Tuesday 15 December 2020

Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!


Review by Casey Douglass


Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

(Warning: Minor spoilers below)

Layers are great when it comes to keeping you warm in the Winter. Layers are not so endearing when they consist of the things that go on in your mind, the negative self-talk, anxiety and other personality traits, that hold you back like some kind of smelly straightjacket. Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind! Is an issue that peels back the layers in Rory Landell’s mind, all while seeing the roguish hero get ever closer to his date with Destiny.

After a very sticky situation in which Rory has to complete a reverse “Dukes of Hazard” move to escape a fiery end, he finds himself (pun intended... you’ll see) wandering in the desert. He comes across old wrestler Jay Warcloud. Some spiked sandwiches send Rory off into a peyote-fuelled wrestling event his mind has called “Egomania”. Here, he faces off against various aspects of his personality and his past, and it’s a fun thing to witness. It’s a trippy sequence of fights that reveal the various ways that Rory sees or remembers himself. It even ends with a surprise reveal, which adds even more juice to the trip.


Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

Once Rory has finished battling his mental foes, his friends, who have overcome their own literal scuffle, appear just in time to almost run him over. Their RV is knackered, which leads this issue to culminate with the bright idea of some train-hopping. Sadly, this only puts the group in the clutches of some sneaky Wrestletopians. This surprise appearance causes a mass train-top grapple-fest, and a cliffhanger ending that sees the reader wondering if one of the companions might die in the opening pages of issue six.


Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind! Is another issue that moves the story along while also giving an insight into a character’s state of mind. It’s action packed, trippy and humorous, and still gaining momentum as Rory’s fight with Manifest Destiny looms. Most importantly though, there is a background news-report happening in one of the scenes, one that details how wrestling bear Kodiak Jack escaped from his handler and is running amok in a shopping mall: “...suplexing several shoppers before raiding a Steamin’ Weenie.” This really made me chuckle and I hope that Kodiak Jack puts in another appearance at some point in the series. He’s awesome. Roll on issue six.


Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

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I was given access to a review copy of this comic.


Comic Book Name: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #5: Show-Me-State-of-Mind!

Authors: Ed Kuehnel & Matt Entin

Artist: Kendall Goode

Colouring: Jio Butler

Lettering: Sal Cipriano

Publisher: Starburns Industries Press

Released: 11 Dec 2019

Price: $1.99