Warning: Potential Spoilers
You know, I honestly never expected the folks at Mad Cave to do a comic book related to Wrestling. Anthropomorphic stuff? Yep! Ninjas? You bet! Divine shenanigans of a serious sort? Without a doubt, Along with a number of other things that you could probably all mix together in one single comic if you wanted to go for broke. But Wrestling? I just didn’t see it coming! Kinda like an RKO from outta nowhere back in the day. Only, likely to be far less painful! And the fella writing Over The Ropes? Is none other then Jay Sandlin of #WhatHappensNext? over on Twitter! Now I’m gonna say this right from the start, I like that this isn’t starting from a point in Phoenix’s career that flashes back to his early days as a wrestler. Or flashes back and then stays there awhile until its time to go back to the current day.
No, it doesn’t do any of that. But rather, it puts us right in present day times as Jason ‘Phoenix’ Lynn tries to make a name for himself with an unexpected opportunity. Which… Always gotta love those! Along for the slobber knocker that is Over The Ropes with Jay is Antonello Cosentino, Justin Birch, and Francesco Segala. And they all do fantastic jobs in their respective duties to bring this book to life. The new 4 Horsemen perhaps!? And no, I don’t mean as in the Apocalyptic kind either but the Wrestling kind!
One of the things I like about Over The Ropes is how Blue Bomba is always seen with his mask on. Much like how any true Luchadore would and the fact Jay does this definitely shows his respect for Lucha traditions. Examples of this where Blue Bomba wearing his mask is concerned includes waiting tables at a diner and while in the shower.
Jason’s look is also pretty nice as well and I have to wonder if there’s gonna be more with him and Courtney. Or if she’s merely a one issue appearance as it would be interesting to see her reaction considering certain things she did that helpfully inspired our main fella. And of course, there’s bound to be more to the story of why Radison’s son got his butt beat by some Marines! Whether or not we get that remains uncertain but that’s part of the fun of things as far as I’m concerned.
Now one thing I don’t get is how Radison expects everyone to buy Jason as his son, even with him using his son’s gear. Sure, his company is getting a sweet deal as mentioned in this first issue but I just don’t see how it would (Then again this is back before the internet helpfully spoiled stuff) have worked. Unless they wanted to do some kind of stolen identity thing or whatever, which… Could be fun to read about! And with how things went towards the end of this in ring debut, you just know there’s gonna be a problem or two to come Phoenix’s way! How he handles that however is something I am definitely looking forward to seeing/reading!
There might be chairs, there might be tables, and, well… Who knows what there might be as Phoenix deals with the ramifications of his actions! Even if you aren’t into Wrestling, I highly suggest giving this new offering from Mad Cave on December 4th (Pre-Order Code: OCT191972) a try as so far, they have yet to disappoint!
Over The Ropes #1
Mad Cave Studios
Writer: Jay Sandlin
Artist: Antonello Cosentino
Letterer: Justin Birch
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Reviewer: Rob Wrecks
Summary: Step Over the Ropes and into 1990s wrestling. Set in a fictional world, Over the Ropes dives into sports entertainment’s biggest era. A young high-flyer named Jason Lynn goes off-script in a match to win the world title and sets the southern territory on fire as the face-painted wrestler, Phoenix. Jason’s battles between the ropes are only outperformed by his struggles outside the ring. First dates. Crooked promoters. Cage matches. Factions and families. No matter what problems smack him with a steel chair, Jason lives by his catchphrase: I. Will. Rise.
