The spinoff, in which a secondary character from one popular series becomes the protagonist of another, is a venerable tradition in literature, TV, and film. Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander books, for instance, have spawned severalhistorical mysterynovels and novellas that focus on popular side character Lord John Grey. The CBS legal drama JAG has yielded the wildly successful police procedural NCIS and several follow-ups, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a tapestry of superhero movie spinoffs. Graphic literature has gotten into the game as well; here are three recent TV-related spinoffs, all recommended by Kirkus Indie.

The animated TV series Speed Racer was the Americanized version of a 1967 anime show called Mach GoGoGo, and its 52 episodes related the adventures of a daring race car driver named Speed and his family and friends. Racer X: Volume 1, written by Mark Russell and illustrated by Nuno Plati, collects several issues of a comic book about Speed’s mysterious older brother, Racer X, who occasionally appeared on the show to protect his sibling from imminent danger. This brightly illustrated tale spins out Racer X’s origin story as a getaway driver for the villainous Tiger Syndicate and his later quest for redemption, delivering lots of wild automotive action along the way. “Fast, fun, and feisty, this adventure is sure to please,” writes our reviewer.

Gatchaman: Galactor, by writer Steve Orlando and artists Kath Lobo and Pasquale Qualano, is also based on a character from a popular Japanese cartoon—in this case, the 1972 SF show Gatchaman, which was dubbed in English and re-edited as Battle of the Planets for American audiences. The stars of the show are normally the colorful and upbeat Science Ninja Team (aka G-Force), but this volume focuses on their nemesis: Berg Katse (known as Zoltar in the U.S.), the leader of the nefarious Galactor organization, whose sights are set on conquering Earth. First, though, Katse must ferret out an assassin in his ranks after surviving an attempt on his life; his investigation quickly uncovers a connection to his own dark past. According to Kirkus’ reviewer, the tale “effectively fleshes out an established character with an absorbing, artfully executed backstory.”

Defenders of the Earth was a syndicated 1986 American cartoon series that threw together the heroes of multiple 1930s comic strips—a spinoff mashup that pitted space adventurer Flash Gordon, masked superhero the Phantom, powerful illusionist Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake’s nigh-invulnerable companion Lothar against Ming the Merciless and other foes; the characters’ teenage kids, including Flash’s son, Rick, also appeared. In the graphic novel Defenders of the Earth: Vol. 1, written by Dan DiDio and illustrated by Jim Calafiore, the team has already defeated Ming after a devastating war, and rebuilding has proceeded at a breakneck pace, thanks to tech provided by Ming’s son, Kro-Tan. The heroes have drifted apart in the absence of an immediate threat, but it won’t be long before they’re defending the planet once again. Our reviewer calls the novel “colorful and engrossing” as it “establishes character relationships to explore in future issues, including Rick’s resentment of his negligent father and the Phantom’s barely masked contempt for Kro-Tan.”

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.