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WWE: Then. Now. Forever. #1
WWE: Then. Now. Forever. Vol. 1
Going beyond what you get to see on TV and The WWE Network, WWE: Then. Now. Forever. takes fans through the greatest moments of Sports Entertainment history! Featuring an all-star roster of writers and artists including Dennis Hopeless, Box Brown, Tini Howard, Ed McGuinness, Rob Guillory, Dan Mora, Andy Belanger, Jorge Corona, and Daniel Bayliss, this collection celebrates the rich history of WWE throughout the years. From legendary WrestleMania matches to sizzling SummerSlam feuds, the biggest and best moments are highlighted, showcasing fan-favorite superstars like Dusty Rhodes, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Razor Ramon, Daniel Bryan, Sasha Banks, The New Day, and more! Collects the WWE WrestleMania 2017 Special, the WWE Summer Slam 2017 Special, and the backup shorts from WWE issues #1-8.
- GenresComics
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2018
4 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Hopeless
528 books118 followersDennis "Hopeless" Hallum is an American comics writer from Kansas City, Missouri who has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Arcana Studio, and Oni Press.
See also under Dennis Hallum
See also under Dennis Hallum
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 12, 2021
This was a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the stories were great, some good, a couple of OK to disappointment, though it evens out to a good comic. I will have to admit my biased many of the characters were from my era of watching the WWF/WWE, so nostalgia plays a big factor. The firest was to review these is probably story by story:
Then. Now. Forever. The title story and rightfully so. It show a young Sasha Banks being inspired by a WWE Legend (actually this guy was a legend wherever he wrestled), to her own entrance and evulation in the WWE and passing the legacy on. Short and too the point. I have never seen Sasha Banks wrestle so the rating is not nostalgia based. 5 Stars easy.
Tug Team. Tug Boat Vs the Earthquake a newspaper style short story that shows being a jerk comes back to haunt you. 3.5 Stars.
WWE SDCC 2016 One-page comic feature Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, The New Day, Sasha Banks, The Undertaker, and Dusty Rhodes. Short and to the point show the point managing to show the characters evulation, finishers, and historic moments all in one page each. Anyone who thingks this is less then 5 stars is not and never was a wrestling fan. 5 Stars
Ladder Match. I remember this being the first Ladder Match I ever saw. The participants Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. As much as I love that match this is poor mans parody of the match. The dialogue is rubbish with the exception of one signature move in the match. I might have given this 3 stars but they managed to ruin a damn good match. An angry 2 Stars
The Long Con Triple H takes center stage going back to the time of his injury (what would have been to anyone else a career ending injury) to his come back, and a big plan in the background. 5 Stars
Your Good, But… Daniel Bryan's story. (He will always be Bryan Danielson ROH Champion and MVP to me) very well condensed and managing the get most of the important point across. 5 Stars
Kevin Owens comic. The story of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn storyline. A solid 5 Stars
I wined and dined with kings and queens. Dusty Rhodes Vs Randy Savage (the Macho King). A bit slow, concentrating more on the fans. 3 Stars
In The Mandible madness. This was one of the biggest betrayals in WWF\WWE history. A well done condensed version of this pivotal Undertaker Vs Mankind match. Getting all the important moments. Easy 5 stars
The Natural Disasters Vs the Bushwhackers. In every meeting of these two teams the Bushwhackers got destroyed. This is a short food fight/backstage brawl between the two teams. Was ok nothing special 3 Stars
Give the demon his due. Seth Rollins on dealing with the pressure/terror of dealing with the demonic Finn Dalor. From the mental side of the game and easy 5 Stars
The New Day’s Optimistic Odyssey. A pink and fluffy time travel adventure again was ok but did nothing for me. 3 Stars
The Warrior’s Path. The man that ignited my passion for wrestling. The (storyline) origin of the Ultimate Warrior. I could not give this less then 5 Stars
The Brawler and the beast. An short that tries to be in the form of a folk tale, with little action and a bit of an easy resolution for me. 3 Stars
Welcome Home. The Wyatt family\cult living up to their characters. Did nothing for me 2 Stars
Ten John Cena telling a story about his drive and grit. 5 Stars
Damien’s Dinner A look through the eyes of Jake "the Snake" Roberts 5 Stars
The Gravest Mistake the promo for the Undertaker Vs Kamala. I remember seeing the original promo and this is pretty accurate, but I took one star away as it was not really a note to finish the story on, especially after having In The Mandible madness earlier in the book. 4 Stars
Then there is the cover gallery of the variant covers of the books featured in this. All in all a good solid effort and collection of stories yes nostalgia plays a part but that is what being a fan is all about.
