First Look at New 'Mad Max: Fury Road' Prequel Comic (Exclusive)

When it came to plotting the action for Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller recruited some top comic-book illustrators to storyboard the epic battle scenes. But he didn’t stop there. The filmmaker, teaming with co-screenwriter Nico Lathouris and Fury Road storyboard artist Mark Sexton, have written a series for DC Comics that serves as prologue to the high-octane summer blockbuster.

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Following issues focusing on Furiosa and Nux the War Boy and his boss, Immortan Joe, DC’s Vertigo imprint is about to release Mad Max: Fury Road — Max Part 1 (in stores and digital services Wednesday), and we have the exclusive sneak peek.

The book begins with several intense panels depicting Max Rockatansky’s greatest hits, a comic version of key scenes from Miller’s original 1979 Mad Max (the yellow Interceptor, the Pursuit Special… and the murder of his wife and child), 1981’s The Road Warrior (Lord Humungus, the autogyro), and 1984’s Beyond Thunderdome (shout-out to Tina Turner!).

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From there, Max continues on the path that leads him to the ill-fated Wasteland encounter that kickstarts the events of Fury Road (the concluding installment will be released next month).

Here’s how DC describes the action in Part 1:

Max. The warrior Max. Haunted by his past and fated to wander the brutal Wasteland in search of his better self. To do so, Max Rockatansky enters Gastown, the only source of guzzoline for thousands of miles. Here he finds the final piece that he needs to rebuild his Interceptor — the powerful Boss 351 engine. But in order to acquire the fabled V8 in a world where car parts are worth more than a man’s life, Max must survive a gladiatorial battle in a place called… Thunderdome Plus!

Thunderdome Plus, eh? Count us in.

‘Mad Max: Fury Road — Max’ Part 1 variant cover by Jim Lee (DC Entertainment/Vertigo)

‘Mad Max: Fury Road — Max’ Part 1 ‘blank’ variant cover (DC Entertainment/Vertigo)