By Cat Wyatt

With a dramatic cover like the one accompanying issue #10, it’s going to be hard to resist reading this one. Motor Crush #10 starts off with Sullivan Swift (Dom’s father) in a ghastly situation (which maaaay be putting it a bit mildly since I’m pretty sure he’s about to be tortured).  The real question is, does Dom know that her father is in danger, and more importantly, does she even know where to find him?

It seems that Mink Master is taking his frustration with Dom out on her father, and he certainly has reasons to be upset with her. Not only is she back in town (after he thought she died, no less), she helped destroy his manufacturing process for Crush, killed the scientist that knew how to make it (or so he believes – I think that she’s beyond death), and has riled up multiple biker gangs in the area with her reappearance. All of this right when he thought he was close to finally winning. I don’t think a guy like Mink knows how to lose with grace…which explains the torture bit.

Thankfully Mink is (sort of distracted) but one of the crazier gangs making a move and actually trying to attack his facility. Before you ask, no Dom didn’t actually have anything to do with this one (well, not directly at least). Hopefully, that’ll buy Sullivan enough time for Dom to come to the rescue…

Meanwhile, things are pretty tense back at Ya-Ya’s house (have I mentioned that I love her name? It suits her). Dom and Decimis are trying to destroy each other with their eyes I think. That or force the other to do their bidding (okay, no I take that back, Dom just wishes him death). Poor Ya-Ya doesn’t understand anything about what’s going on, and she certainly doesn’t understand that the tension isn’t her fault. She seems pretty sensitive, so I can see why she’s not exactly taking this situation well (especially because it’s pretty obvious that she’s head over heels for Decimis).

Unfortunately things really only get worse for Ya-Ya, with a call coming in to inform her that a rival gang broke in and potentially destroyed her bike and all of her equipment. Remember, this is Ya-Ya’s career, her livelihood, and her passion we’re talking about. So Decimis’ blaze reaction to the whole mess is more than a little bit hurtful (again, she’s pretty obsessed and dependent on him, so she likely was hoping he’d help clear up the problem for her).

I think it was Dom being a good friend to Ya-Ya that forced Mr. Vermillion (real name, I swear) into telling the truth to Dom about what was likely happening to her father as they spoke. I think he was hiding the information from her because he knew she’d throw herself into danger without hesitation - and as much as I hate to say it, he was also probably hoping that pretending it wasn’t happening would keep it from becoming his (and Ya-Ya’s) problem.

Naturally Dom didn’t waste any time debating on whether or not she should rush after her father. It wasn’t up for debate, even with Decimis trying to convince her to bail on him (in his mind Sullivan isn’t her biological father, and therefore she shouldn’t care) by tempting her with the truth of who and what she is. I’m not surprised that Dom put him off in favor of saving her father, but I am pleased with the decision. I still want answers (though likely not as much as Dom does), but I don’t think getting the answers would be worth sacrificing anybody’s life, especially not of the man that raised her as his own.

Thankfully Dom isn’t going into the fight completely alone – her trustworthy Catball arrives just in time to help scout. As it turns out, Lo found it in her heart to fix it up (possibly for the last time) for Dom. The tension between the two is so well done, I can’t say that enough. You can really tell that Lo doesn’t want to turn Dom away, but that’s exactly why she has to. I don’t envy the situation Lo is in, after all, she’s just trying to survive and take care of the people she loves, one of which was put in harm’s way because of Dom’s sudden reappearance. You can see why she’s struggling.

Speaking of struggling, you’re never going to guess who’s tied up like a hog and hanging from one of the biker trucks. So I’ll just tell you, it’s Calax. Based on what I’m seeing I can only assume the crazy gang (the one attacking Mink’s facility) jumped Calax’s gang and took all the Crush. Which explains why their bikes are going fast…and exploding on impact. Yeah, that’s not going to go over too well, is it?

What follows is a whole bunch of fighting scenes, which I won’t ruin for you by trying to describe them. I will say that I’m surprised by how quickly everything got wrapped up. Well, I say wrapped up, but that isn’t quite true. The issue absolutely ends on a cliffhanger, but at least Dom found her dad quickly. Now the question is which characters got out of the facility, and how? I guess I’ll have to wait a month until I get the answer though.

This is a really interesting series. Every time I think I’ve figured it out and start thinking I won’t be surprised by the next move I’m proven wrong. I actually love that about this series. I don’t like reading predictable series, so anything that deviates from the norm is ideal in my mind. I also love the characters and overall writing style, which helps too.

The artwork has always been and will always be my favorite part about this series. Not only is the style itself pretty fantastic, but the color palette does a great job of standing out. I remember the first time I saw one of the covers sitting on a shelf (it was the alternate graphic novel cover, with Decimis on the front) I knew I had to give the series a try. The angular way they’ve been drawing the Crush explosions is unexpected and really interesting. It makes me wonder if there really is something else going on with the stuff (after all, it did start out as a medicine for Dom, and we still have no idea what it actually is).

Score: 4/5

Motor Crush #10
Image Comics