GIANT-SIZE WACKY RACES #1 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
On September 14th, 1968, the most amazing cartoon series ever created premeired as part of CBS’s Saturday morning schedule. Hanna-Barbera raised the bar when they created the Wacky Races! Based on the movie The Great Race starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, the cartoon was initially thought up as a game show format with children choosing what car would win the race and win prizes. It was quickly realized to be impossible to pull off and so the game show elements were removed.
The creators of the characters and their vehicles were just plain geniuses. The 11 cars of the series provided something for everyone. Whether it was the pink Compact Pussycat driven by role-model Penelope Pitstop, the Creepy Coupe (a literal haunted house on wheels!) driven by Big Gruesome (first name Tiny) and Little Gruesome (first name Bela), or the Ant Hill Mob driving Bulletproof Bomb, every kid had their favorite. And the brilliance of the opening provided you with all the information you needed. And while there was only 17 episodes which featured two races per episode, the merchandise, spin-offs, and reboots are epic in number. Initially, the villainous Dick Dasterdly and his sidekick Muttley were spun off into Dasterdly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines and Penelope Pitstop, along with the Ant Hill Mob were spun off into The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
Gold Key Comics produced a Wacky Races title that lasted 7 issues, video games, figures, stuffed characters, and rumors of multiple movies and new series continue to the current day. But most impressive is the Goodwood Festival of Speed that takes place in West Sussex in June/July. Which features life size real versions of the Wacky Races cars that actually race there!
So, getting an advanced copy of Dynamite’s Giant-Size Wacky Races to review was a dream come true. But I am wise enough to not raise my hopes. The chances of any publishing house capturing that Hanna-Barbera feel is just not going to happen. But after a triple reading, they came damn close. While most of the original racers are represented, we get some new cars and drivers. Initially, Muttley gets his own car (WHAT?!) And just what the hell is going on with the government and Peter Perfect. Almost like the creative team got a taste of DC Comics 2016 mini-series Wacky Raceland and liked it.
What writer Ivan Chen, artist Mariano Benitez Chapo, and colorist Nick Caponi have accomplished here is to create an acceptable updating of the characters, the story, and the overall feel of the original series. Unlike their cartoon likenesses, these are real people. Penelope Pitstop is a real woman. Sarge is a real army sergeant, and Muttley … well I’m not really sure but he does look like Muttley. This one-shot Giant-Size issue ends on a cliffhangar and I really do hope that Dynamite has future plans for this series. While this is not exactly your father’s Wacky Races, it is a wonderful translation for modern readers. Well done everyone! And as Race Commentator Dave Willock would say at the beginning of each cartoon ‘… And away they go, on the Way-Out Wacky Races!’ 10 out of 10 Grahams.