Basinger, Clint – Backseat Drivers #2

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Backseat Drivers #2

Well, it’s official: this series is a blast. I played it cautious at SPACE this year and only got this this issue, and am now kicking myself for not getting the rest of the series. I did pick up the first issue of the character that absolutely dominates this series, the Cosmic Norseman. All the other characters don’t stand a chance against that moustache, that oar, and the fact that he has The Brotherhood of Celestial Foxez haplessly trying to kill him over the centuries. We get to learn more about damned near everybody else in this issue, which is essentially the group riding around in a cab, setting up camp in an alley and eventually, briefly, getting to meet the mad scientist who has everybody so worked up. We learn that Ruffian doesn’t know much of anything about anything, Doyle Lee at least partially raised Dr. Herman, and Rhodes and Molehill are still pretty much a mystery. Which is fine, as this is the point in a four issue series where Clint is still trying to hook people in, serve up a little intrigue, so you certainly can’t fault the guy for an excellent sense of timing. It might be awhile until I get to learn what happens in the next two issues (maybe as long as SPACE 2009, although I’m hoping I can get them before then) but the good news is that I did manage to pick up the first issue of his next series, dedicated solely to the Cosmic Norseman, which makes me very happy indeed.