HEX AMERICANA

When the stakes are high, can an unlikely underdog team win the big race?

After falling into an underground cavern, sweet high schooler Ken Takamoto’s entire life changes: He meets the ghost of legendary Dante Willow, known as Speed Demon. Twenty years ago, Dante famously died during the Hex Americana car race against his rival—and then-boyfriend—Mason Higgs. Ken, a racing enthusiast, now finds himself entangled with Dante, who wants to find closure so he may pass over. Hex Americana founder Nate Orson, who trained Mason, challenges Ken to race for the Grand Prix, ultimately pitting him against Seth, Orson’s own son, who is now trained by Mason. Will Ken be able to win the race and also help the ghost he loves? Wolf’s full-color stand-alone graphic novel is wonderfully clever and weird, blending auto racing, fantasy tropes, and swoony romance. Readers are treated to everything from gnomes, a mechanically talented cyclops, a ghost prospector, and even Baba Yaga (who, of course, has a chicken-legged car). The worldbuilding is immersive and imaginative and offers recognizable parallels to our world as Ken navigates homophobia and toxic masculinity. In this delightfully nuanced and intricate tale of relationships, Wolf explores not only romantic love, but the challenges in parent-child relationships and friendships. Ken is gay, has light-brown skin and black hair, and refers to himself as “Yokai-American”; other humanoid characters are diverse in appearance.

A sweet and quirky romance sure to set hearts racing.