An Interview With ‘Giant-Size Wacky Races’ Writer Ivan Cohen

You don’t need a fancy premise to make great television. All you need is good characters, and that’s what Hanna-Barbera’s Wacky Races had (that and the cool cars also didn’t hurt). From the Ant Hill Mob to Peter Perfect, all of the racers were fun to watch, but will any of them be returning in writer Ivan Cohen and artist Mariano Benitez Chapo‘s new one-shot, Giant-Size Wacky Races, from Dynamite? With colors by Nick Caponi and letters by Jeff Eckleberry, here’s what Cohen had to spill about the comic and his favorite OG driver:

Rachel Bellwoar: Criminally, the original Wacky Races (1968) only lasted one season (though it did produce some spinoffs). Were you already a fan or did Dynamite approach you with the idea for this one-shot?

Ivan Cohen: Growing up in the seventies as I did, you really couldn’t avoid watching the Wacky Races, at least in reruns. It might not have been my favorite Hanna-Barbera series (I’ll never tell), but it made a helluva impression. So when Dynamite Executive Editor Joe Rybandt and I were talking about a project for me to write and he suggested Races, I jumped at the chance and started coming up with ideas.

Bellwoar: In the same vein as Dynamite’s recent Disney Villains titles, it would’ve been easy to make Dick Dastardly the main character of this one-shot, especially since his Wile E. Coyote antics were featured in every episode. What made you choose Penelope Pitstop as lead?

Cohen: Why is Penelope Pitstop the lead? Because she’s awesome. What, you need more?

Bellwoar: One thing readers who haven’t seen the show won’t realize is Penelope was every bit the Southern Belle in how she spoke and the phrases she used. Did you enjoy getting to recapture her voice and will be hearing from the characters a lot or will the one-shot be following the show’s format of having an announcer narrate?

Cohen: Penelope’s “Southern Belle” vibe is less a part of the Giant-Size than you might expect. She has those same roots, but our take on her is more like a Disney Channel teen star who is making it on her own and has gone at least a little Hollywood to become a mainstream star. So the classic persona isn’t the version of herself she’s putting out there … at least not yet.

Bellwoar: Rather than change the lineup every episode, Wacky Racers had a recurring roster of racers. Did you have a favorite from the originals (mine was the Gruesome Twosome) and will we be seeing a lot of those racers return?

Cohen: I always liked Penelope, myself. And we see a mix of familiar favorites and new racers, both to make the races seem a little more contemporary – our take on the racers largely having corporate sponsors a la NASCAR made it logical to have cars from modern-style big advertisers join the lineup – and also to let us save a few classic racers and their cars for future issues. So you may have to wait a bit for the Gruesome Twosome, but you’ll get more than just Peter Perfect … although Peter Perfect is a pretty major part of the story.

Bellwoar: Almost as important as the racers were their souped-up cars, which could do all manner of tricks. Has Penelope’s Compact Pussycat undergone any upgrades?

Cohen: The Pussycat goes through a lot in every race Penelope runs this issue. (The extra page count really lets us put her through her paces.) We debut some new features in the final race, and there will always be more tricks up her … gloves, I guess?

Bellwoar: Today, when you think of racing, there’s usually a track but Wacky Races would conduct its races on wild terrain. Is there anything you can reveal about where the race, or races, in this one-shot will take place?

Cohen: Our races generally start on a track, but we definitely hit some unusual territory, from qualifying rounds in Utah and Las Vegas to an epic East Coast leg. We also see hints of races all across the United States. But, frankly, since real-life NASCAR has done races in the streets of  downtown Chicago, it was hard to come up with anything beyond the realm of possibility, I mean, at least until the grand finale, but that would be telling.

Bellwoar: What was cool about the show, too, is it wasn’t the same one or two cars winning every time. It really was anyone’s race. Do you think that was part of the show’s appeal?

Cohen: Yeah, it would be the opposite of drama to just have, say, Penelope Pitstop win every race. You’ll definitely root for her to win every time, but if there’s no chance of a surprise, why bother reading? Plus, stakes and the risk of defeat for our favorites make things much more exciting.

Bellwoar: What other Hanna-Barbera shows would you love to see adapted into comics and will there be any cameos in this one-shot?

Cohen: No cameos in Giant-Size Wacky Races #1. While I wouldn’t say no to guest-stars in future outings, we were introducing so many characters and ideas here, special guests would have been a little distracting. Of course, Space Ghost might have been there invisibly, but don’t tell Space Ghost writer David Pepose I said so.

Bellwoar: I hope we get to see that happen! Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Ivan.

Giant-Size Wacky Races goes on sale April 9th from Dynamite Comics.