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Motor Girl

Terry Moore
Art: Terry Moore

Reviewed by Lorenzo Princi
Motor Girl by Terry Moore
Cover concept by Lorenzo Princi, 4 June 2018

Having put the books down for a little, it was refreshing to discover Motor Girl and devour it in just two sittings. With it, Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise) continues to prove he can produce impressive short run comics. I’ve enjoyed his works since discovering Echo a few years ago. His works are always grounded in reality, with realistic character drama but add a little dash of the fantastical.

In Motor Girl, Samantha Locklear (Sam), an ex-marine has returned home after serving tours in Iraq and works at a junkyard owned by Libby. Libby acts as a sort of mother figure, helping Sam re-adjust to normal life after her difficult military service, in which she spent part held captive and tortured.

Sam and her only friend, Mike, a talking gorilla are quite content to hang around in the limbo of the isolated junkyard but Sam has to face leaving when a prospective buyer offers to take the land off Libby’s hands. However it soon becomes clear his generous offer is accompanied by some ulterior motives and Libby won’t sell without Sam’s consent, leaving the dubious buyer to try other methods to force the sale. 

There is of course more to Sam’s story than meets the eye and as Mike helps her deal with her regret about her actions in Iraq it becomes clear that she has more difficulties to overcome than some pushy buyers; and I don’t mean the Alien invasion either!

Terry Moore's examination of PTSD is compact but poignant, with great characters led by another strong (literally and figuratively) female protagonist, delivered with sincerity, heart and a clever pinch of humour.

Tags: PTSD
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