SPEED REPUBLIC #3 – Review

SPEED REPUBLIC #3, from Mad Cave Studios on April 20th, 2022, follows the next leg of the race through Munich as Seb trips his way through the issue after eating infused chocolate. Meanwhile, the locals hatch a plan to poison food shipments headed for elite buyers.

The Details

• Written By: Ryan K. Lindsay
• Art By: Emanuele Parascandolo
• Colors By: Michele Monte
• Letters By: Joamette Gil
• Cover Art By: Emanuele Parascandolo
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: April 20, 2022

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Was It Good?

In all honesty, I had no idea what was going on for half of this issue. Yes, SPEED REPUBLIC #3 takes place while Seb is on a psychedelic trip of epic proportions, but even the parts of the story that take place outside of Seb’s delusions don’t come together cohesively or make much sense.

The first complication is how and when Seb gets into his state of euphoria. It happens so quickly, and there’s no hint that it’s happening until you start seeing the world through Seb’s drug-affected eyes. Also, why? If you’re a passenger in a car participating in a high-speed race, why would you give the driver drug-laced chocolate that causes hallucinations?

It seems giving the chocolate to Seb was part of a plan to make him compliant with a terrorist plot to poison food, but the execution and flow are so disjointed, that the scenes effectively appear to be random. For some reason, terrorists attempt to poison a food shipment by throwing bottles filled with breath and spit from poor people suffering from a virus. The plan doesn’t make sense, the reasoning behind the plan doesn’t make sense, and it’s not clear if the plan worked or not.

Beyond the particulars of this issue, the open question (that hasn’t been answered yet) remains – why is Seb participating in this race? This series has potential but it’s quickly collapsing under the weight of its lack of clarity.

The art is fine. Parascandolo and Monte have a chance here to flex some creative muscle by integrating Seb’s delusions into the world, and the issue is at least visually interesting.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

If you don’t remember what happened at the end of the last issue, first read our SPEED REPUBLIC #2 review.

We begin with Seb speeding down the road with the hitchhiker his sister unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road at the end of the last issue. The hitchhiker offers Seb some (drug-laced) chocolate, and Seb immediately begins hallucinating. his sensory state last the entire issue.

Later, Seb and his passenger met up with a kid near Munich. The kid has been working with the locals to fill up bottles with breath and bodily fluids infected with something called the Munich Madness. Their plan is to throw the bottles at food trucks bound for rich, elite neighborhoods as spite/revenge for being poor… or something.

We conclude the issue with snakes in a bag, deadly car accidents, and fir-bombing dogs.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.

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