Meet Pamela Evans. Much more than a typical Manhattan cab driver, she also happens to be a badass monster-fighter who wields an enchanted tire iron. Welcome to the year of her greatest adventure.

A glowing object. A voice over on the radio. Gang battles in the city. A lot of the elements from writer Joe Casey and artist Ian MacEwan‘s MCMLXXV might seem familiar but together they create a whole new modern mythology from the mythology of the past. Featuring a cab drive as the heroe, MCMLXXV is a mash-up of concepts and ideas brought together for something new that’s a hell of a lot of fun.

The issue begins with a rather mundane experience of picking up a far but delivers a voice over that’ll remind individuals of The Warriors and dovetails into a Ninja battle that’s very Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles. With gang battles like Big Trouble in Little China, and a glowing tire iron ala Mage (instead of the bat), the comic feels like it’s trying to be the Ready Player One of comics delivering winks and nods to classic franchises remixed in a way. That’s not bad at all as the comic without any of that is engaging and a hell of a lot of fun. Casey infuses a mystical adventure into it all too as we learn more through flashbacks that only makes the set up more excited to see where it goes from this debut issue.

Artist Ian MacEwan adds to it all with a artistic flair that matches the energy Casey’s writing brings. There’s over the top scenes and MacEwan captures that feeling with every single one. The humor of it all is enhanced too with the way a character is posed or a small detail that’s the punchline in a way. There’s some scenes that just nail it through a small detail like how a passenger reacts to the madness.

The comic is just a lot of fun no matter the level you read it on. It can be a simple action fantasy story staring a cabbie in a big city or it can be that and an amazing homage to so much fun that has come before. No matter which level you choose, MCMLXXV is modern fun.

Story: Joe Casey Art: Ian MacEwan
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review