Reading Time: 3 minutes

A few days ago, the podcast was contacted by a publishing company named Suspicious Behavior Products to review the comic book series Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia, Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia #1. Since I’ve written a few articles on professional wrestling and have been a fan for nearly 20 years, I was immediately interested in doing a review. I’ll be honest, I’ve never picked up a wrestling comic before, but I’m glad this was the first one I’ve had the pleasure of reading. FYI, I think it’s quite ironic that I decided to wear my Bullet Club t-shirt as I read this today.

Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia #1 is written by Ed Kuehnel and Matt Entin. The art is by Dan Schkade, colors by Marissa Louise and letters by “A Larger World.” The comic is centered around a seemingly very popular wrestler named Rory “Rock N’Roll” Landell. He is fed up that he has not gotten the proper recognition from the wrestling promotion that he is working for, despite being a popular wrestler. The night of his championship match, he declares himself as the “champion of the universe” and puts out a challenge to any wrestler out there, wanting a proper challenge.

After making this statement, he leaves with his manager to find another wrestling promotion to work for. Now, the athlete being tired of the sport that they’re a part of but still wanting to be the best isn’t something new. There are many other forms of media that have done that story before. However, this comic takes a different direction, which I think makes it that much more entertaining. The broadcast of his interview is picked up by one of the ships from the planet known as Wrestletopia. The planet sees this as an act of war and prepares to act upon Landell’s statement.

Reading this comic, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic. I was suddenly back in my childhood and watching wrestling matches with my grandfather. Back then, you had guys like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Steve”Stone Cold” Austin wrestling and being part of huge rivalries. From the very start of the story, many wrestling fans can notice the similarities of how promos were cut back then and the charisma that the wrestlers would display.

The art and writing are what add this sense of nostalgia for fans who grew up watching wrestling or have gone back to see clips of some of these segments. The character that is shown talking on the communication device is drawn and written to resemble Hulk Hogan. Our main protagonist has a bit of a resemblance to The Rock and has the charisma and energy from a variety of superstars during the 80’s and 90’s. While many wrestling fans will see many elements of old-school wrestling promos, like when Landell says, “I got fists of plutonium, I got the fans in pandemonium” this can also attract an audience who has never seen wrestling. They can see it as humorous, which it definitely is.

One thing I love about this comic is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously and talks about several of the issues that can come from being a professional wrestler. Certain big promotions have gone in the direction of being more family-friendly and leave a lot of superstars not doing anything, eventually being lost amongst the shuffle. It speaks to me since this still happens today and I see this as an avid wrestling fan.

Ultimately, I recommend this for both wrestling and non-wrestling fans. Wrestling hasn’t really been a topic that has been written in comics for a few years now, so seeing something like this brings me joy. Non-wrestling fans can get a small glimpse into the world of wrestling but also get a fantastic story that will surely bring tons of action. I will continue to review any issues from this series as they come out.

Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #1 is on sale now wherever comic books are sold.

Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #1 5 TL; DR Ultimately, I recommend this for both wrestling and non-wrestling fans. Wrestling hasn’t really been a topic that has been written in comics for a few years now, so seeing something like this brings me joy. Non-wrestling fans can get a small glimpse into the world of wrestling but also get a fantastic story that will surely bring tons of action. I will continue to review any issues from this series as they come out.