COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia

By The Masked Medic

It’s been over four months since I started this little endeavour and in my opinion, it’s been going really well. I’m getting positive comments about my movie reviews, with an added writer on board the TV show reviews are also running full steam ahead, however, in terms of comic book reviews, I’m still waiting for the magic moment. So imagine my surprise when around 2 weeks ago a small company called Suspicious Behaviour Productions, got in touch with me, promoting their novel; ‘Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia’. I’ve done DC, I’ve done Marvel, perhaps it was time I started reading some of the alternatives!

‘Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia’ starts with Rory Landell, a pro-wrestler who is about to get the chance of a lifetime to face off against the current champion of the American Wrestling Federation; Bob Schultz. However, as with many of the decisions in pro-wrestling, the rug is pulled from under Rory’s feet and he’s told that he’s not going to win the belt. In a haze of annoyance, he declares himself ‘Galactic Champion of the Universe’ and leaves the AWF. 15 years pass and Rory’s career has nosedived into obscurity. He, along with his friend/manager/mentor Don travel from city to city in order to find success but Don finds that Rory’s lack of self-discipline is starting to wear him down. Unbeknownst to the two, as well as the rest of the World, Rory’s declaration 15 years prior were heard across the Universe, and on Planet Wrestletopia, the ‘real’ Champion; Manifest Destiny, hears these words and is instantly enraged. The Wrestletopians make their way to Earth with Destiny hellbent on facing Landell in battle to prove once and for all that he’s the real champion. He approaches Dick Drasin, the promoter for AFW in order to get it set up. But it appears that deals are being made behind the scenes and no one knows who is going to fight who. The question is can Landell prove that he’s the champion that he always made out to be or will Earth be taken over by a race of literal wrestlers? Well to find out, you’re going to need to read this series which is out now!

Well, this is a weird situation that I find myself in. Given that this is SBP’s first-ever mini-series I have almost nothing to compare this to. That being said, there are several comments that need to be made. The first is that if this is the first series produced by this company then it’s good going. The novel is not too long and the plot is simple to follow and runs at a decent rate. The characters are engaging and I cracked up quite a few times whilst reading this. There is a tremendous amount of character development on the part of the main protagonist, Rory, and the supporting characters also have their charms to them. However, there were a few parts of the series that I thought could have been improved. The pacing during the middle few issues was a bit off and there were characters introduced that I found unnecessary to the story.

The artwork was quite simple and yet effective. Since the story is set in what I’m presuming is the 90’s, there is a certain nostalgic feel to it. The covers were all of a similar style. Overall, this was a pretty decent novel, and given the lack of interest I’ve had in wrestling largely, I think anyone looking to read a wrestling based mini-series, this is the one for you!

Favourite Panel:

So at least we know that it would take an alien invasion for Iran to be recognised as a valid voice on the global scale!

Favourite Character:

There were actually quite a few characters that I liked, but it’s tough not to love Rory!

Rating:

• Story Arc: ★★★½

• Character Development: ★★★★

• Artwork: ★★★

• Enjoyability: ★★★½

• Re-readability: ★★★

Level: Beginner