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: 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.

Review: The Comic Book Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling

Howdy friends, A brand new Kickstarter campaign is underway for a comic book that I'm very anxious to get a hold of, The Comic Book Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling! I'm pretty excited about this book, so I've decided to do a series of posts, following the path of the Kickstarter and ending with an extensive review of the book, once it's fully funded and delivered into my hot little hands.

The book, from the Squared Circle Comics imprint of Inverse Press is a collection of entries using information they gathered from interviews that writer and pro wrestling historian John Crowther did with the actual wrestlers, all of whom were featured in different comics from Squared Circle.  So far the information they've released as a part of the campaign looks great and I love what I see.  This should be a fun book for fans, especially fans of old school pro wrestling.

I first discovered Squared Circle when I came across their Nikolai Volkoff issues one and two, those comics inspired the idea for the "Rasslin' with Comics" reviews. You can check those out here

Stretch goals for the book include up to 20 more pages of entries, with the possibility of entries on Hulk Hogan, Miss Elizabeth and more.  If you're unfamiliar, Stretch goals are incentives and additions to the book for going above and beyond the needed funds for publishing a book. 

Here is some official text from the Kickstarter page.  You should definitely head there to see sample pages, art work and incentives for the project.  Click the link to see the page.

Pro Wrestling Encyclopedia on Kickstarter

The Comic Book Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling is a soft-cover, perfect-bound, full-color book in standard comic book dimensions (6.625" x 10.25"). While the base version is 280 pages, there are opportunities to expand the page count up to 300 with Stretch Goals and certain rewards.

 Volume 1 of The Comic Book Encyclopedia of Pro Wrestling includes full-length comic stories (20-32 pages each) from:

Bruno Sammartino

Nikolai Volkoff

The Genius Lanny Poffo

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

B. Brian Blair of The Killer Bees

Jumpin' Jim Brunzell of The Killer Bees

Ricky Morton of The Rock 'n' Roll Express

Bobby Fulton of The Fantastics

Sunny the California Girl from G.L.O.W.

Jake Hager (a.k.a. Jack Swagger)