The last time I had read a WWE themed comic book, the 21th century had not begun and wrestling was at its all-time peak. The attitude era was in full swing and WWE - then still called WWF - partnered with Chaos comics to publish an awful Undertaker series and a couple of mostly forgettable one-shots, peppered with scantily clad ladies and lame late 90's aesthetics. Not surprising considering the type of comics Chaos was known for back then...
More than fifteen years later, the WWE is finally back in comic book land thanks to a deal with established publisher Boom Studios. Known for it's numerous licensed series (Adventure Time, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Regular Show to name a few), Boom is laying the groundwork for its upcoming ongoing series with this extra-sized one-shot. Considering the quality of this book, wrestling fans should be eagerly waiting for the regular series in January.
The main feature turns back the clock a couple years and centers around The Shield and the growing tensions between some the members of the group. The decision to expand upon past events is probably the smartest move the creative team could make. Considering the fast-changing storylines of WWE's TV programming, it would've been near impossible for a monthly comic book series to keep up and stay current. By exploring past storylines, Dennis Hopeless avoids all those headaches while staying "in continuity" and giving the reader the feeling that events of this comic are actually significant. I don't know if it was his call of the editor's, but it's a smart and effective choice.
One thing for which the writer definitely deserves all the praise is the spot-on dialogue. Seth's quick laugh and arrogant smile, mere seconds before using that steel chair, were simply perfect and in general everyone has a distinctive voice in sync with the characters we see on TV every week. Same thing goes for the art. Adaptations of real life characters can be a hard thing to pull, some artists relying too heavily on photo reference. In this case, Dan Mora does a remarkable job at showcasing his own modern, kinetic style while making each wrestler instantly recognizable. To be honest, I went into this book expecting either a very in-house, generic art style or photo-realistic and static panels. Luckily I got neither of those, with Dan Mora offering work that would perfectly fit any best selling big two title. VERY impressive.
Still, there were a few awkward moments, but I guess it's part of the charm of pro wrestling. Seeing Seth Rollins walk into a yacht club party wearing his special-ops looking ring gear felt a bit corny, event though one could argue it's not worse than the grown men roaming the streets in spandex costume we comics fan are long accustomed to. Thankfully most of the action takes place either backstage or in the ring so those instances were few and far between
The rest of the issue is comprised of short back-up stories and one-page vignettes on past and present superstars. What could have easily been filler is everything but, the Sasha Banks four-pager retrospective being especially interesting. Honorable mention to the Rob Guillory drawn New Day story which fully encapsulate the aura of those crazy, time-traveling, unicorn-loving, Booty-Os eating positive thinkers. Fingers crossed well be seeing some more of those back-ups pop up once the ongoing series gets going.
If you consider yourself a wrestling fan, this is a must buy. The creative team is clearly familiar with their subject matter, their knowledge and love of this thing called « sports-entertainment » shining through from cover to cover. I'm sure you'll be impressed by the quality of the work of everyone involved and you'll be grateful that we'll have the chance of getting one of these each and every month comes January.