The story of an abandoned stretch of road in the middle of a desert and the gas station that is there. The art is great. I really liked the colors. Story was fast paced and a lot of fun.

4 stars.

'Streamliner: Bye Bye Lisa Dora' with story and art by Fane is the first part of a graphic novel about a big race in the desert.

In the middle of nowhere stands a gas and a bar with an airplane attached to the top. Legend has it that years ago out here a land speed record. Now this quiet spot has been picked by a group of underground racers for their annual race. There is an outlaw along, as well as a female biker gang. Now the race is getting out of control and the stakes are getting even bigger.

I liked this stylish slice of dieselpunk. It had a cool vibe to it. The art works really well for the story. It does seem to take a while to tell the story and after 160 pages, it's still not done.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This was a fantastic French comic translated into English for the first time. It starts off in the desert in the 70's. Someone cuts off a lock fencing in an old gas station. Old street cars pour in. Then we cut back to 10 years earlier when an old, washed up racer and his daughter are running the same gas station. Some greasers start arriving, informing the owners they are putting on a race there. You have all these counter culture agents of the time showing up for the race of the century in the middle of nowhere. Fane sets up a lot of internal politics and old grudges between the different gangs and factions. This volume ends with the race's start. Fane's art is loose and fast, reminding me of early Rafael Albuquerque. I can't wait until the second half of this is released in the U.S.

A raunchy, action-packed 50s rockabilly drag race rodeo. Has some pretty old-school gender roles and eye candy, but otherwise is a fun romp around competition, aggression, fast cars, commodification of niche culture, and ambition. Ends on a pretty severe cliffhanger, which was only annoying in that the next issues in the series haven't been published yet...

I was interested by the racing theme of the graphic novel. But it was a disappointing read.
The story was set in a desert where a father daughter duo runned a gas station. Their life got jeopardised when a gang of drag racers came in their property for racing. The story was filled with action, mystery and drama. I tried to like the story but the sexist portrayal of women killed the vibe. Like the name of the women bikers team, the so called romance of Cristal and Billy.

This is the graphic novel version of an exploitation film. Roger Corman meets Russ Meyer on the way to the grindhouse for a Cannonball Run and it all gets captured in these pages.

A mash-up of '50s, '60s, and '70s storylines of biker gangs, hotrod punks, rebels/wild ones, etc. with a splash of dystopian future. A car club called The Red Noses, a female biker gang called The Black Panties, a hotrod outlaw called "The Kid", and an old racing legend who has exiled himself to a desert hideaway all come together for a desert race like no other.

These characters are standard stereotypes no doubt about it. The Streamliner is not to be taken too seriously or judged too harshly. If you're easily offended then you should probably not bother.

My one (major) complaint is that I didn't realize it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger (to be continued...). It's got a couple of subplots that seem unnecessary but those could come back around in the continuation so ... Who knows?

The Streamliner: Bye-Bye Lisa Dora is just mindless fun. Dive in and enjoy.

Contains adult language and situations.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

2 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

I hadn't really looked into the plot that much before reading, I have just been on a graphic novel kick. First of all, the art style is not a favourite of mine, not a lot of structure and at points looks blob like. I was intrigued by the concept of drag racing unfortunately all the characters are just that. Extreme characters that either make you cringe or want to punch them in the face. Chauvinistic and violent male characters, with hyper sexualized 75% naked women. How stupid do you have to be to throw in the deed to your establishment while gambling at cards? And the hype over some old rifle, weird nerdy reporter and a police force trying to catch a killer. The size of the race getting out of hand and then everyone being blocked in by police and the race going to be televised. Also the biggest cliche of all, the tough girl who hates the sexist male character ends up sleeping with him.

I did not realize that this wasn’t a single volume collection until the end of the book. I enjoyed the story and the artwork and am looking forward to reading volume two.

The first half of what is quite a hefty French comic – but one that could easily have lost a few pages and not suffered. A large gang of car-racing nuts descend on a lowly gas station, with its own WW2 bomber plane fuselage (don't ask, but it's not the WW2 you know) and a father-daughter pair running it, and set to having their huge leadership-settling annual race in the desert surrounding it. Oh, and so do a gang of women who spend so much money on petrol and their motorbikes they can hardly afford clothes, and so does someone the FBI were chasing for murder… This book covers the build-up to the start of the race, and posits the question of whether the spunky daughter's drive is enough to save the day – and the petrol station.

