Image credit: Oni Press
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, in a rush to find the next big thing (following the frenzy caused by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), a slew of animated shows and associated toy lines featuring anthropomorphic animal heroes emerged with little fanfare. Many flopped without making a big impact, but one was more successful than some of the others: Biker Mice from Mars.
I was a bit too old when Biker Mice From Mars came out, as toys and regular cartoons had just started to feel a bit too childish for me, so I don’t have much nostalgia or familiarity with it. Apparently, a new animated series is in the works, and the first issue of this new cartoon series will lead into the rebooted show.
The comic is also part of the “Naccelverse,” which appears to be a collection of properties owned by the Naccel Company, which has bought the rights to a number of loser franchises from the past, and while this may seem like a bit of a harsh description, there’s no denying that the comic’s universe feels like a mishmash of second-rate characters like Roboforce, Sectaur, Power Lord, and perhaps most notably, biker Mice from Mars.
In truth, I like this approach and am all for bringing lesser known or, to put it more modestly, somewhat unsuccessful titles into the new spotlight. Each of these toy and cartoon titles had something unique to offer, but for one reason or another they were unsuccessful and never achieved the status of a genuine and enduring pop culture phenomenon like the aforementioned TMNT.
So, here we have Biker Mice From Mars #1. The premise of the story is that Mars, a planet inhabited by a horde of anthropomorphic rats, is being invaded by fish-like colonists called the Plutarchs. Three vigilante rats (Throttle, Modo and Vinny) engage in Mad Max-esque combat on their bikes, launching devastating attacks on the Plutarchs and trying to protect their city from the expanding and encroaching activities of the Plutarchs.
Despite the toy-like charm of the character designs, the tone is surprisingly gritty, and elements like Throttle’s mother appearing to suffer from dementia drive home the fact that this isn’t just a simple rehash of kids’ cartoons.
It’s actually a pretty enjoyable read, and feels similar to, say, the more adult TMNT comics, of which there are plenty of course.
You don’t get much of a sense of the broader Nasserverse here, but that’s a good thing – this is a story that’s entirely focused on the Biker Mice and their vigilante activities. It’s pretty well written and the art is generally good too.
In fact, the work is strong enough that it makes me curious about the original manga, though I doubt it will age particularly well.
Overall it’s a good start and should no doubt please fans of the original manga, who are now in their late 30s or early 40s.
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