Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia Issue 5 [Comic Review]

IFPW Issue 5
SBI Press
Story: Ed Kuehnel & Matt Entin
Art: ‘Mr. Continental’ Kendall Goode
Colours: Jio ‘Big Pain’ Butler

We’ve made it to the penultimate issue of Invasion From Planet Wrestletopia, and the creative team is on fire. The cover is a psychedelic mass of old school ring warfare that homes in on what is an important plot point for this issue. You see, our washed-up veteran of a hero, Rory Landell, is growing. He shows signs of this early on I the issue, but it’s when he takes part in a drug-induced hallucinogenic battle with his own worst enemy – facets of himself – that he starts to take some real steps forward. Through his continued interactions with Linda, he’s also beginning to look more and more like a regular guy.

Things are beginning to fall apart for the Drasin-Wrestletopian alliance too, with the alien invaders taking matters into their own, violent hands. And boy do we get a hefty dose of action this issue. From the aforementioned internal battle Rory to a bar fight, to a mass brawl on top of a moving train, everything is happening quickly. The result of that is that we get a cliff-hanger ending to boot.

As always, the art is point again too, with the usual exaggerated character designs and over the top poses on full show. Stylistically, the whole series has been consistent so far, but we do get some interesting little enhancements this time around. Both the lighting in the bar and the distorted panel shapes during Rory vs. Rory make the scenes pop and offer something a little different.

Overall, this is another winner of an issue. The thing that makes IFPW so enjoyable is the love that clearly shines through in it. The series is undoubtedly a love letter to 80’s wrestling, but it also blends that theme seamlessly with some whacky sci-fi elements. It’s a wonderful little hybrid story full of vibrant colours, awesome characters, and fun. This gets a 5 out of 5 for me.

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