Then. Now. Forever. The title story and rightfully so. It show a young Sasha Banks being inspired by a WWE Legend (actually this guy was a legend wherever he wrestled), to her own entrance and evulation in the WWE and passing the legacy on. Short and too the point. I have never seen Sasha Banks wrestle so the rating is not nostalgia based. 5 Stars easy.
Tug Team. Tug Boat Vs the Earthquake a newspaper style short story that shows being a jerk comes back to haunt you. 3.5 Stars.
WWE SDCC 2016 One-page comic feature Stone Cold, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena, The New Day, Sasha Banks, The Undertaker, and Dusty Rhodes. Short and to the point show the point managing to show the characters evulation, finishers, and historic moments all in one page each. Anyone who thingks this is less then 5 stars is not and never was a wrestling fan. 5 Stars
Ladder Match. I remember this being the first Ladder Match I ever saw. The participants Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. As much as I love that match this is poor mans parody of the match. The dialogue is rubbish with the exception of one signature move in the match. I might have given this 3 stars but they managed to ruin a damn good match. An angry 2 Stars
The Long Con Triple H takes center stage going back to the time of his injury (what would have been to anyone else a career ending injury) to his come back, and a big plan in the background. 5 Stars
Your Good, But… Daniel Bryan's story. (He will always be Bryan Danielson ROH Champion and MVP to me) very well condensed and managing the get most of the important point across. 5 Stars
Kevin Owens comic. The story of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn storyline. A solid 5 Stars
I wined and dined with kings and queens. Dusty Rhodes Vs Randy Savage (the Macho King). A bit slow, concentrating more on the fans. 3 Stars
In The Mandible madness. This was one of the biggest betrayals in WWF\WWE history. A well done condensed version of this pivotal Undertaker Vs Mankind match. Getting all the important moments. Easy 5 stars
The Natural Disasters Vs the Bushwhackers. In every meeting of these two teams the Bushwhackers got destroyed. This is a short food fight/backstage brawl between the two teams. Was ok nothing special 3 Stars
Give the demon his due. Seth Rollins on dealing with the pressure/terror of dealing with the demonic Finn Dalor. From the mental side of the game and easy 5 Stars
The New Day’s Optimistic Odyssey. A pink and fluffy time travel adventure again was ok but did nothing for me. 3 Stars
The Warrior’s Path. The man that ignited my passion for wrestling. The (storyline) origin of the Ultimate Warrior. I could not give this less then 5 Stars
The Brawler and the beast. An short that tries to be in the form of a folk tale, with little action and a bit of an easy resolution for me. 3 Stars
Welcome Home. The Wyatt family\cult living up to their characters. Did nothing for me 2 Stars
Ten John Cena telling a story about his drive and grit. 5 Stars
Damien’s Dinner A look through the eyes of Jake "the Snake" Roberts 5 Stars
The Gravest Mistake the promo for the Undertaker Vs Kamala. I remember seeing the original promo and this is pretty accurate, but I took one star away as it was not really a note to finish the story on, especially after having In The Mandible madness earlier in the book. 4 Stars
Then there is the cover gallery of the variant covers of the books featured in this. All in all a good solid effort and collection of stories yes nostalgia plays a part but that is what being a fan is all about.
February 5, 2024
WWE: Then. Now. Forever. Vol. 1: A Great Imaginative Look At The WWE Superstars
I really enjoyed this collection of Boom's WWE one shots. I enjoyed every story but two. The two stories that I didn't like were about Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and The New Day. The New Day story is just very childish and it does not feel like it belongs in this collection.
And the Razor Ramon story makes Razor look stupid and he wasn't. I'm a big fan of Razor's and he was a great wrestler when he had control of his demons. He could've been so much more but he was only allowed to go so far because of his addictions. During the time that he was around and his addictions were under control, he did put on some truly memorable matches which include his Ladder match against Shawn Michaels.
That Ladder match is the basis for the Razor Ramon story in this book and the writer of that story actually had Razor say "How do I climb down off this ladder"? C'mon, how would he not know how to climb back down the ladder? I smell Vince McMahon behind that Razor story. Because I'm pretty sure that Vince had to give his approval before any of these stories were published.
