When I was twelve, I was introduced to comic books as Comic Books. I'd read them before that age and knew many of the characters from television, but suddenly there was a history there, more depth than I expected. I fell hard, as I often do when finding a new obsession.
A couple years later, I bumped into wrestling and hesitated rather than turning away. At it's core was a story similar to the comics I had gotten comfortable with reading. It was good vs evil on a stage. I got hooked.
In the 1990's my interest in wrestling revived once I started seeing luchadores, high flying styled wrestlers mostly from Mexico, as part of the shows. Comics and wrestling had more truly connected with masks designed to hide the identity of the wrestler and fighting moves that would make Spider-Man proud. Discovering that Mexican cinema had a history of taking these men and having them fight crime just cemented that connection together. My character El Hombre de Silla is born out of that fascination, in tribute to that style of entertainment.
The 'Strongman' graphic novel also follows in that tradition. It tells the story of Tigre, a formerly Santo-esqe character insomuch that he wrestled, fought crime, and made movies. Tragedy hit over thirty years ago and he is but a shadow of himself, spending much of his time drunk and wasting his life. A young woman encourages him to investigate a problem and, eventually, he gets talked into it, reviving the Tigre of old.
Over the course of the story we find out what happened that fateful day in 1973 and how it affects Tigre to this day. The story is logically laid out, well told in words and art. It is more realistic than the movies would have been in the past and yet reads like a storyboard for a movie waiting to happen. It's not that realistic. It's real enough when it needs to be and yet a story when the time is right.
I loved it. More please.
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