Written by: Dennis Hopeless, Andy Belanger, Box Brown, Aubrey Sitterson, Ross Thibodeaux
Art by: Andy Belanger, Rob Guillory
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Hard to imagine that already we are approaching April as WrestleMania takes the world by storm once again. What’s better is that around this time we actually have a way to celebrate the Granddaddy of Them All with a collection of stories. This WWE Wrestlemania 2017 Special is the best way for BOOM! Studios to continue showing us the effort they are putting into this comic franchise for the WWE fans.
Ladder Match
This story here was a favorite of mine because nothing is better than in some form reliving some of the best moments through WWE history. One of those moments of course being the seminal ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. It was a humorous telling of events that I surely was not prepared for. I’m not sure what kind of expectation I had walking into this particular story, but the entertaining route to this did fit considering these are two charismatic wrestlers, or showmen, in the ring. There are so many things about a ladder match which just doesn’t make sense and this story makes fun of it all as we all would. The light touch to this story was also matched with a more cartoon-ish art style. It worked because even as cartoon-ish as the style was, the detail on the other hand was great from the physique of the wrestlers to the way they moved in the ring.
The Long Con
I had no idea just what would come of The Long Con as a story. But when I realized just this was about I instantly loved the choice. Triple H is the one guy we just don’t give enough credit to. Sure we have up to this point for NXT and the many new talent he has brought on board, but never enough of how far he has come since his days during the Attitude Era. It was an awesome story told from a perspective that whether accurate or not spoke to the path that Hunter did take to be the man in charge along with Stephanie. The artwork for The Long Con was quality work, well quality and familiar from an art team that has experience here as well. There was all the appeal of highly visualized characters and the flashy atmosphere that brings a match to life.
The New Day’s Odyssey – Part 3
And then here we are with this one. The New Day manages to bring s smile every time the spotlight is on them. As ridiculous as their gimmick is, this is the first time that the WWE has been able to pull something off like this that actually has some longevity to it. Where it doesn’t feel like just the flavor of the week or month. Just the fact that they even have a part 3 in the comics means something right now. For this third part to their story, things do get a little crazy and I’m not even sure ridiculous fits at this point. As usual the artwork for this story just screams fun. Still incorporating all those things that make up their world be it their gear, “machines”, and don’t even get me started on the left field color effects. The colors as a whole continue to make this pop in only a way this story can because there are no others who will throw this color scheme in your face.
You’re Good, But…
A Daniel Bryan story is the kind of heartwarming tale to tell at a time like this. One can’t recognize this guy enough for his accomplishments outside of WWE and when he finally got the chance to show the world what he was made of when the WWE gave him the spotlight. This was exciting to see the way Daniel Bryan had a hill to climb all the way to the top. Unlike many others, he had to deal with the many people who couldn’t see him going toe-to-toe with the best. Maybe not to the accuracy of this story, but it paints the right picture where he strived to prove each and every one of them wrong. The art team captured every key moment of this rise to fame. I liked following the changes in Daniel between the way he bulked up and how he slowly just let his beard and hair go wild. There was always some change with him along the way and it showed distinctively.
The Kevin Owens Comic
If there’s one way to make the fans go wild, then you give them a Kevin Owens story. Highlighting this rivalry Owens had with Sami Zayn was a smart decision. This was the moment for him when he finally started carving his own path in the WWE. This was an interesting story to follow because there’s depth given to the friendship they had up to this point. Everything was very in line with the Kevin Owens we know now who likes to hurt people and doesn’t like his spotlight stolen from him. I liked the way the art nailed how angry Kevin can be a lot of the time. Always has this look like he’s plotting something or on the verge of doing something questionable.
Overall the WWE Wrestlemania 2017 Special #1 is another must have. Majority of the stories live up to this being a Wrestlemania special and engage you in different ways.
