That's all folks...

Today I posted the last entry for this blog.  I guess the world doesn't find the connection between Pro Wrestling and Comic Books as interesting as I do.  The readership or lack thereof just doesn't warrant all the work I've put in.  

Thanks to the few, incredibly few people who checked out the blog.  

-Mav

Review: The Genius Lanny Poffo

Howdy friends, this week I'm excited to leap into "The Genius Lanny Poffo #1" from Squared Circle Comics imprint from Inverse Press. Lanny poffo was a fixture of 80's wrestling and in my opinion one of the most underrated and under appreciated stars of the era, so I was happy to see him getting some love in the form of a comic one shot. 

The comic itself tells Lanny's story from his beginnings being trained by his father, the legendary Angelo Poffo and follows his career to his Saturday Night's Main Event matchup with The Immortal Hulk Hogan. The book does of course feature Lanny's brother, "Macho Man Randy Savage" but does a good job of keeping the spotlight on Lanny as it is his story.  

The story is written by John E. Crowther who has written many of the Squared Circle biography comics, and does a fantastic job with his research and storytelling, he really captures each wrestlers unique voice and personality. 

The comic features two artists, Randolph Dixon, Alan McMillian and while that sometimes can be jarring, I found their styles complemented each others and wasn't that noticeable.  Amanda Rachels provides some interior inks and Andrew Pate adds the color.

I received my copy as a Kickstarter reward for backing Squared Circles "The Comic Book Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling" It's a magazine sized issue with a signature from The Genius himself, which is a cool bonus. 

   While the title was originally published in 2018 you can still get yourself a copy by heading to the Inverse Comics site

*all images rights belong to the respective owners.

Review: Nikolai Volkoff!

Today we are taking a look at issues 1 and 2 of the Nikolai Volkoff authorized biography from Antarctic Presses Turnbuckle Titans imprint.  Since Nikolai is one of my favorite villains from the "Rock and Wrestling" era, I had to pick them up.

Issue one covers Nikolai's early life, focusing on his time as a three time Yugoslavian Jr. National champion weightlifter and his plan to defect from Yugoslavia to Canada.  Much of which I hadn't heard before so I found it fascinating.

Issue two recaps his early wrestling career, training at the dungeon with Stu Hart, his time as a part of the tag team the Mongols and the creation of his Nikolai Volkoff persona.

The art and story are good, you can tell who pretty much everyone is supposed to be, which is tricky in books about real life people.    Nikolai Volkoff has had an amazing life, and Antarctic Press choosing him for this biography is pretty brilliant, I learned a lot and gained a new respect for a champion I already admired. 

I'm anxious to see if I can find issue three, which will obviously cover Volkoff in the 80's, when I first came to know him.  I imagine there will be a lot of fun appearances of 80's wrestling icons in that comic for sure.

Nikolai Volkoff Issues 1 & 2
$3.99 Antarctic Press
Story: John Crowther  Art: Dell Barras 

Review: Tinieblas Jr. #1

Giant tongued monster babies, lion headed gatekeepers, and martial arts practicing Yeti's? If I have your attention, then The Lucha Verse is right up your alley.

Masked Republic's Luchaverse from Chido Comics is a series of one shots featuring some of the biggest stars in Lucha Libre.  Tinieblas Jr. is the second of the Luchaverse one shots I've covered and both have been an absolute blast to read.  Check out my previous review of Rey Mysterio number one here.

Tinieblas Jr. is the son of legendary Luchadore Tinieblas (obviously).  Tinieblas Sr. was a huge star in the 70's who was featured in his own comic book series and films like the lucha star studded '"Los Campeones Justicieros"' so it's very fitting that Junior receive his own comic book.  

Tinieblas Jr., in the comic, not only inherited the mask, but the position of Monster Hunter.   The tale sees him on a quest to discover a map that will aid Rey Mysterio in his quest for the mask of the first Mysterio.  Another legend, Konnan has a brief cameo in the story.  Konnan has his own issue in the Luchaverse. And of course Tinieblas' Mascota Alushe makes an appearance as well.

