RaceWarrior Boosts Caliber of Racing Entertainment
21 February 2000
New Comic Book Gives Futuristic View of Auto Racing CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 10, 2000) -- Stock car racing will get a cyber-boost into the future with the March release of RaceWarrior, a weekly action/adventure comic book about racing in the year 2020. Appealing to race fans and comic book readers of all ages, RaceWarrior joins "NASCAR Racers," an animated television series, in entertaining the sport's next generation of fans. Described as his mid-life crisis, RaceWarrior creator John A. Powell III, developed the initial concept for RaceWarrior in 1991. Powell and an impressive team of 22 writers, pencilers, inkers, letterists, color guides, computer colorists, graphic branders and cover illustrators create the "skrash! skroom! whap!" of futuristic stock car racing. Competing on SuperLooper Battletracks, RaceWarrior teams use radical race cars and cyber-gear to vie for the supremacy of the International Racing Federation. The artistry and story lines are free of the sex, graphic violence, and underworld overtones that characterize many of today's comics. "Stock car racing is a family sport and RaceWarrior is a family comic book," Powell said. "These books hearken back to the golden era of comic books, when action comics had heroes and villains, when the characters knew right from wrong and parents didn't have to worry what their kids were seeing in comic books." Although set two decades into the future, RaceWarrior remains true to the heart and soul of stock car racing through the advice of 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Benny Parsons. Driver Mark Martin, who, along with son Matt, also have signed on to support the RaceWarrior team. "I think it's great that there is a racing product that both my son and I can endorse," Martin said. "RaceWarrior is exactly what this sport needs to introduce the younger generation to the excitement of racing." But what really sets RaceWarrior apart is the authenticity of its vision. Powell chose some of the nation's best designers to help with visual effects. One of Hollywood's most sought-after talents, Harald Belker, is the visionary behind the RaceWarrior vehicles, including the futuristic race cars. Belker brings the same level of creativity to RaceWarrior that he brought to the Batmobile, Inspector Gadget's car and his current work on an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie, in addition to his "real world" work on the Mercedes M and S Class cars. RaceWarrior will debut March 1, 2000 with a new edition every week for 38 weeks, coinciding with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Each collectable book will display 20 pages of high-quality graphics, plus an editorial section featuring members of the racing community written by auto racing insider Claire B. Lang. Like an ensemble cast of a television series, characters such as Zax Hammer, Ty Rod, Augusta Wind, Speedy Pittman, (not to mention Skidmark and Pothole, two bumbling pit crew members) will flow in and out of a story line that introduces 26 characters in the first year of the series. Nine years in the making, RaceWarrior is futuristic in ways other than its story line. The comic's unique sponsorship arrangement with 7 UP allows RaceWarrior to be distributed through grocery stores, CVS drug stores, and "big box" retailers, including some Super Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart stores, unlike most comic books which are sold primarily through comic dealers. RaceWarrior sells for $0.99 with the purchase of 7 UP products or $2.99 when purchased separately. Valvoline, which sponsors RaceWarriora's International Racing Federation's Valvoline Cup Series, also brought the opportunity to develop a relationship with driver Mark Martin, who will wear the RaceWarrior logo on his helmet and uniform for the entire NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. "The addition of sponsors to the comic book adds three things," Powell said. "First, it adds authenticity. What's a race car or a driver's suit without sponsorship decals? Second, it gives us an additional form of revenue, which keeps the cover price down. And third, by selling the books with the soda in grocery stores, rather than by themselves in comic book stores, it makes RaceWarrior available to a much wider audience." Powell pointed out that from the very beginning, comic books have promoted products. "The very first comics were created to sell soap," Powell said. "Through the years, they have been vehicles for all sorts of products. In our case, instead of selling sea monkeys, 3-D glasses and itching powder, we are helping market 7 UP, a major soft drink, and Valvoline, a premier automobile products company." Powell, a longtime comic book fan, is relishing the opportunity to revive the "Golden Age" of comics with a major, nationwide launch of RaceWarrior. "By the end of March, there will be 4,250,000 copies of RaceWarrior on the stands," Powell said. "That's the biggest launch of a comic book ever." www.racewarrior.com * Editor's Note: Art available on CD by request.