For as long as I can remember, I've been reading comic books. My introduction came in the form of my dad's old Jack Kirby Fantastic Four books and I've been hooked ever since. Every Wednesday (new comic book day) I head down to the local store and find myself a new trade paperback or graphic novel to read for the week (single issues were never my thing).
Recently, it dawned on me that I've never read one of Boom! Studios' WWE stories. How could it be that I never thought to combine two of my favourite forms of entertainment? I needed to fix this immediately!
The timing of this all worked out rather perfectly because today was the release of WWE WrestleMania 2018 Special #1, an oversized one-shot issue designed to showcase "the biggest event in the world of sports entertainment."
In the coming weeks, I'll continue to provide recaps and reviews of the latest WWE comic books and let you know if they're worth your time and money.
Immediately, the $10 (Canadian) price point was offputting for a single issue, but I figured the content would make up for the higher-than-normal cost. I purchased the Will Robson Hardy Boyz Unlocked edition (it was the only one available) which features Matt, Jeff and The New Day on the ramp at WrestleMania 33. If you have the option, however, the Marco D'Alfonso NWO Incentive variant looks to be the sharpest of the lot.
At first glance, the cover raised several red flags. Matt Hardy's right arm looks...wrong. His elbow appears to be missing and his bicep attaches to his chest. Understanding anatomy is key and this came off as lazy. I also found the colouring to be lacklustre. It's flat and doesn't capture the liveliness of the stage. I was always taught not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I would have been justified in doing so.
The issue consists of four mini-stories, each highlighting a different WrestleMania moment.
You Can Hate Me Now, written by Julian May is a very quick and emotionally detached retelling of The Miz and John Cena's WrestleMania XXVII match. Miz is portrayed as reality-TV scum while Cena is the (judging by all the signs in the crowd) overwhelming fan favourite. The superstars fight for two pages before The Rock enters, off-panel, and lays out Cena. Up until this point, there was no mention made of his involvement which made the reveal rather jarring. This will also be confusing for new fans of the product who never watched that specific event. The story ends unceremoniously with Miz proclaiming that he is "Awesome" while he lays clutching the championship belt.
I found it hard to care about a match that had no backstory and wrapped up as quickly as it did. Michel Mulipola's illustrations were equally disappointing. The faces lack depth and texture, and you don't get a great sense of the action. There is an attempt to build The Miz as a character backstage by showing (through TV monitors) how little he is respected, but it doesn't amount to anything. Perhaps if there was more time to explain his burden it would have heightened the intensity of the fight and increased the effectiveness of the ending. Doug Garbark colours and Jim Campbell's lettering are solid but ultimately wasted on ten pages of nothingness.
Ryan Ferrier's When a Macho Man Loves a Woman comes next and is the highlight of the book. Kendall Goode's artwork is quintessentially 80's and captures the joyousness of that era. The heavy purple and orange tones are perfectly Macho Man and gave me strong nostalgic feelings while I was reading.
My issue here is with the writing. Chunks of the story feel like they are missing. Macho Man loses to The Ultimate Warrior in a career-versus-career match and then within one page is visiting "Happy World Land" for no reason other than that he loves Miss Elizabeth. Okay, fine. Now, a jealous Sherri is on the warpath as she seeks revenge against the happy couple. Sure, why not. Her plan? MURDER! Attempted, at any rate. This is problematic for a number of reasons, but most importantly because every time it looks like Macho Man and Elizabeth are in peril we never see the escape. For example, in one panel, Elizabeth is about to fall to her death from the top of a rollercoaster and then it abruptly cuts to her and Macho Man sitting in a restaurant drinking champagne. Ferrier introduced and abandons plot points at will and it makes for a very frustrating experience.
Iron Sharpens Iron by Lan Pitts is next and recounts the legendary Macho Man Randy Savage/Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat match at WrestleMania III. The art by Jake Elphick lacks detail, but again, there is virtually no story for him to enhance. It's a wrestling match without context. Why should anyone care? Just because it's important to the history of the company doesn't mean anything to an undiscerning reader. The most puzzling choice of all was ending a one-shot comic book with a "but that's a story for another time" cliffhanger.
The final entry is the worst of all. The Authority Wears Prada by Tini Howard is 10-pages of Stephanie McMahon berating and intimidating WWE crew members as she decides what to wear at WrestleMania 32. It made me think of her persona on RAW and I could feel myself tensing up. She has a moment of kindness at the end but not before exclaiming "...Never let them call you a villain unless you've got the outfit to prove them right!" Rodrigo Lorenzo's art is uninspired as everyone looks like they were taken straight out of a late 90's video game.
To say I didn't like this WrestleMania Special would be an understatement. The panel layouts, lettering, inking and colouring are good, but the stories and artwork leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps things would have been better if they focused on one story instead of four. As it stands, none were enjoyable. When a Macho Man Loves a Woman came close but there are too many plot holes to look past. I feel bad for being so negative because it's obvious that this is intended for a much younger reader (despite the random Ric Flair cameo where he insinuates that he's going to have sex all night in an amusement park). The comic book medium allows for unlimited storytelling potential and I hope to see it put to better use next time around.
Rating: Don't Buy It (1/5)