Read the comic: Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4 * Part 5 * Part 6

 

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Notes

I started The Slow And The Relentless as a 24h comic, and then it went on for a lot longer than 24 pages and 24 hours. I still didn't spend more than one hour on most of the pages (when I draw normal comics I spend 6-8 hours on a page), so I guess I can still call it a "fast and furious 24h comic" (a grossly extended Eastman variation) ...

It's of course inspired by the Fast and Furious films, which I love to pieces. I got the first ideas for this story a while back when I first saw the films. After Paul Walker's untimely death I marathon-watched all the films again, and when I sat down to draw this year's 24h comic, it was clear that this had to be it.

I really don't know anything about cars, especially not engines. I don't even have a driver's licence. (Though I've played a few racing simulator computer games in my time!!!) Due to the time limits of the 24h comic format I couldn't do very extensive research, either. So all the car stuff sucks. But if the nice people working on the F&F franchise would like to adapt this comic into a movie where all the technical stuff would be much more accurate, that would be awesomepants. V^(oo)^V

Since I like to whine about how Joann Sfar has basically only one female love interest character in his comics (Zlabya/Chava/Chagall's girlfriend/the Greek girl in Vampir), everybody can now also whine about how I myself basically have only one male love interest character in my comics, as Karim clearly provides the missing link between Ting Yay and Aeron! Yay!

The cars


ZiL-130 and ZiL-131
- the best general purpose trucks in world history. ZiL-131 is the military version of the truck, with three axles, superior in off-road conditions, and ZiL-130 the civilian, with two axles (but you can now find both in civilian use). Truck racing in Russia is certainly a real thing, and they do it with ZiL-130 and various GAZ trucks. In the racing world, the trucks are naturally heavily customized, and many put the more heavy-duty ZiL-131 cabin on their ZiL-130. Lara in the comic has a proper ZiL-131, and Tonya drives a ZiL-130 with a ZiL-131 cabin on it.


Lada Niva
(VAZ-2121) - the best jeep in world history. It's light, strong and uncomplicated. The perfect ride for a young man who doesn't need to compensate for anything. 


UAZ-452
- the best van in world history. It's an off-road van, popular all across North and Central Asia, and a good driver can go with it where even fancy Japanese jeeps falter, as I have personally experienced during a three-week trip across Mongolia in an UAZ-452 with a driver called Sukhe. The UAZ-452 is shaped like a bread loaf, so one of its nicknames is Буханка, the Russian word for bread loaf.

Fun links

* Highlights of a Russian truck race (video, English subtitles)
* ZiL-130 race in 1977 (photos)
* Loading hay off a ZiL-131 in Bulgaria, with lots of doggies (video)
* ZiL-131 drifting on ice, then falls into ditch :3 (video)
* A kid driving a ZiL, and people in the comments say that they, too, were driving trucks at 9 or 14 years (video)
* Photo-article about racing ZiL-130 trucks (photos and text in Russian)
* Video of a "ram and flip" at a ZiL race (maybe not actually done on purpose, and the driver who flipped was not insane like Alex and actually quit the race)

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