With WrestleMania only a few nights away there is no better comic to read than Ringside. Now Ringside focuses on a cast of characters who are at various stages in their careers. Issue 5 ends the first arc of this comic as Dan, Reynolds, and Davis learn where the next stage of their lives will take them and how the wrestling industry will affect them. Ringside, issue 5, nicely wraps up the first arc in this comic.
The Good:
The comic sets out to define the fate of Dan, Reynolds, and Davis and how their futures are going to change. In particular, Dan, after countless struggles is reunited with his ex-lover Teddy. In finding him, he realizes the shape Teddy is in and strikes a realistic deal with Eduard, who Teddy owes money to, to become his fixer. This captures a reality of washed up wrestlers who are used by the system and the jobs they are able to do after competing and what the wrestling industry does to its superstars. The comic also captures Reynolds’s fate. His fate is positive as his hard work and sacrifices have earned him a contract. Hard work and sacrifice is necessary for wrestlers to even be considered to get a contract. In many ways Reynolds represents a minority as very few wrestlers receive contracts despite putting in the hard work in the industry. The final reality the comic reveals is Reynolds’s mentor Davis. Davis’s fate is only granted to a few older wrestlers as he is given an opportunity to train and work at a wrestling developmental center. This is a common practice in the wrestling industry as older and retired wrestlers often train and develop the younger talent as a means to prepare them for the main roaster. In this practice Davis is being pulled from the road, storylines, and TV to work behind the scenes. This is a sign that his professional wrestling career is officially over, and he is about to begin a new career in the wrestling industry. All three of these wrestlers face realities that many real life wrestlers have been subjected to throughout their career.
The Bad:
Overall the comic finishes up the first arc in a nice realistic way that leaves room for all the characters to grow and continuously be influenced by the wrestling industry. Yet the one flaw the comic has is the element of confusion as Dan, Reynolds, and Davis’s stories are occurring at the same time. In doing so the three stories blend together and require a reader to pay close attention to what actually occurs with each wrestler and the choices they made and the consequences occurring. The comic’s only flaw is that the three stories could be more easily divided between each other.
The Verdict:
The first arc of Ringside is a new type of comic that shows the bi-products of participating in an industry, in this case professional wrestling. Issue 5 in wraps up the conflict that Dan has and addresses both Reynolds and Davis futures as wrestlers and being part of the industry. While addressing these issues, the comic leaves room for the characters to grow and face new challenges and events that the industry might present. As a result of ending one conflict and allowing room for another Issue 5 of Ringside is a great issue to show why this comic should be read by both wrestling and non-wrestling fans.
you can purchase Ringside Volume 1 here.
