On June 17th 1994, the Rockets battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America hosts the World Cup, and OJ Simpson leads the LAPD on a slow speed chase. These events combine to create the perfect storm for Houston pizza delivery. That one day in a city of over 3 million people, everyone stays home, watches the TV, and orders pizza. Accurately compared to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Clerks, and Do the Right Thing, Buffalo Speedway chronicles the unusual tribulations of the delivery drivers from Turbo Pizza, Houston’s last independent pizza place. The talented Mercado’s humorous observations and insights are only marred by the fact that this volume ends mid-story.

Mercado continues his humorous chronicle into one day of the Turbo Pizza delivery drivers. On June 17th, 1994, the Rockets battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America hosts the World Cup, and O.J. Simpson leads the LAPD on a slow speed chase, combining to spawn a near perfect storm of pizza delivery as all 3 million people in Houston stay home to watch the events unfold on TV. Following the bizarre happenings of the initial volume, things get even stranger as sex, violence, explosions, and jail enter into the mix. Amidst all the chaos, oddity, and laughs, Mercado delivers a surprisingly realistic portrait of the relationships between the drivers. (I know. In the 80s, I spent a Houston summer as a pizza delivery driver. My experience sans the sex, violence, explosions, and jail mirrors Mercado’s account.) The excellent cartoony art combined with effective storytelling and a comprehensive understanding of 90s pop culture further propel the enjoyable Buffalo Speedway. While accurately compared to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Clerks, and Do the Right Thing, Mercado’s unique creation bears only a superficial resemblance to the latter grouping, offering a superior product in terms of quality and content. As with Volume 1, the tale ends midstream with a cliffhanger, but Volume 3 promises an epic conclusion.