During the quest, which starts in Las Vegas and takes him from ancient  to Nepal  Tinieblas Jr. have confrontations with giant tongued demon babies, and run ins with both a lion headed gatekeeper with ties to Tinieblas Sr., and a horned man trained in Lucha Libre. The last panel sets up some craziness with martial arts trained Yeti.  I will forever love this series because it lets me type the words "martial arts trained Yeti"

He's swinging the monster by it's tongue!!!

The art and pace are great in this series, the scenes drawn by artist Diego Simone are too much fun, and the monster designs are very cool.  I personally want a print of Tinieblas Jr. swinging the baby monster by it's tongue.

I cannot recommend this series enough, especially if you like Lucha Libre, monster comics, or are a fun of fun old sci-fi movie craziness.

You can purchase the comics at the Chido Comics website.  

Tinieblas Jr. #1 $3.99

Chido Comics/Masked Republic
Story and Script: Mario Lopez & Ivan Plaza
Art and cover: Diego Simone

Review: Uncle Sam Vs. Cthulhu #1

It's the match of the century, in one corner you have Uncle Sam, the defender of liberty and in the other...The mighty Cthulhu and the fate of our world hangs in the balance... and yes, it's a wrestling comic, but it's also so much more!

This book was a kickstarter campaign by writer Scott Harris-King and artist Jay Piscopo.  I've been a fan of Jay's for many years and his artwork of yours truly is part of the banner on this very site.  It's one of the favorite pieces I have.  

When the kickstarter was launched what caught my eye was the promotional pieces featuring the titular characters in old school wrestling posters, so I was automatically curious.  I backed the campaign and thankfully it was fully funded so I received my copy as well as some amazing bonuses including a copy of the wrestling poster, which was also a potential variant cover.

                        

As for the story, this book drops you literally into the middle of the action, and doesn't slow down, introducing you to it's unique cast of characters, including the titular characters, Army Private dealing with a crisis of confidence, and Golden Age detective Granny Gumshoe as they attempt to stop Nazi cultists from summoning Cthulhu. I don't like to give too much away in these reviews, so you'll have do yourself a favor and pick up a copy yourself. 

If comic books with Giant Monsters, evil nazi cultists, talking dogs, and a main event that takes place simultaneously at Madison Square Garden and a strange alien world, sounds like something you'd love, then this is the book for you, and also, we should be friends.  The book has a classic feel to it, and I really enjoyed it.

I recently received an update letting us know that there will be a rematch.  expect more about issue #2 soon.  In the meantime, if you want to check out the book for yourself you can head over to https://crimebustercomics.com/shop/ and get yourself one. 

-Mav

(*All images belong to the creators, the photos are from my personal collection.)

Now Available! my all-new comic book sketch journal!

Howdy friends!

I'm thrilled to announce the first of a new line of comic book related books, and you can buy it now on Amazon!

This cool comic sketch journal features a bunch of blank comic book pages so you can create your own comic strips and stories and characters, and as a bonus you get 20 lined note pages so you can write ideas, story ideas and more.  All in a convenient 6" x 9" size so it fits easily into backpacks, schoolbags and purses.  Check it out now!

 Buy on Amazon!  

Review: Rey Mysterio #1 from Masked Republic's Luchaverse

He's the most famous masked wrestler of the modern era, and one of the most famous Luchadores of all time, he's Rey Mysterio and it's very appropriate that he now has his own comic book!

Rey Mysterio #1 is a part of Masked Republic's series of "Luchaverse" comics.  The line is a shared universe featuring many legendary Luchadores including Konnan, the Lucha Brothers and of course Rey.  I picked up the first four comics in the series, at the time of purchase the Konan comic hadn't released yet.  I will be picking that book up soon so I can review the whole series. Currently you can purchase all five titles as well as a collected issues of the original one shots.

