Speed Racer #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSpeed Racer #1 (Now Comics, 1987) marks the first time the Racer family—Greg 'Speed' Racer, Pops Racer, and Mom Racer—appeared in an original American comic book, making it the foundational U.S. comic debut for a property that had existed only as a Japanese anime and manga since 1967. Writer Len Strazewski crafted an original origin story, 'Death of a Racer,' that had never been told in any prior medium, giving American readers a fresh narrative entry point rather than a simple cartoon adaptation. The series' commercial success—strong enough to generate a same-year second printing and eventually spin off a companion Racer X title—demonstrated that anime-licensed comics could sustain ongoing serialization in the American direct-market era, years before the manga boom of the 1990s. NOW Comics' decision to anchor the line with Ken Steacy's fully painted covers also set a production-value benchmark that distinguished the title on spinner racks.
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NOW Comics, the Chicago-based independent publisher founded by Tony Caputo, secured the Speed Racer license from Speed Racer Enterprises as part of its broader strategy of building an output around television and film properties. The debut issue was scripted by Len Strazewski, penciled by Gary Thomas Washington, and inked by Brian Thomas, with editorial duties handled by Brian Augustyn—a team assembled specifically for the launch of NOW's highest-profile license. Ken Steacy, known for his airbrushed painted artwork, was brought on to produce the covers for the entire ongoing run, giving the series a visual identity well above the industry norm for licensed comics of the period. The series ran for 38 issues between 1987 and 1990 before concluding, and IDW Publishing gave it a full deluxe reprint treatment across multiple trade paperback volumes beginning in March 2008.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First U.S. comic book appearance of Speed Racer (Greg 'Speed' Racer), Pops Racer, and Mom Racer, all debuting in this issue.
- Story titled 'Death of a Racer' presents the never-before-published origin of Speed Racer, original to the comic and not adapted from any prior anime episode.
- Greg Racer's nickname 'Speed' is given to him by a rival racer within this issue's story, establishing the name's in-universe origin.
- Script by Len Strazewski; interior pencils by Gary Thomas Washington; inks by Brian Thomas; cover painting by Ken Steacy; edited by Brian Augustyn.
- Published by NOW Comics under license from Speed Racer Enterprises; NOW was a Chicago-based independent that built its catalog around licensed television and film properties.
- Demand was high enough that a second printing was released the same year (1987), distinguished from the first by a 'Second Printing' notation in the indicia.
- The NOW Comics run extended to 38 issues (1987–1990) and generated a companion Racer X ongoing series as well as intercompany crossover comics with Antarctic Press's Ninja High School.
- IDW Publishing collected the original NOW series in a series of full-color trade paperbacks beginning in March 2008, reproducing Ken Steacy's painted covers alongside the interior stories.
Cast · 3 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Speed Racer #12 (1988), Speed Racer #1 (2008)
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