Dark Comic Review: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #4: Road Games
Review by Casey Douglass
In my review of the previous issue of Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia, I said that we spend some time on the road with the hapless Rory Landell, and that it would be fun to find out if he makes it to his fight with Manifest Destiny. Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #4: Road Games, is still very much in road-trip mode, as you might have guessed from its title. The fun thing about this is that it places Rory and his friends into a variety of strange locations and barmy situations. It also puts them in touch with danger too, as is so often the way of things.
In the opening pages, Rory, Macho and Don find themselves crawling out of their upturned car just outside a theme park. They clash with more wrestlers from Planet Wrestletopia, and one part of this fight actually occurs as everyone involved slides down a twisting water slide. I found this hilarious. It’s also presented in a really stylish way, in cells that mimic the twist and turns of the water slide. It is shortly after this slippery slide that some old acquaintances turn up to save the day, prompting Rory and company to join together with them and to hit the road once more.
While in their friends’ RV, Rory and pals chin-wag and play a wrestling game on a games console. This leads to the origin story of why tag team partnership Three-D only has two members, which is pretty funny. Let’s just say that the love of money plays a role, and not in the way that you might immediately think. The humour in this issue is on point, just as in previous ones. There is an “almost drowning” (pictured above) that I did have to chuckle at, alongside an instance of a man determined to finish a ginger-ale he paid for, even though he no longer wants to drink it where he bought it, which amused me quite a lot too.
Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #4: Road Games is an issue in which we hear about more of the fallout from Rory’s “I’m the Galactic Champion” boast, the effect it had on other people in his wrestling circle, and the hardship it caused. A scene in a strip club also causes Rory’s ego to flare once again, causing a walk-out that, at first, seems to save him from the event that befalls his friends, but by the end of the issue, sees him in just as uncertain a situation. I’m being deliberately cryptic here as I don’t want to blab about everything in the comic. Where’s the fun in that? What will happen to them? Time will tell.
One extra thing that I will say, is that the Earth-defending title fight has been dubbed the “Galact-O-Massacre” which is a fine name for a potentially world-ending bout. At the end of this issue, there is a fun page from the doomsday essentials collection, a selection of gear for wrestling fans who might feel inclined to prepare for a worst case scenario. I particularly liked the chemical toilet, in the main, because of the copy spiel that: “Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of Dark Covenant like untreated human excreta.” I must admit, it’s a fear that I can fully get behind.
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I was given access to a review copy of this comic.
Comic Book Name: Invasion from Planet Wrestletopia #4: Road Games
Authors: Ed Kuehnel & Matt Entin
Artist: Kendall Goode
Colouring: Jason Lewis
Lettering: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: Starburns Industries Press
Released: 30 Oct 2019
Price: $1.99
