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Psycho Bonkers #1

Story: Vince Hernandez

Art: Adam Archer

Colors: Federico Blee

Letters: Josh Reed

Publisher: Aspen Comics

Like a lot of you; I love me some comics, I love me some games. Adaptations or series based on –one or the other–seem to be more frequent in the age of modern marketing. Every once in awhile something comes along which incurs the two worlds to make one completely new thing. Aspen Comics, a company not known for all-ages material, creates that thing. They call it Psycho Bonkers, we call it an instruction manual for fun.

Psycho Bonkers is a tale of a technologically advanced world obsessed with kart racing. Picture Mario Kart, but with more LEDs and blinky things. This story, written by Vince Hernandez, is about a rambunctious girl named Shine and her anamorphic mouthy car named Shiza. Readers are dropped in the middle of the duo trying to win the historic Bonk Rally race Shiza has been obsessed with since she was a little girl growing up in a racing family. It’s a journey of twist, turns, and atmospheric drops while avoid the distractions of other drivers.

Shine is a compelling character living in Aspen’s version of a Pixar story. Like any good animated story, there’s an element of real world tragedy that drives her. Her rebellious outer shell hides a deep mystery of her family’s turmoil that’s peeled back through flashbacks.

The debut issue gives readers a glimpse of Shine’s family, love interest, and supporting cast without making them feel buried in exposition. Though, Gabbo the repair bot that lives in Shiza would have benefitted from playing the straight man to the colorful character of the car instead of having a similarly sarcastic voice as the car.

Visually the art of Adam Archer is mix of frenzy and clean line work. The team’s love of video games shines through with nods to some of your favorite racing games *CoughNintendoDon’tSueCough* . Psycho Bonker’s underlining theme is speed and the book shows it by making everything feel like it’s in constant motion.

For a publisher known for mature themed fantasy tales, Psycho Bonkers is uncharted waters. Lap one is a spark of speed fueled heart they can hopefully build on. It has a few things to work out, but delivers an emphatic opening that mixes the excitement of a racing game with comic book storytelling. You should definitely “press start” on this title.