Review Fix chats with Planet Wrestletopia’s Matt Entin, who discusses their new Kickstarter and story arc, Invasion!
Check out the Kickstarter at the end of the article!
Review Fix: What’s new from Planet Wrestletopia?
Matt Entin: We’re finally collecting the entire mini-series into a trade paperback. It will be exciting to see our creative team’s incredible art in actual print!
Review Fix: Is Invasion a good place for newcomers to jump right in?
Entin: Yes. Everything that’s ever been written about the Wrestletopia-verse (thus far) is in the trade.
Review Fix: For those not familiar? What makes the series fun and special?
Entin: It’s about a pro wrestler who declares himself “Galactic Champion,” only to have the satellite signal of his boast intercepted by a planet of alien wrestlers, sparking an interplanetary conflict. While the premise is over the top, we keep the narrative grounded with realistic characters dealing real issues and feelings.
Review Fix: Considering all the other amazing things you’ve done, how did you know a career in comics was for you?
Entin: We’ve written for video games for over fifteen years, and it’s still a fun and rewarding job, but we’ve also had a backlog of our own stories that we’ve wanted to put out in the world for a while now. When we finally decided to do something about it, Wrestletopia and comics seemed like such a perfect fit.
Review Fix: Who inspires you creatively now? Has it changed over the years?
Entin: What’s interesting is that our comic was written as a film script over a decade ago. A lot of details changed, but the core narrative remained the same. So in a sense, this series was inspired by our younger selves.That said, we’re both big fans of Jeff Lemire and Alan Moore.
Review Fix: Has COVID affected you creatively or this comic at all?
Entin: Not really. Our team has been spread out all over the country and working remotely since we self-published issue #1 four years ago.
Review Fix: What inspired this comic?
Entin: A shared love of pro wrestling. We both watched a lot of wrestling throughout our childhoods. Neither of us really follow it anymore, but those fandoms you form as a child really leave a lasting impression.
Review Fix: How is it different or special?
Entin: It has unexpected heart for a book about pro wrestling aliens.
Review Fix: What makes this Kickstarter different?
Entin: We’re using it to build out the IP in unexpected ways. For instance, we’ve created a poster for the pay-per-view in the comic, as well as vintage-style trading cards for our characters.
Review Fix: Who do you think will dig it the most?
Entin: Comic fans. Wrestling fans. Comic fans who don’t watch wrestling. Wrestling fans who don’t read comics. So pretty much everyone.
Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?
Entin: As the first in a series of classic titles from two legendary comic creators.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Entin: Yes. If you’re reading this and you’re independently wealthy, please throw us $9.5k so we can print this damn thing!
Review Fix: What’s next?
Entin: If the Kickstarter is a success, we already have another series, a horror comedy, already outlined.
Review Fix: Where can people find out more?
Entin: We’re lots of places. First, and foremost, check out our Kickstarter. We’re also on all the big social media sites, but most active on Twitter and, oddly enough, Tumblr.
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