nannah
Written on Feb 21, 2021
Content warnings:
- none that I could find! There IS drug addiction, but only for the motorcycles themselves?
Representation:
- the main character is a black butch wlw
- her girlfriend is also sapphic
- there also a lot of other diverse character designs in here, like the protag’s father who’s black with a prosthetic leg
Domino Swift competes in famous motorcycle races worldwide. But that’s only by day. By night she races for the illegal drug called Crush that makes her bike faster than the rest of her competition. The drug can only be used on machines, though, unless someone has a death wish. At least that was common knowledge before Dom realizes her inhaler’s medication is filled with it. Naturally, she has some questions.
So as I mentioned before, the art style here is pretty great. I think it’s the graphic novel’s greatest strength -- it’s distinctive, expressive, and aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes, though, I feel the two main characters are a bit sexualized, with a lot of butt shots, shots of cleavages, of short shorts, etc., but that could really be my own prude-ishness talking.
Unfortunately, the plot lacks the same strength. It starts out fairly strong, with an almost Mad Max-like near (?) future world that revolves around racing and racers as idols. Domino is a second-generation racer whose career is jeopardized by her illegal Crush racing -- and she has a pretty rocky relationship with her ex as well. From there things get chaotic, and the plot splinters off into many, kind of strange directions. There’s an alien, time travel, and villains that are frankly laughable with cliched lines and motivations. By the end of the volume I’m left with so many questions that reading on to have them answered is almost not worth it.
We’ll see, though. Maybe if the library carries it at some point. The art style is pretty great, after all.
