Motor Girl #1 (available in print & digital)
Abstract Studio Comics
Story & Art by Terry Moore
Publisher Roby Moore
FIRST ISSUE! When Samantha’s junkyard is visited by a UFO looking for spare parts, she is only too happy to oblige. But when word gets out she is a reliable source, Sam’s booming alien business catches the attention of an Area 51 investigator determined to shut her down! Don’t miss the premier issue of Terry Moore’s fantastic new series!
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In these uncertain times, you know what we need? More stories about a mechanic, a junkyard, the mechanic’s friend Mike, and a UFO. Where would an interested person find such a story, you ask? You’re in luck, cuz I’m gonna tell ya.
Meet Sam, aka: Motor Girl. She spends her days stripping down junked cars, salvaging what she can to fix up other cars, and chatting with her friend Mike. Mike’s a gorilla. Also, probably, imaginary. The owner of the property the junkyard is on, Libby, is a feisty old lady with a love for Sam that goes beyond family. Libby got an outrageous offer on her land, but doesn’t want to sell without Sam’s blessing. The mysterious buyer, Mr. Walden, is so set on obtaining the land that before Libby can even come back with a yes or no on his original offer, he doubles it. Then, in the middle of the night, the UFO shows up and crash lands in the junkyard (right into the old Desoto).
If that last paragraph made no sense to you at all, but it still managed to pique your curiosity, this comic book was written for you and you alone. I know, it all sounds like a whole mess of hogwash and gobblety-gook, but I promise you that this isn’t your normal every day mess. It’s a mess with depth. It’s a deep mess.
Here’s the thing. Sam works obsessively in the junkyard. She dreams, out loud to Mike, of leaving the yard and finding someplace nice, of seeing the world and living a life of relaxation. For his part, Mike seems intent on hanging in there until the inevitable fall of mankind and the rise of the animal kingdom, but aside from that he’s a good listener. In fact, his status as an imaginary gorilla friend pretty much hinges on his conversational skills. As the story rolls along, we find out that Sam is a veteran of three active duty tours, who spent a year of her service a prisoner of war held in solitary confinement. Now imagine yourself locked away for a year, under who knows what kind of conditions, with no one to talk to or mark the hours with. How would you cope?
Mike.
Sure, you might not come up with Mike specifically. Maybe you’d think up an orangutan or something, I don’t know. But Mike is who Sam has, and despite his grumpy demeanor, he’s always there when she needs him.
For instance, when a UFO crash lands into the remains of an old Desoto…
Your next question is going to be, “Well, if she imagines the gorilla, who’s to say she didn’t imagine the UFO?” Aha, but that’s the thing, isn’t it? Motor Girl is shaping up to be a quirky, extremely left-of-center story about a young lady who’s gone through some serious stuff, and come out the other end. She may not have come out of it unscathed, but she’s aware of her “problems with reality”, and she’s working her way through them as best she can. When Mike points out that leaving the junkyard behind is all she ever talks about, her response is “I’m not ready.”
Where in all of this the mysterious (and silhouetted) Mr. Walden, and the UFO come into play is something you’ll have to find out for yourself. I ain’t no spoiler. I will say that it is my considered opinion that Motor Girl is going to be an entertaining and layered trip through the life of an already interesting character. Brought to life by Terry “Strangers in Paradise” Moore, Sam has all of the traits of someone we’d all really like to know and hang out with. She fixes things, makes Star Wars references, and everything.
Just, y’know… watch out for Mike. He doesn’t seem to like people much, aside from Sam. And there’s the whole “rip your head off” thing.
