Comic-Con@Home 2021: The Unexpected Tag Team Of Comics And Wrestling
by Ben Martin
When I saw the ‘Not-So-Strange Bedfellows: The Relationship between Comics and Pro Wrestling’ panel on Comic-Con@Home 2021’s schedule, I knew I had to check it out. I, for one, have always seen similarities in the storytelling methods of and the audiences who are interested in comic books and/or professional wrestling. Alas, not many other folks ever seemed to see such a correlation. That is until this panel, featuring Rik Offenberger (G-Man Comics), Francis Szyskowski (The Massacre Twins), Flobo Boyce (The Indelible Silverstreek, the Draped in Gold podcast), Kevin Kleinrock (Masked Republic), Anthony Ray Bench (writer/producer at Film Threat), and R.C. Samo (FanboyNation.com), and moderated by Joshua Waldrop of Red Guerrilla Media came along. However, my ideas about the ties between these mediums are nothing compared to what this panel brings into the ring!
During their discussion of what Boyce refers to as “The two most sacred forms of art,” with his tongue appropriately planted in his cheek, these gentlemen touch on many points I’d never more than fleetingly considered. A prime example of this is that the market is shrinking in both of these entertainment mediums. However, market penetrations are higher thanks to a variety of consumption options. Or that audiences can fall in and out of comic books and pro wrestling thanks to their established characters. (Something I’ve done with both these forms of entertainment throughout my life thus far.
In an effort not to ruin the rest of the insightful points of correlation, I’ll stop here and simply urge you to watch the Not-So-Strange Bedfellows panel. Assuming you aren’t one of the majority of people who have short attention spans to whom Offenberger refers, I think you’ll find it very interesting. (And I know you don’t suffer from a short attention span because you’re reading this coverage as opposed to just the headline; thank you for that!)