High-Octane Thrills And Spills: Previewing ‘Petrol Head’ #1

by Richard Bruton

Coming your way on Wednesday 8th November, the first issue of Rob Williams and Pye Parr‘s new series from Image, Petrol Head – it’s big robots, crazy racing, and an absolute thriller of a ride…

In their first creator-owned work for Image Comics, Rob Williams and Pye Parr bring you a vision of a fabulously messed-up future where the world’s gone to hell and the fate of humanity might just rest on a grumpy, washed-out, smoke-belching, cigar-chomping, former hotrod racing robot desperately trying to keep a 12-year-old girl out of the hands of the Robo-cops.

Having seen and read that first issue introducing it all to you, I can tell you that it’s a bloody fabulous debut, one of those that just grabs you by the what-nots or thingamabobs and doesn’t let up in the high-octane excitement until the very final panel.

It’s a stunning opener and one you absolutely want to be telling your local comic shop to be ordering a hell of a lot of copies – Williams and Parr, two creators you may well know from 2000 AD, really should have a hit on their hands here.

We’re in the realms of post-apocalyptic climate crisis here, with all that remains of humanity living in six huge domed cities of the future. Those in charge of things have to keep humanity from going batshit crazy at the realisation that it’s all gone very, very wrong and the climate outside the domes is bad enough to kill them on contact, so they came up with the Petrol Heads, a set of utterly expendable robots competing in spectacular races at the wheels of some incredible hot-rods.

Exploited and manipulated by the bosses, the Petrol Heads lives are often short, brutal things, and in the end, the disposable entertainment gets disposed of as the people move on. And not a little because folks started questioning how dumb it was to have a populous literally unable to go outside because the climate will cook them cheering on gas-guzzling robot racing.

And that’s pretty much where we join things in Petrol Heads, with one of the old robots and his pet robo-bird called Dave eeking out a life over in the smog-zones well away from the non-pollution sectors.

Little does this particular robot know that his life’s going to be turned upside down by a 12-year-old girl desperately trying to escape the Robo-cops with her scientist dad.

The first issue opens up with a little bit of introspection and then blasts off with the thrills and spills of the racing – it’s Mad Max, it’s Wacky Races, it’s Hot Wheels, it’s Akira… it’s over-the-top, off-the-wall, off-the-scale fun – Petrol heads is a comic that you absolutely have to get.

“Petrol Head is that rare thing in comics—art that feels like it’s actually moving on the page. Pye’s racing sequences have this kinetic, Akira-like energy and he draws the best robots, and cars, and robots driving cars. We both come from a 2000AD background and we wanted to bring that same punky, funny edge to what is basically a heartfelt story about one smart little girl who may just be able to save the whole human race from a climate emergency, but she has to team up with a grumpy, obsolete hotrod-racing robot to do it.” – Rob Williams

“I love fast cars, big robots and cute, wise-cracking bluetits with concealed lasers, so Petrol Head is the exactly the kind of comic I’ve wanted to draw since I was about ten. But what elevates it beyond just squealing tyres and engine noise is its heart. It’s fun, it’s fast, and there’s big explosions… but there’s also characters you’ll care about, and who (eventually) care about each other. And that’s all Rob. I hope everyone gets as much pleasure reading this as I did drawing it.” – Pye Parr

Petrol Head #1 will be available at comic book shops on the 8th of November. Don’t miss out.

Now, I don’t usually put other folks’ quotes up in these previews, but Rob and Pye have really been busy going out there to get them. And as befits a comic that’s just such a damn fun thrill ride, these quotes are fun in themselves…

“Petrol Head is bloody great. Big, bold characters, loin-shakingly loud cars, and a dome-delicate world of adventures for our anthropomorphic pollution pumpers to smash through. A reminder for EV evangelists like me that though they may kill you in the long run, big loud engines will always be cool”. – Duncan Jones, Director of Moon, World of Warcraft

“Pye Parr’s lusciously dynamic art is a revelation, bringing post-apocalyptic racing to life in ways that shouldn’t be possible on the page, and Rob Williams’ engaging story of a girl and a robot on the run will appeal to grownups and kids alike.” – Alex De Campi

And my absolute favourite of all…

“Like Fury Road f***ed a rainbow!” – Chris Burnham, Batman Inc.

So, get down to your comic shop right this minute and put it on your order, let them know just how great this one looks and tell them to up their orders for what looks like a petrol-powered winner!

And if what you’ve seen and read so far hasn’t convinced you… have a preview to whet your whistle for your next favourite comic…