Review: 'Speed Racer' #8 Trades the Track for a Black-Tie Heist
SPEED RACER #8
Release Date: May 6, 2026
TL;DR
Even though it trades the racetrack for a black-tie heist, Speed Racer #8 proves this series is still firing on all cylinders with a knockout Trixie spotlight, an epic chase sequence built like a summer blockbuster, and gorgeous art
Creative Team
Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Davide Tinto
Colorist: Jão Canola
Letterer: Buddy Beaudoin
Cover: Alessio Zonno
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Full Review
The issue opens at the Ocean Industries Gala, where Doctor Frederick Fantasty is set to unveil Fantastium-217, a synthetic fuel that supposedly outburns anything on the market. Pepose plays the whole reveal with a wink, dropping Speed into a tux while Spritle livestreams the red carpet, and the early pages feel like a Formula X-flavored James Bond cold open. I don’t know if the timing was meant to line up perfectly with the real-world Met Gala that took place this week, but it gave Pepose room to stretch the cast in directions a typical race-focused issue wouldn't allow.
Things shift into full heist-thriller mode the moment Cruncher Block crashes the gala in his armored Mammoth Car. Speed and Racer X tag-team the tank on wheels with all the tricks under their hoods, including cutter blades and grappling hooks, to take down Block. The whole sequence reads like a summer blockbuster thanks to Timor’s expertly choreographed panels.
As exciting as the chase was, the issue belonged to Trixie. Pepose has thread her arc carefully across the run but gives her her flowers here. After Cruncher grabs her as collateral and orders one of his goons to put a bullet in the "trust fund princess," Trixie cracks the henchwoman over the head with a wrench and reminds the room that Trixie Turnwell is nobody's hostage. Later, when the Mammoth Car loses its last driver and the rig is about to blow, she takes a leap of faith from a moving deathtrap straight into Speed's outstretched hand. It would have been easy to turn this into a damsel-in-distress rescue mission. Instead, Trixie comes out of the issue with more agency than she's had at any point in the series.
Speed and Racer X keep building their relationship too. Their strategizing mid-chase is doing real character work and they’re starting to perform like they belong on the same team. The final panel is one of the more fun, human ones as Racer X covers for Speed with Pops while Speed and Trixie finally have a “moment” in the flames of the wreckage. It's a small moment that makes the larger Racer X mystery hum a little louder.
As aKeats, the art team deserves a victory lap of their own. Tinto's linework hits that sweet spot between vintage cartoon and modern anime energy. Canola's colors bring every panel to life. The way the gala's warm interior light gives way to the cool moonlit highway is gorgeous, and the explosions and engine glows pop off the page. Beaudoin's lettering keeps everything humming, with sound effects that practically vroom on their own.
Eight issues in, Speed Racer is still firing on all cylinders. Pepose pulls off the rare trick of stepping away from a series' core hook for an issue and using the detour to make the whole engine run better. There’s nothing “filler” about this issue. With the "Demon on Wheels" tease at the end, I'm already counting down until the flag drops on the next issue.
Rating: 5/5
