MPH (comics) explained
MPH |
Schedule: | Monthly/Bi-monthly |
Limited: | Y |
Publisher: | Image Comics |
Startmo: | May |
Startyr: | 2014 |
Endmo: | February |
Endyr: | 2015 |
Issues: | 5 |
Writers: | Mark Millar |
Artists: | Duncan Fegredo |
Letterers: | Peter Doherty |
Colorists: | Peter Doherty |
Editors: | Jennifer Lee |
Creators: | Mark Millar[1] Duncan Fegredo |
Tpb: | MPH |
Isbn: | 978-163215-2657 |
Subcat: | Image Comics |
MPH (Miles Per Hour) is a British heist-action-thriller comic book limited series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Duncan Fegredo. Published by Image Comics, the series is set in the Millarworld,[2] [3] with its events being first referenced in 2014's .[4] Described as "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 Motor City criminal Roscoe Rodriguez stumbles upon a street drug called MPH, he gains the power of super-speed, using it to break out of prison and with his friends form a group of working class criminals to go on a series of high-octane urban adventures as 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 vision boards who breaks out of prison on gaining super-speed from the experimental drug "MPH", one pill of which provides the user a day of the power, which Roscoe uses to make him and his loved ones rich by becoming high-profile 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.
- 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 charity competition held by Mark Millar to allow a fan to name an MPH character after themselves, a competition Millar had previously used to name characters in Kick-Ass, Nemesis, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Starlight, and Jupiter's Legacy.[12] [13]
- 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 France's superhuman development program and inventor of the "MPH" pill, who disappeared in 1984 and has been living in-hiding ever since (bar attending the occasional 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.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: May 25, 2014. Mark Millar & Duncan Fegredo Launch MPH. May 25, 2014. Forbidden Planet. Forbidden Planet Staff. en-US.
- Web site: May 19, 2014. Interview: Millar Speeds Ahead With MPH & Millarworld. May 19, 2014. Comicosity. Ernenputsch. John. en-US.
- Web site: April 4, 2014. Mark Millar Makes "MPH" His American Superhero Story. April 4, 2014. Comic Book Resources. Phegley. Kiel. en-US.
- Web site: January 30, 2014. Mark Millar Cites Marvel Inspirations for New Millarworld Universe. January 30, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. Graeme. McMillan. en-US.
- Web site: September 12, 2013. With New MPH, Mark Millar Reveals Superhero Universe Ambitions (Exclusive). September 12, 2013. The Hollywood Reporter. Kit. Borys. en-US.
- Web site: September 13, 2013. Millar & Fegredo Speed Into Millarworld with "MPH". September 13, 2013. Comic Book Resources. Phegley. Kiel. en-US.
- Millar, Mark. Fegredo, Duncan. MPH. .1. April 22, 2015. Image Comics. Portland, Oregon. April 22, 2015.
- Web site: April 3, 2014. Advance Review: Mark Millar And Duncan Fegredo's MPH #1. April 3, 2014. Comic Book Movie. Wilding. Josh. en-US.
- Web site: May 23, 2014. Review: MPH #1. May 23, 2014. Multiversity Comics. Ostrowski. Vince. en-US.
- Web site: April 22, 2015. MPH (2014–2015). April 22, 2015. Publishers Weekly. en-US.
- Web site: July 2, 2015. Review: MPH. July 2, 2015. SLUG Magazine. Winkley. Thomas. en-US.
- Web site: January 20, 2015. Mark Millar Auctioning Off the Name of MPH Lead Character. January 20, 2015. Starburst Magazine. Pollard. Andrew. en-US.
- Web site: January 21, 2015. Mark Millar launches new charity auction to name a character in MPH. January 21, 2015. Digital Spy. Armitage. Hugh. en-US.
- Web site: July 25, 2015. Hawley. Brad. Review: MPH by Mark Millar and Duncan Fegredo. July 25, 2015. Fantasy Literature. en-US.
- Web site: January 30, 2014. Exclusive: Millar Unveils Millarworld From "MPH" To Hitch & Murphy. https://web.archive.org/web/20140131071312/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=50592. January 30, 2014. January 31, 2014. Comic Book Resources. Phegley. Kiel. en-US. dead.
- Web site: MPH #1 Reviews. 2014-05-21. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: MPH #2 Reviews. 2014-06-18. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: MPH #3 Reviews. 2014-09-10. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: MPH #4 Reviews. 2014-11-12. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: MPH #5 Reviews. 2015-02-18. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: MPH (2014–2015) Reviews. 2015-04-22. ComicBookRoundup.com. en-US.
- Web site: April 25, 2014. Mark Millar, Duncan Fegredo's MPH optioned by Transformers producer. April 25, 2014. Digital Spy. Armitage. Hugh. en-US.
- Web site: April 25, 2014. Mark Millar's MPH Optioned For A Movie. April 25, 2014. ComicBook.com. Lovett. Jamie. en-US.
- Web site: April 25, 2014. Mark Millar Comic MPH, Optioned by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Exclusive). April 25, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. Kit. Borys. en-US.