***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
Since it’s WrestleMania weekend, you guys get an extra special bonus!
Hope you dig it!
I think I got this real cheap at the wrestling shop that used to be in the South County mall, either that or a flea market.
I’m not sure, but I remember reading it and thinking “huh, well that sure was weird.” and moving on.
Going through my long boxes looking for some other stuff to review for youse guys, I stumbled across it again and thought why the hell not?
It is WrestleMania season after all!
So sit back, relax, and join me as I take a trip back to a comic that dropped in 1999 and see how it holds up 22 years later!
As always, this is your super special ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover By…A Titan Sports Photographer?: I mean, it’s a pic of late 90s Undertaker, so it’s an awesome shot.
But it’s kind of a bland ass cover though.
Art By Manny Clark: Taker looks menacing and monstrous, the different demons and what not look like demons.
The line work is great.
Some of the character designs are trying a wee bit too hard and are borderline gimpy, particularly “The Embalmer”.
But overall, I dig it.
Story By Beau Smith: …oh boy…
Undertaker used to be the guardian of Hell’s prison, Stygian.
But now he’s not?
It’s claimed that he uses the WWF ring to battle demon footsoldiers who’ve escaped Stygian, though he’s never seen in a WWF ring…just a hellish ring with demonic talking ringposts.
Also, he has 1 of 3 books of the dead and is searching for the other 2, which will give him destructive power and control of Stygian.
Also also, there’s this demon dude, The Embalmer, who sometimes comes top side on earth to run a tech company and he has one of the 3 books as well.
And they don’t like each other cause…hell, I guess?
And we are told some unknown mystery figure has the 3rd and final book.
Once again…oh boy…what a short strange trip that was!
This might be the most late 90s-licious comic I have ever read.
Dark, twisted, and overly complicated backstory (that’s all implied!), yet paper thin plot that literally includes a super evil big tech company.
Super bloody and filled with monstrous little devils.
It feels like a blend of all of those late 80s/early 90s dark anti-hero books like Spawn that just throw evil and hell around to sound edgey and scare parents, they just threw the word Stygian around 74 times to have something all their own.
Look, I normally dig when they play with or lean into the more supernatural elements of The Undertaker character, but what in the sugar coated fuck was that?
It feels like somebody half described the basic elements of the then current iteration of the Dead Man to this dude and capped the description with “but do whatever you want, it’s all good.” or something.
And I’d hazard a guess that the rest of the series isn’t much different from that.
But, the sad thing is that, I’d read them if I could, because I gotta know if the rest of the series misses the mark by as much as this issue!
You can tell this is after the break with Paul Bearer too, because he makes an end of issue surprise cameo that’s just as odd as everything else.
I think he’s supposed to be the 3rd book holder?
But he’s shown as a giant, at least 3 times the size of Taker, who pops up out of the depths of what appears to be a pool of fire.
Look, if you want…what my 10+ year old memory tells me is a far better history/backstory for Taker, Kane, and Paul Bearer, go find yourself a copy of Michael Chiappetta’s Journey Into Darkness.
While not nearly as fantastical, it’s closer to the characters we’ve watched for the last 30 years!
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And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