The comic establishes Rey as the most recent of a long line of legendary Mysterios who are champions of the people, trained to battle a great evil that is destined to return.  To prepare for this, Rey and a group known as "The Ambassadors" are on a quest to find the mask of the first Mysterio, a mythical object that is needed to battle the returning evil.  Along the way we get a glimpse at Mysterio's training, battles with undead killer cat people, and quite possibly the coolest priest of all time, who happens to be  well versed in submission wrestling. 

I loved the world set up in this book, there is a craziness that hearkens back to the classic Lucha movies featuring the likes of Santo and Blue Demon.  I'd LOVE to see the Luchaverse turned into a movie.  And let's face it, if WWE films had any sense, Rey Mysterio should've already had a series of Lucha movies. I can't be the only one who wants to see Rey give a 619 to some Alien Vampires on Mars.

This comic book came out before Rey returned to the WWE in 2018, so I hope that doesn't ruin plans for future stories in the line. The listing for the collected edition refers to these one shots as "Luchaverse Prelude Arc" so there is hope for more.

Being part of a shared universe, there are references to the other heroes in the line, as well as the undertones of a bigger story we have yet to uncover.  All of this adds to the fun of the book.  I'm looking forward to the others in the series.

If you like Rey Mysterio, Lucha Libre or Lucha movies, pick up this book, it's worth the read for sure.

You can purchase the comics at the Masked Republic Luchaverse  website.  

Rey Mysterio #1 $3.99

Chido Comics/Masked Republic
Story and Script: Mario Lopez & Ivan Plaza
Art: Ben Harvey

NEW Wrestling Comic Kickstarter! History of Pro Wrestling: Volumes 1-4 Slipcase

Squared Circle Comics has launched a new Kickstarter campaign collecting many of their Pro Wrestling Comics! I'm a backer on this project and I have backed several of their previous comics, including the Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling, reviewed here

Click the link below to find out more!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squaredcircle/illustrated-history-of-pro-wrestling?


There are also some add on incentives including a limited bookplate for day one backers and original artwork.  Stay tuned for more!

-Mav

*All images copyright and trademark their original owners

Review: Jim Cornette's Behind The Curtain

Howdy friends,

I'll admit, I could listen to Jim Cornette tell old wrestling stories all day, and sometimes lately I do just that, but they say reading is fundamental so having a chance to have Cornette tell these stories in another medium is a fun change of pace.  And love him or hate him, you have to admit, no one probably knows more about the history of the wrestling business than James E, he's also a comic book fan and collector so I imagine this project was a true labor of love for him.

Behind the Curtain is a fascinating graphic novel that well, peels back the curtain on several of professional wrestling's most legendary stories.  Some of these tales have been told many times, "The Montreal Screwjob" and the Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler feud may not be new to longtime wrestling fans, but seeing them in comic book form is still fun.  In some cases, like the story of the plane crash that broke Ric Flair's back, Corney & Co. includes details you've probably never heard before and makes the story so much more interesting.

This graphic novel started out as a Kickstarter campaign, and it was funded in 24 hours, since then the book has sold out of it's hardcover and first prints! Hopefully that means there is consideration for a second book.

The creative team of writer Brandon Easton and artist Denis Medri did a great job of creating the larger than life world of Pro Wrestling, making the characters stand out in their own unique way.  The duo were also the creative team on the officially licensed "Andre The Giant: Closer to heaven" graphic novel (review on that coming soon).

Seasoned throughout the book are newspaper clippings, no doubt from Cornette's unbelievable personal collection, adding validity to each story. Also included are some fun touches like "Dream  Supercards", illustrated pinups and a glossary of pro wrestling terms that make this a fun treat for any fan of the history of pro wrestling.

Jim Cornette Presents: Behind The Curtain
IDW Publishing
Stories by Jim Cornette
Written by Brandon Easton
Illustrated by Denis Medri
80 pages $14.99 cover price

Comic is currently available on Comixology and on Amazon.