Published May 13, 2026, 6:45 PM EDT
Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.
Recent years have shown that there are two things that most audiences love: pop stars with a penchant for fighting supernatural threats and car chases, based on the rousing successes of Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters and the Fast & Furious franchise. Anyone who ever wanted to see these wildly different stories combined somehow does not have to wait much longer.
In summer 2026, Image Comics is releasing M1: Monster Racing League, a new series that is everything fans of both KPop Demon Hunters and Fast & Furious could ever ask for.
The story, set in the near future, follows Dev Raines, a 17-year-old who unwillingly moves with her single father from San Diego, California, to Tokyo, Japan, where she struggles with separation from her old friends and her ability to become ingrained in the culture of her new home. However, things take a strange turn when she discovers a world of underground, Formula 1-style street racing that requires transformations of monstrous proportions to reach the finish line.
With the promises of a high-octane, action-packed thrill ride, comparisons between M1: Monster Racing League and the Fast & Furious movies are clear. The comic especially calls to mind the 2006 third installment, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, in which the American protagonist, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), is sent to live with his father in the eponymous city, where he becomes a champion in a unique style of street racing.
What makes the comic a book that KPop Demon Hunters fans should check out is still somewhat more mysterious at this point, with the synopsis mentioning that "mutation wins championships" being the only real hint. Is it meant to suggest that Dev and other racers will be piloting vehicles that are really otherworldly creatures in disguise in a bizarre twist on the Transformers concept, or do the competitors themselves actually become monsters through racing in some slow, Cronenbergian process?
It appears that the only way to find out is to read M1: Monster Racing League when it becomes available. However, curious potential readers have luckily been given the chance to see an early scoop of the comic already.
A Preview for M1: Monster Racing League #1 Is Available
Image via Image ComicsRecently, Image Comics put out a special first look at the first issue of M1: Monster Racing League that was exclusively presented by ScreenRant. The "high-octane" thrills promised in the logline are minimal, but it does offer good insight into what kind of person Dev is and how she is adjusting to her new scenery.
The preview primarily follows the young protagonist as she becomes acquainted with her first new friend in Tokyo named Marise, with whom she bonds over their shared interest in cats at a feline-friendly cafe and discusses her plans to get back at her dad for plucking her out of her stateside home. Shortly after, the duo encounters a close call with a helmeted biker who nearly hits them if not for a mysterious hooded figure pulling them out of the way in the nick of time.
Said unseen character graces the first page of the preview, which offers the most overt glimpse into the bizarre aspects of M1: Monster Racing League. It sees the hooded person standing next to a Cherry Blossom tree and gazing at the futuristic Tokyo skyline as two unusually large bees fly around their head, suggesting that there will be some big bugs among the monsters that Dev may encounter in her adventure.
The artist behind the gorgeous imagery is illustrator Jae Lee, an Eisner Award-winning veteran of the industry who is best known for his work on Marvel's Inhumans and as the creator of Image's 90s-era acclaimed horror comic, Hellshock. M1: Monster Racing League reunites him with authors Robert and Lily Windom, a father-daughter writing team who previously collaborated on a fantasy graphic novel called Family Time from 2023.
M1: Monster Racing League #1 hits the shelves on June 10.
English (US) · 