Lewis, John (1998). Walking with the wind: a memoir of the movement. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p.192. ISBN 9781476797717.

Last fall, while I was working as a book designer for the Aperture Foundation, the photography nonprofit, a first-edition copy of of Danny Lyon’s The Bikeriders from 1968 was placed on my desk in a plastic folder.Benny (a captivating Austin Butler) is the young rogue of the gang, a favourite of leader Tommy (Tom Hardy) despite his brash ‘punch first, ask questions later’ approach. What begins as a group of outsiders finding community in motorcycles and low-level crime mutates into something beyond their control, arriving at something of an empire that is seemingly above the law. Director Jeff Nichols posits that gangs such as these essentially created a new Wild West; feared by the police, feuds settled in traditional duels and horses traded for uniquely ‘chopped’ (self-built/modified) motorcycles. This unconventional monograph of the work of photographer, writer, and filmmaker Lyon is a revealing hybrid memoir in text and images... Reproductions of his striking photographs are interspersed with collages of documents and images, as well as evocative writing about the personal, political, and professional moments that defines his career."— Publishers Weekly On a Lucero fan note, I'm noticing on this read through that Benny isn't even a central character in the text, but he's the most Lucero fan character, a born loser with a sort of charisma that makes him hard not to like. Dude was always getting into accidents, apparently.

Chapman, Wilson (August 4, 2022). "Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy to Star in Jeff Nichols Film 'The Bikeriders' ". Variety . Retrieved September 7, 2023. There’s also small-but-potent turns from the Boyd Holbrook, The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Nichols regular Michael Shannon as Vandals bikers. But it’s Austin Butler that remains the standout. Proving that his Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic was not a flash in the pan, he oozes charisma in a smouldering turn. So much so that when he disappears out of the story following a brutal fight in which he’s badly wounded, the film struggles for a while to regain its momentum. While it could be accused of romanticizing some pretty damaged characters (the real-life Benny abused his wife), “The Bikeriders” doesn’t pretend that motorcycle gangs can’t be dangerous. Still, it goes a long way to humanize figures who’ve been long misrepresented on film, while giving audiences privileged access to this inner world. Kathy, like Karen in “Goodfellas” or Kay in “The Godfather,” has entered into a marriage where it’s understood that she comes second to her husband’s true loves, which in this case are his bike and his buddies. While not quite homoerotic, the bond between Benny and Johnny is stronger than family. Nichols creates a wide tapestry with The Bikeriders, drawing upon midwestern nostalgia and crafting characters from photographs and song lyrics, but this is both its strength and its downfall as the emotional heart of the story gets lost amongst all its formal choices.More than just another monograph or retrospective photo book... A remarkably raw and compelling journey."— Faded and Blurred The Bikeriders, The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, Conversations With The Dead, I Like To Eat Right On The Dirt, Like A Thief's Dream, The Seventh Dog, Deep Sea Diver, Indian Nations Unlike the heroes of Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider – a film which is to provide employment for one of the group – the bikeriders have no end or quest in view. They just drift around, assemble for “picnics” in green spaces they churn into mud during races and get into fights with other gangs with whom they later cordially have beers. A lot of their time is spent almost catatonically hanging out at a bar in which there is a big discussion about the costs involved in installing a phone behind the bar which their membership subs would entitle them to use on club business. The Bikeriders is set in a world in which the increasingly careworn gang leader competes for the affection of his toughest follower with this man’s girlfriend, while at the same time grooming him as his heir. Yet this is a group where the biker king – whatever his plans for a dauphin – can be challenged for the crown by any subordinate according to the rules of his own violence-democracy, the incumbent gruffly asking: fists or knives? Also a filmmaker and writer, Lyon's films and videos include Los Niños Abandonados, Born to Film, Willie, and Murderers. He has published the non-fiction book Like A Thief's Dream.