A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: “RaceWarrior,” a comic book, created by John A. Powell III

When: Every week for 38 weeks, starting this week

Where: $2.99 at WalMart and Target stores, 99 cents if purchased with a 7-Up

Want to know what NASCAR will be like two decades into the future?

Powell and his team of writers and artists do their best to portray America’s favorite racing sport futuristically, much the way “Star Wars” showcases interplanetary travel, complete with the sounds of “Skrash! Skrrom! Whap!”

Competing on SuperLooper battletracks, RaceWarrior teams use cyber gear to battle for the International Racing Federation crown. To keep the scenes true to life, complete with Skrashes, Powell enlisted former Winston Cup champion Benny Parsons as an advisor.

If you think Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin & Co. are colorful, wait until you get a load of Zak Hammer, Ty Rod, Augusta Wind and Speedy Pittman. And to give it complete realism, the comic book has a sponsor, Valvoline. As Powell says, “The addition of sponsors to the comic book adds authenticity. What’s a race car or a driver’s suit without sponsorship decals?”

What, indeed. And what’s a stock car fan without his own comic book?

Gloryosky, what’s next?