And I know Triple H wouldn't sign off on it. He was friends with Razor in real life and this story makes his friend look bad. That's why I believe Vince gave the okay on it since he probably still felt resentment towards Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and Kevin Nash (Diesel) for walking out on him and going to WCW back in 1996. But Razor's not a man with a limited intellect, trust me.
That story and the one with The New Day are the reasons why I gave this collection 4 stars only. There are many different writers and different artists on this book. The art styles do change dramatically from story to story but that's because this is an anthology book . That doesn't bother me because I've read other anthology comics before and the artwork always varies per story.
Once you get past that, there are some good stories in here to check out, especially if you're a lifelong wrestling such as I. That's why I gave this book 4 stars because wrestling fans should check it out just to read some cool stories involving their favorite wrestlers.
I really enjoyed this collection of Boom's WWE one shots. I enjoyed every story but two. The two stories that I didn't like were about Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and The New Day. The New Day story is just very childish and it does not feel like it belongs in this collection.
And the Razor Ramon story makes Razor look stupid and he wasn't. I'm a big fan of Razor's and he was a great wrestler when he had control of his demons. He could've been so much more but he was only allowed to go so far because of his addictions. During the time that he was around and his addictions were under control, he did put on some truly memorable matches which include his Ladder match against Shawn Michaels.
That Ladder match is the basis for the Razor Ramon story in this book and the writer of that story actually had Razor say "How do I climb down off this ladder"? C'mon, how would he not know how to climb back down the ladder? I smell Vince McMahon behind that Razor story. Because I'm pretty sure that Vince had to give his approval before any of these stories were published.
And I know Triple H wouldn't sign off on it. He was friends with Razor in real life and this story makes his friend look bad. That's why I believe Vince gave the okay on it since he probably still felt resentment towards Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and Kevin Nash (Diesel) for walking out on him and going to WCW back in 1996. But Razor's not a man with a limited intellect, trust me.
That story and the one with The New Day are the reasons why I gave this collection 4 stars only. There are many different writers and different artists on this book. The art styles do change dramatically from story to story but that's because this is an anthology book . That doesn't bother me because I've read other anthology comics before and the artwork always varies per story.
Once you get past that, there are some good stories in here to check out, especially if you're a lifelong wrestling such as I. That's why I gave this book 4 stars because wrestling fans should check it out just to read some cool stories involving their favorite wrestlers.
July 18, 2018
The first in the series of compilations of the recent Boom Studios official WWE comic range. This series focuses mainly on highlighting the memorable and iconic events in the company's history, as well as re-imagining incidents and behind the curtain scenarios integral to the legacy of the world's largest and most influential wrestling company, utilizing a host of different writers and artists.
This first collection not only provides exclusive artwork and panels only previously available at San Diego Comic Con and both Wrestlemania and Summerslam, but also documents scenes from past and present including such iconic feuds between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon and their legendary ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, the Triple H/Jericho/Stephanie dynamic, the career of Daniel Bryan, the history of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's childhood friendship, Dusty Rhodes and the Macho King, the disturbing origins of Mankind and The Undertaker, plus much more.
The range of artistic styles and creativity here is a wet dream for lifelong fans like myself and a great learning point for newer fans, who aren't so familiar with the classic storylines from the 80s and 90s. A great mix of eras and genres and legends. A must read for all fans.
This first collection not only provides exclusive artwork and panels only previously available at San Diego Comic Con and both Wrestlemania and Summerslam, but also documents scenes from past and present including such iconic feuds between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon and their legendary ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, the Triple H/Jericho/Stephanie dynamic, the career of Daniel Bryan, the history of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's childhood friendship, Dusty Rhodes and the Macho King, the disturbing origins of Mankind and The Undertaker, plus much more.
The range of artistic styles and creativity here is a wet dream for lifelong fans like myself and a great learning point for newer fans, who aren't so familiar with the classic storylines from the 80s and 90s. A great mix of eras and genres and legends. A must read for all fans.
February 2, 2019
This is uneven. It runs the gamut from serious stories with some insider twists to plain old silliness. The Wrestlemania portion focuses on past Wrestlemania matches, the Summerslam portion on past Summerlsam matches, etc. It's cool how they pick somewhat obscure matches from the past to build some of the stories on, but some of the silly stories just seem a little too silly and remind me of the Hulk Hogan cartoon from the 80s, but not in a good way. The art ranges from good to not so good. Overall not bad, but it's probably got some stuff you'd love and some stuff you'd hate.
