Hover car racer: The graphic novel by Matthew Reilly. Illus. by John Hanna

Driver Jason Chaser and navigator, his shy young brother 'Bug',  are passionate about racing hover cars, encouraged and supported by their parents. But their car, the Argonaut, is not the latest and they don’t have a sponsor, so when they fail to win the regional championships it looks like they are out of luck. Then legendary racer Scott Syracuse recognizes their talent and offers to sponsor them to study at the International Race School in Tasmania under his supervision. The boys are assigned talented mechanic, Sally McDuff, and a winning team is formed. The race schedule is demanding but exhilarating. In a series of trials they must prove their abilities in navigation, reaction time, teamwork, strategy and courage. What is harder to deal with is the hostility of the other teams and sabotage. As the stakes get higher they not only have to maintain their place in the leader tables but stay alive.

Originally published in 2004 this graphic version captures the fast-paced storyline in a fairly standard black and white comic style with about 10 frames per page. The racing scenes are exciting with lots of sound effects and not too much text. The expressions on the manga influenced characters were sometimes hard to relate to but they were consistent. A successful adaptation that will find a wide readership.

Themes: Car racing, Adventure, Science fiction, Graphic novel.

Sue Speck