THE LAST DRIVER #1 (IMAGE COMICS)

Remember that Barry Newman movie from 1971, Vanishing Point? Well, Sean Murphy is pretty much taking that film and giving it a bigger mythology.

If you look at The Last Driver #1 and think this is just going to be a comic about an old guy driving cool cars... Oh no. There is WAY more going on here.

The Last Driver #1 is written and drawn by Sean Murphy, with colors by Simon Gough, and published by Image Comics.

Credit: IMAGE Comics

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

We are thrown into a future America where technology and automation have basically taken over transportation. Cars as we know them are gone, everything runs through a system called the Grid, and actually driving a car yourself is almost treated like being an outlaw. And that is where we meet Clutch.

Clutch finds himself behind the wheel of a car once again when he has to save his granddaughter's life. But there was one thing that immediately made me think about Vanishing Point. There is a cop after Clutch named Kowalski. That is the same name as the character Barry Newman plays in the movie!

The story opens by showing us how America got to this point, and honestly, some of it sounds a little too similar to the lives we are living right now. Political division, technology, algorithms, automation, and people slowly giving up control all lead us into the future America that exists in the pages of The Last Driver.

If you have read any of Sean Murphy's stories that he also illustrates, you are going to recognize his artwork immediately. His scratchy style, sharp lines, heavy blacks, and cross hatching give everything this rough and mechanical feeling that fits this world perfectly. And when Murphy starts drawing these cars and cityscapes, this book really comes alive.

Across these 28 pages, there is a lot packed into this first issue, but it never feels overwhelming and the pacing is just right. We get the history of this world, an introduction to Clutch and his granddaughter, the rules of the Grid, the threat coming after him, and enough mystery to make me want to know where this road is going next.

FINAL GRADE: 10

This is exactly what I want from a first issue. Give me a strong concept, introduce me to the world, make me care about the characters, and then leave me wanting for issue two.

The Last Driver #1 does all of that to perfection.

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