series was a palpable hit and in 1990 the company released this magical selection of Yoshida’s original stories in a beautiful monochrome edition graced with a glorious wraparound cover by Mitch O’Connell. It was probably one of the first manga books ever seen in American comic stores.
Although the art and stories are relatively untouched the large cast, (family, girlfriend, pet monkey and all) are called by their American identities, but if you need to know the original Japanese designations and have the puns, in-jokes and references explained, there are many Speed Racer websites to consult.
Pops Racer is an independent entrepreneur and car-building genius estranged from his eldest son Rex, a professional sports-car driver. Second son Speed also has a driving ambition to be a pro driver (we can do puns too, you know) and the episodes here follow the family concern in its rise to success, all peppered with high drama, political intrigue, criminal overtones and high octane excitement (whoops!: there I go again)…
The action begins with ‘The Return of the Malanga’ as, whilst competing in the incredible Mach 5, Speed recognises an equally unique vehicle believed long destroyed whilst running this same gruelling road-race. The plucky lad becomes hopelessly embroiled in a sinister plot when he learns that the driver of the resurrected car crashed and died in mysterious circumstances years ago and now all the survivors of that tragic incident are perishing in a series of fantastic “accidentsâ€â€¦
Are these events the vengeance of a restless spirit or is there an even more sinister explanation…?
In ‘Deadly Desert Race’ the Mach 5 is competing in a trans-Saharan rally when Speed is drawn into a personal driving duel with spoiled Arab prince Kimbe of Wilm. When a bomb goes off young Racer is accused of attempting to assassinate his rival and has to clear his name and catch the real killer by traversing the greatest natural hazard on the planet in a spectacular competition and a blistering military battle…
After qualifying for the prestigious Eastern Alps competition the young ace meets the mysterious Racer X: a masked driver with a shady past who has a hidden connection to the Racer clan. ‘This is the Racer’s Soul!’ reveals the true story of Pops’ conflict with Rex Racer when criminal elements threatened to destroy everything the inventor stood for.
After the riveting race action and blockbusting outcome, this volume concludes with a compelling mystery yarn as in ‘The Secret of the Classic Car’ Speed foils the theft of a vintage vehicle and is sucked into a criminal plot to obtain the lost secret of automotive manufacture hidden by Henry Ford.
When ruthless thugs kidnap Speed, Pops launches into action and the saga culminates in a devastating duel between rival super-cars…
These are delightfully magical episodes of grand, old-fashioned adventure, perfectly rendered by a master craftsman and worthy of any action fan’s eager attention, so even if this particular volume is hard to find, other editions and successive collections from WildStorm and Digital Manga Publishing are still readily available.
Go, Fan-boy reader! Go! Go! Go!
Speed Racer ™ and © 1988 Colour Systems Technology. All rights reserved. Original manga © Tatsuo Yoshida, reprinted by permission of Books Nippan, Inc.