All told I think there were a solid 100-120 pages in these 160; while we're left wondering what the future-set prologue will mean for things, we're also encumbered with the old father's war reminiscences, and some of the usual bullish braggadocio from characters like the racers, and the whole thing was a little woolly. Still, it's a fun set-up, as I don't think we're supposed to take much of this too seriously, and without knowing how much of the second half is the race itself it's obvious this artist is one of the few who could make it visually entertaining to read. So while it's not exactly a four-star rating from me, three and a half suggests there is some pleasure to be had in looking forward to part two.

Streamliner, Volume 1, Bye-Bye Lisa Dora is a graphic novel written and drawn by ‘Fane with colorist Isabelle Rabarot, originally published in France in 2017.

The story starts in a seventies, with a group of cars and trucks cutting open the gate to the Lisa Dora station, route 666. We then jump back ten years earlier to the same place, where we meet Cristal, the daughter of a former speed car racer, Evel O’Neil, streamliner champ. They’re running a gas station, bar and motel, in which a stranger takes residence and starts organizing a drag race.

This is a story of gangs and races, cars and planes, diverse characters running a dance in the desert, and the weird politics of it all, with a few unexpected disturbances along the way. A nice original fable with a lot of heart that doesn’t require to be a racing enthusiast to appreciate.

The art is in the simple and efficient style you can expect from the French school, while not being ligne claire. The coloring gives the whole story a great atmosphere while the trails of dust fly away.

It’s a great read and I won’t wait for the English translation to read the second and third volumes.

Thanks to Magnetic Press, Diamond Distributors and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

This ended up being much better than expected!
The book is set in a very ambiguous alternate timeline sometime after WWII, which in this timeline was partially fought in the desert of the western USA. The main story centers around Crystal, a woman who runs a lonely gas station on route 666, and her dad, Evel O'Neil who was once a world renowned hot rod racer who quite literally went out in a blaze of glory and became a crotchety alcoholic.
One day their fairly mundane existence is interrupted by a bunch of hot rod racers who want to use their stretch of empty desert for their annual race to see who will be the new leader of their gang. Then a bunch of lady biker show up. Then the FBI and or CIA and the cops (and a weido alternate universe Billy the Kid) and then the media, and then the looky loos.
Ending on one HELL of a cliffhanger this promises to a be a super fun and weird ride!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel about gangs coming together for a big race out in the desert, the artwork is super cool and the story takes us right up to the start of the big race and I'm sure everyone who reads this wants to know how the race ends.

A French comic translated into English, Streamliner tells the story of father and daughter O’Neil who own a service station outside a canyon. Out of nowhere, hundreds of ruffians called the Red Noses descend on the place. They plan to use the open desert for their yearly race. The prize, ownership of the winchester rifle that marks the leader of the gang. Things get complicated when a rival gang, lady bikers called the Black Panties, a fugitive, and two FBI hitmen join the race. Even worse, the old father gambles the deed to his service station while drunk. Now, with leadership of the Red Noses and ownership of the desert at stake, Crystal O’Neil takes the wheel of her father’s old streamliner car, the legendary Black Widow.

This comic is all about the style, the 1950’s rebel racing scene. It’s grungy, edgy, and stylized, all in the sepia tone of the desert. The line art is energetic and quick, suited to the lifestyles of all the characters. The writing doesn’t spend much time doting on backstories and motivations. Really, we only know the origins of two characters, but that isn’t important. If they have a name, they have enough personality in their actions and design that you can instantly understand them.

There isn’t a massive amount of plot to unpack here, but that isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t complicated or deep, it’s just fun. Be warned that this is not for children. Cussing abounds, and at least one of the Black Panties goes topless. If you’re a grown up, though, this shouldn’t be a problem.

I never thought that a graphic novel can have this type of excessive (in a good way) action and adventure at the same time and compiled in just a few pages with dialogue! AMAZING!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I found this hard to enjoy with the over sexualized biker chicks. While they were my favorite part of the story, they also could have been less sexualized with the same level of independent, badass vibes. I'm also disappointed that of the use of an outdated trope of a lead female using sex to obtain some sort of power or equality with the male lead. The cliff hanger left me with little interest to continue the series. I enjoyed the dusty, reclusive setting and the idea of the drag race but the execution was not my favorite.