November 19, 2018
I really wanted to like this. But I just couldn't get into it. I loved the idea that it retells some of WWE's most notorious story lines and backstage incidents. I was even more interested when I saw Boom Studios were making this book as I love their Power Rangers stories. But, sadly, it didn't quite follow through on its potential.
December 23, 2021
Such a fun read! The stories were fun, entertaining and included a lot of the big WWE superstars.
I loved the different styles of artwork and colors used for the different stories. The various artwork styles and colors used really helped set the tone for a lot of the different stories. I look forward to the next installment in the series.
I loved the different styles of artwork and colors used for the different stories. The various artwork styles and colors used really helped set the tone for a lot of the different stories. I look forward to the next installment in the series.
December 2, 2018
This graphic novel anthology is lackluster. Big moments, but scattered through time and theme. Young fans may like it, but it’s missing a lot. Not enough female representation either.
December 29, 2022
Made my little heart happy
September 8, 2020
Als großer Wrestling-Fan, der regelmäßg die Shows von World Wrestling Entertainment und anderen Ligen verfolgt, wollte ich auch unbedingt dem Comic "WWE: Then. Now. Forever." eine Chance geben. Hier habe ich nur wenige Erwartungen gehabt und wurde am Ende positiv überrascht.
Wer hier eine fortlaufende Geschichte rund um die aktuellen und früheren WWE-Superstars erwartet, wird enttäuscht sein, denn hier werden lediglich kleine Momentaufnahmen aus den jeweiligen Karrieren der Stars erzählt, die man direkt wiedererkennt und die teilweise sogar Wrestling-Geschichte geschrieben haben.
Mit dabei ist u.a. die berühmte "3:16"-Promo von "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, aber auch das allererste Ladder Match zwischen den beiden WWE Hall-of-Famern Razor Ramon und Shawn Michaels. Gleichzeitig gibt es auch eine sehr süße Kurzgeschichte über Sasha Banks, die in ihrer Kindheit von dem leider viel zu früh verstorbenen Eddie Guerrero inspiriert wurde und diesem quasi ihre gesamte Wrestling-Karriere gewidmet hat.
Der Zeichenstil hat insgesamt meinen Geschmack getroffen. Hier und da wurde zwar stellenweise bei der Mimik der WWE-Superstars übertrieben, sodass die Gesichter stark verzerrt wirken, allerdings ist der Stil insgesamt gelungen und sieht gut aus.
Kurz gesagt: "WWE: Then. Now. Forever." ist insgesamt ein gelungener Comic, der viele wichtige und überraschende Wrestling-Momente vereint und somit bestens für Wrestling-Fans geeignet ist. Ich kann diese Anthologie somit nur empfehlen.
Wer hier eine fortlaufende Geschichte rund um die aktuellen und früheren WWE-Superstars erwartet, wird enttäuscht sein, denn hier werden lediglich kleine Momentaufnahmen aus den jeweiligen Karrieren der Stars erzählt, die man direkt wiedererkennt und die teilweise sogar Wrestling-Geschichte geschrieben haben.
Mit dabei ist u.a. die berühmte "3:16"-Promo von "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, aber auch das allererste Ladder Match zwischen den beiden WWE Hall-of-Famern Razor Ramon und Shawn Michaels. Gleichzeitig gibt es auch eine sehr süße Kurzgeschichte über Sasha Banks, die in ihrer Kindheit von dem leider viel zu früh verstorbenen Eddie Guerrero inspiriert wurde und diesem quasi ihre gesamte Wrestling-Karriere gewidmet hat.
Der Zeichenstil hat insgesamt meinen Geschmack getroffen. Hier und da wurde zwar stellenweise bei der Mimik der WWE-Superstars übertrieben, sodass die Gesichter stark verzerrt wirken, allerdings ist der Stil insgesamt gelungen und sieht gut aus.
Kurz gesagt: "WWE: Then. Now. Forever." ist insgesamt ein gelungener Comic, der viele wichtige und überraschende Wrestling-Momente vereint und somit bestens für Wrestling-Fans geeignet ist. Ich kann diese Anthologie somit nur empfehlen.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews