My first memories of wrestling were watching greats like Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki and Mick McManus (funny how you always remember the bad guys.) This was Saturday teatime at the tail end of World of Sport, great fun especially when the camera would cut to some old granny shouting at the bad guy.
The American wrestling scene kind of passed me by, but when my son was about 5 he got into it. Like the British stuff the guys were incredible athletes but it was always more about the show and spectacle. Everything from the presenters to the bosses of the sport were all about the show. I even took my lad to some of the live WWE when it came over here, possibly more enticed by the thought of the female wrestlers.
Why this trip down memory lane? You may wonder what this has to do with comics. Well I recently got my hands on Damian Edwardsons second comic of his Galaxy Grappling Alliance (GGA) series titled Solarslam.
The premise is that in the distant Future any galaxy wide disputes are settled in the wrestling ring, organised by the GGA. Wrestlers are the champions who represent the parties involved in a dispute. In this case the survival of thousands from the Runnels system, injured and in need of medical supplies following a natural disaster, relies on the skills of 'Sensational Jade' to beat 'The Fabulous Mauler' Limus Flavus. Not only fighting for the supplies but also to retain her title as champion. Problem is Flavus and her corner man are not adverse to using some very dirty tactics to win.
I'm not going to go any further into the plot, to avoid spoilers, but let me tell you you'll be left wanting more. Somehow Damian has managed to capture the feel and atmosphere of a drama filled wrestling match, experienced both in the flesh and through the TV, via his comic. Of course great storytelling and artwork are his tools here but both are aided by the superb lettering of Aaron Rackley who manages to juggle the speech of Wrestlers, corner men, and commentators so that we never lose track of what's going on in the fast paced story.
A great fun read that brings back happy memories and vividly captures the sport, atmospere and showmanship that is wrestling. If you want to grab a copy of issue 1 and very soon issue 2 here's a link:
https://www.artninetwo.com/artninetwoshop/galaxy-grappling-alliance
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