Revved #1
	Story Title: 'The Beginning' Writer: Jeremy Hall Pencils: David Nakayama Colorist: Blond Letterer: Troy Peteri Asst. Editor: Christian Beranek Editor: David Wohl Published by: Image Comics
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

‘Fast and the Furious.’ ‘Too Fast Too Furious.’ ‘Torque.’ ‘Honey, the gas prizes burnt a hole through my pocket.’ Okay, that last one, I made that up. But other than that, what do those other three (and any other new car/bike-movies) have in common? Well, for one, I haven’t seen any of them and neither do I plan to. And two, heck, who cares for two, lets get onto this story, ‘cause even though I haven’t seen those movies, I can bet this one is definitely better than Vin ‘I was balding so I shaved my noggin’ Diesel’s acting in them F&F movies.

If I had to explain this series in one line (and am still trying to keep with the movie references here), I’d put it at a mixture of Gone in 60 Seconds + Italian Job and any other God-movie out there…with the exception of ‘Passion of the Christ’ (that one Robert Kirkman has commandeered for his ‘Battle Pope’ title). Still, it was purely on a lark that I read the solicit for this series (www.imagecomics.com) and then ended up getting it. And know what, I liked it, and not only because of a dearth of any ‘automotive’ titles (and I don’t know jack about if Manga has any). But come on, just the Mazda RX8 on the cover is enough to get your attention.

As for the characters themselves, nothing to home write home about there, as in nothing that hasn’t been done or seen before. We have five main protagonists. Starting with Maddy, the Hot-chick…this character thankfully keeps her clothes on, and by them I mean proper clothes, not those glorified panties Daisy-dukes. Except for an introduction and a few lines later on, not much from her here. Still, reminded me of Charlize Theron’s reserved attitude in TIJ (The Italian Job). Next in line are the angry tattooed ex-con big white guy and equally obligatory cool black guy, namely, Stick (oh wotta an original name) and Andre (that one is nice). Next in line is Mr. Bob Fromer, the wily old man, the Professor Xavier of this bunch if you will (even the cueball look matches). Now, Ol’ Bobbie is a bible thumper, but (and now the twist begins) one that in his talks with the Lord (I hope it is the one above and now below), gets the ‘inside info’ for getting four vehicles that will be needed for their…umm, lets go with ‘crusade’. Like I said, here is where the plot twists.

And here is also where we get our hero, Jack James. An erstwhile rising racing star himself, our pal Jack is nowadays boosting cars, all for paying the seemingly endless gambling debt that his dead old dad seemed to have notched up (before he got shuffled off to the safety of the big-house).

Well, some rather Xavier-esque mind play (not telepathy just good old crafty sales pitch) by Bobbo (Bob) and Jack join the four of them. This makes for what the solicits say, the four-horsemen (and not of that loser Apocalypse). The four-horsemen and Cueball-Bob then set on to get the remaining three steeds (Jack already stole the RX8), and no Jack doesn’t pork Maddy…well, not yet anyway, but give it time who knows, after all the title is still young.

I already admitted that there isn’t anything overtly original here, (except for the whole God+Cars shtick). But what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in plot pacing. And then there are the interesting tidbits like having to steal a Hummer that was custom made for, wait for it…custom-made for none other than Saddam Hussein.

Best (cheesy-clichéd) line in the issue goes to Andre, ‘I’ll tell you what’s troubling me. Stick’s got that sword. You’ve (Jack) got that gun, and what does the Black man get? Nothing.’

Conclusion: Good cheesy action? Give it a try. You might end up liking it…enough to pick up at least one more issue. That’s how it is working for me.

RATING: 7.5/10