''Car Warriors'' is a four-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series published in 1991 by American imprint

Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...

. It was followed by a three-volume series of novels set in the same world but featuring different characters. The series was conceived by Steve Jackson and Sharleen Lambard of

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

based on the board game ''

Car Wars ''Car Wars'' is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. It was first published in 1980 in games, 1980. Players control armed vehicles in a post-apocalyptic future. Game play In ''Car Wars'', players assume control of o ...

''.

Setting

2038 America after a series of natural and man-made disasters have changed the country. The ''Grain Blight'' destroyed crops causing widespread famine, and wars over dwindling resources culminated in a limited nuclear exchange. During the dark years, life in America was similar to the post-apocalyptic world of ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...

'' and the roads were ruled by heavily armed biker-gangs. In response, average citizens had to arm their cars in self-defense, and by the time the country began to recover autoduelling had become the nation's most popular sport (both on the open road and in specially built arenas). The main character, Chevy Vasquez, lost his parents and sister to a biker gang attack during those dark years, and is now a successful arena autoduellist. He is approached by a wealthy individual who wants to back Vasquez in ''The Delorean Run!''.

Car Wars

It was intended that each issue of the series have a page giving

game statistics for new items from the story, but issue three had none, and issue four had two pages. Issue 1 * Vasquez's $118,825 SUV from The Delorean Run Issue 2 * ''Roof Gun'', a

pintle A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge. Other applications include pintle and lunette ring for towing, and pintle pins securing casters in furniture. Use Pintle/gudgeon sets have ma ...

, used by a family competing against Vasquez. ** ''Swing-Out Roof Mounting'' and ''Suitcase Roof Armor'' * ''Satan's Tears'' – a street drug with stats for Car Wars and

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems w ...

. Issue 4 * ''Soya-Blimp'' – a custom

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

** ''Custom Envelope'', ''Exterior Viewscreen'' and ''Broadcast Facility'' * ''Mecha-Shan: The Rolling Tiger'' – A $125,980 custom car/driver competing against Vasquez. This character also uses equipment from the '' Autoduel Quarterly'' article "Cybernetics in Car Wars".

Novels

This three-volume "Car Warriors" series of novels was published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

later in the 1990s. While set in the same world as the comic book, they take place later, and feature different characters: # ''The Square Deal'' (1992) by

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Phi ...

( & ) # ''Double Jeopardy'' (1994) by

Aaron Allston Aaron Dale Allston (December 8, 1960 – February 27, 2014) was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably ''Star Wars'' novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, severa ...

() # ''Back from Hell'' (1999) by

Mick Farren Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground. Early life Farren was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and aft ...

( & )

References

* {{Reflist Car Wars Comics based on games