REVIEW: Do A Powerbomb No.2

Wrestling and comics are two parts of pop culture that never really get their fair shake. Both have an untapped well of entertainment value, but the limitations of a certain cloud of shame that the Agent Smith’s of this reality enforce on the populace around the time that they hit pubescence to get them to shun these standouts of artistic experession is unfair to say the least. But if you were still reading comics and watching wrestling as you started to grow peach fuzz or began buying maxi-pads, it’s safe to say that you most likely became engulfed in the culture, and gained a permanent die-hard love (and/or two) that wouldn’t fail you in a world filled with the temporary.

Warren Johnson oozes this love in his latest creator-owned series “Do A Powerbomb”. Warren Johnson’s art, though much more reserved than his previous works (“Beta Ray Bill”, “Dead Earth”), still looks like everything on the page was made from clay. Some of the greatest sculptures ever made by humanity was formed from that very substance, and Warren Johnson does not fall short to the reputation that proceeds the likeness of his paints. The story is a great mix of mystery melodrama and comedy. The wrestling moves and stipulations are the type of stuff the average wrestling viewer would see on a large promotion and that the most hardcore would enjoy on the indie circuit.

The Flair chops in the “main event” of this issue had me stifling a “Woo!” and the weapons used had me grinning as if I had a seat at one of the big four pay-per-view’s (see : “Summerslam #CVReview” in two weeks!). With the wrestling world having such a kinship with comics, it’s no surprise that Warren Johnson would choose to fit Cobrasun with a fin-headed mask like the manga legend Kinnikuman before him.

Time will only tell if his new partner in his estranged daughter (the series main protagonist) will follow in the footsteps of Kid Muscle and rock a similar headpiece, but with the way Warren Johnson has her story set up, it appears that the next issues will focus on her rise to power in a Karate Kid sort of way; which isn’t surprising, because as of right now, whether or not your into wrestling, comics, or other forms of high art dubbed pop culture – when it comes to the comics rack, through Warren Johnson’s “Do A Powerbomb”,even in it’s infancy, it is easy to see that Image Comics the best around.

Score : 4.5/5

(W) Daniel Warren Johnson (A/CA) Daniel Warren Johnson