M1: Monster Racing League #4
Writers: Lily & Robert Windom
Artist: Jae Lee
Cover Artist: Jae Lee
Colorist: June Chung
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
M1: Monster Racing League #4 pushes its racing drama forward as Wyld continues to give its users an increasingly dangerous advantage over the competition. While Dev Raines finds herself struggling with the pressures of keeping pace with her rivals, the issue continues to grapple with a protagonist whose characterization makes it difficult to become invested in her journey. Lily and Robert Windom introduce some interesting questions about the sacrifices involved in chasing victory, but the story doesn't always give these moments the breathing room they need to land. Jae Lee's artwork and June Chung's colors remain a consistent highlight, even as the unconventional panel layouts occasionally make the racing difficult to follow.
The Fast and the Wyld
Ryuuki has been on a winning streak ever since getting his hands on Wyld, an experimental drug that enhances racing ability by turning users into monsters. Its influence has even rubbed off on Kaito, who has started taking it himself to rebuild his reputation in the Japanese underground racing circuit.
Dev, meanwhile, finds herself at a crossroads in her racing career. Knowing full well what Ryuuki is taking and the advantage it gives him, she begins weighing her options. Should she fight fire with fire, or stick with what got her into the winner's circle in the first place: her natural talent?
Fast Decisions, No Time to Think
Well... spoiler alert: Dev does, in fact, drink a serum full of Wyld. Ugh.
Why? I understand that Dev is an atypical protagonist. She spends nearly as much time complaining about her teenage angst as she does winning races, but we're barely given any time to watch her wrestle with the decision to take Wyld. Instead, Dev has one brief conversation with her dad about whether winning is worth sacrificing your integrity.
It's a solid idea in principle, and Dev's dad remains one of the book's more likable characters. No matter how poorly his daughter treats him, he continues to show her unconditional love. Unfortunately, that conversation feels woefully unearned. Dev has spent three issues brooding whenever her father is around and even gaslighting him about using his credit card to buy a car. Now, suddenly, he's someone she trusts for life-changing advice? I'm left genuinely confused by the abrupt shift.
Style Over Speed
One aspect of M1: Monster Racing League that has consistently impressed me is its artwork. Jae Lee and June Chung make for a remarkably cohesive artist-colorist duo, with both clearly understanding how to complement each other's work and bring the book's visual identity to life.
That doesn't mean the artwork is beyond constructive criticism, though. Despite this issue giving racing a much bigger spotlight, the cars still tend to look as though they're floating on clouds rather than tearing around a track. The result is a frustrating lack of movement that makes the races difficult to follow.
The panel layouts don't always help, either. While the more abstract shapes look great during conversations and quieter moments, they can make the action harder to track when the cars are racing. I'd like to see Lee experiment a little less with unconventional layouts during these sequences and lean into more traditional panel structures instead. The artwork doesn't need to sacrifice its visual flair, but the racing itself should be easier to follow.
The Checkered Flag Can Wait
M1: Monster Racing League #4 remains a visually impressive book, but its presentation of racing lacks the excitement you'd expect from a series built around it, while its increasingly difficult-to-root-for protagonist continues to hold the story back. Even the twist ending feels unlikely to bring new readers on board as the series prepares to enter its second arc, especially when it relies on an emotional investment in Dev Raines' backstory that the book hasn't yet done enough to establish.
Perhaps I'm misjudging how invested readers have become in Dev, but I struggle to see a sudden revelation being enough to overcome three issues of characterization that have left her feeling juvenile and emotionally immature, even for a 17-year-old. There's a difference between writing a flawed teenage protagonist and giving readers a reason to care about her flaws. So far, M1: Monster Racing League hasn't quite managed to bridge that gap.