MPH (comics)
| MPH | |
|---|---|
ISBN 978-163215-2657 |
MPH (Miles Per Hour) is a
The Fast and the Furious without cars",[5][6] the series follows a group of early-20s criminals who on discovering a drug that gives them super-speed, use it to go on a series of grand heists, while pursued by a government agency with a mysterious speedster of their own. The series, originally published between May 21, 2014, and February 18, 2015, was collected as a graphic novel on April 22, 2015.[7] Characters from the series would later return in the miniseries Big Game in 2023. Receiving a generally positive critical reception, both a comic book sequel and feature film adaptation of the series has been in development hell
since its initial publication.
Premise
When
bank robbers, while pursued by the forces of DENO and the mysterious Mr. Springfield.[8][9] While the initial announcement of the series described it as a six-issue series following teenagers, the final five-issue series saw the majority of its protagonists be in their early-to-mid 20s.[10][11]
Characters
- The Runners
- Roscoe Rodriguez – A low-level criminal obsessed with bank robbers and America's Most Wanted. Originally named "Roscoe Vasquez" throughout the development of MPH, the character was renamed by Mark Millar before final publication to have a more alliterative name.[2]
- Rosa Cruz – Roscoe's girlfriend, a Jeet Kune Do expert with whom he shares his super-speed, who tries to keep her younger brother "Baseball" out of the criminal lifestyle after the death of their other brother, Roberto.
- Chevy – Roscoe's best friend, with whom he shares his super-speed. Having previously been secretly in love with Rosa, he develops a god complex from his use of the pills, coming to blows with Roscoe and Rosa after they give away their money.
- "Baseball" – Rosa's sixteen-year-old little brother, a would-be gangster whom she rescues from a life of crime. Baseball's full name (and in-turn Rosa's surname), "Jiggy Cruz", was revealed in the final issue as the result of a
- DENO
- "Mr. Springfield" – The world's first and only known superhuman, an apparent pre-cog who crashed into Missouri at super-speed in 1986 before being arrested by the government, who has been living in luxury house arrest under the confine of DENO in Arizona for the past 29 years.[14] Mr. Springfield would return in a cameo appearance in the 2023 limited series Big Game.
- Special Agent Cutler – An agent of the United States Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DENO), assigned to Mr. Springfield.
- Kat – the head of DENO.
- Other
- "Samurai Hal" – A Detroit-based low-level crime boss and strip club owner who was once Roscoe's employer.
- Professor Henri Troyat/Orlov – The former Chief Scientific Officer of jazz festival). A fictionalised version of the author of the same name, Mark Millar revealed in an interview in January 2014 that the character would return in another then-untitled title set in the Millarworld shared fictional universe the following year, which turned out to be Huck, written by Millar and illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque.[15]
Reception
| Issue # | Publication date | Critic rating | Critic reviews | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 2014 | 6.9/10 | 23 | [16] |
| 2 | June 2014 | 7.6/10 | 14 | [17] |
| 3 | September 2014 | 8.0/10 | 4 | [18] |
| 4 | November 2014 | 7.6/10 | 4 | [19] |
| 5 | February 2015 | 8.6/10 | 4 | [20] |
| Overall | 7.7/10 | 49 | [21] |
Adaptation
Ahead of its initial publication, MPH was optioned for feature film adaptation by Lorenzo di Bonaventura in April 2014,[22] who Mark Millar said to be "somebody I've always wanted to work with on one of the bigger Millarworld adaptations",[23][24] with the project ultimately entering development hell.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Forbidden Planet Staff (May 25, 2014). "Mark Millar & Duncan Fegredo Launch MPH". Forbidden Planet. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ^ a b Ernenputsch, John (May 19, 2014). "Interview: Millar Speeds Ahead With MPH & Millarworld". Comicosity. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (April 4, 2014). "Mark Millar Makes "MPH" His American Superhero Story". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- ^ Graeme, McMillan (January 30, 2014). "Mark Millar Cites Marvel Inspirations for New Millarworld Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- ^ Kit, Borys (September 12, 2013). "With New 'MPH', Mark Millar Reveals Superhero Universe Ambitions (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (September 13, 2013). "Millar & Fegredo Speed Into Millarworld with "MPH"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Millar, Mark (w), Fegredo, Duncan (a). MPH, vol. .1 (April 22, 2015). Portland, Oregon: Image Comics. Retrieved on April 22, 2015.
- ^ Wilding, Josh (April 3, 2014). "Advance Review: Mark Millar And Duncan Fegredo's MPH #1". Comic Book Movie. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
- ^ Ostrowski, Vince (May 23, 2014). "Review: MPH #1". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "MPH (2014–2015)". Publishers Weekly. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ^ Winkley, Thomas (July 2, 2015). "Review: MPH". SLUG Magazine. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
- Starburst Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Armitage, Hugh (January 21, 2015). "Mark Millar launches new charity auction to name a character in MPH". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ Hawley, Brad (July 25, 2015). "Review: MPH by Mark Millar and Duncan Fegredo". Fantasy Literature. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
- ^ Phegley, Kiel (January 30, 2014). "Exclusive: Millar Unveils Millarworld From "MPH" To Hitch & Murphy". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- ^ "MPH #1 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
- ^ "MPH #2 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
- ^ "MPH #3 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
- ^ "MPH #4 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
- ^ "MPH #5 Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
- ^ "MPH (2014–2015) Reviews". ComicBookRoundup.com. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
- ^ Armitage, Hugh (April 25, 2014). "Mark Millar, Duncan Fegredo's MPH optioned by Transformers producer". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ Kit, Borys (April 25, 2014). "Mark Millar Comic 'MPH', Optioned by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
External links
- MPH at Image Comics