Review – Hard Style Juice! #1 (ComiXology Originals)

April 16, 2024

2–3 minutes

Publisher: ComiXology Originals
Writer: Clay McCormack
Artwork: Ricardo López-Ortiz
Colours: Heather Moore
Lettering: AW’s DC Hopkins
Release Date: 16th April 2024

Blending the worlds of professional wrestling and crime drama, Hard Style Juice! from Clay McCormack and Ricardo López-Ortiz goes on sale today with a strong first issue that introduces us to the Castro wrestling (and possibly crime) family. “King” Castro is the booker and owner, his son Rey is the promotion’s biggest star, and his daughter Ramonita is torn between her dreams of going to business school and following her older brother into the family business.

Over the course of the opening chapter, we get to learn a little more about KPCW, the Castro’s promotion, and the various complicated interpersonal relationships between the Castro family members and the rest of the roster. The “crime” part of the story comes a little later, but in the interests of avoiding spoilers I’m going to skip over the specifics for the time being. However, one thing that’s clear from the opening page is that writer McCormack clearly has a lot of affection for the glamour of pro-wrestling, as well as a firm understanding of its grimy, seedy, “carny” underbelly.

When you’re dealing with a physical subject matter like pro-wrestling, it’s vitally important that the artwork holds up its end of the bargain, and in that respect, Ricardo López-Ortiz and Heather Moore prove to be more than up to the task. There’s a cartoony, almost manga-esque feel to the visuals that really works well to deliver the bone-crunching impact of the frequent bouts of in-ring (and sometimes out of the ring) violence. That it manages to do so without diminishing the emotional impact of the story is a real testament to both artist and colourist, and there are some truly striking visual moments along the way that are sure to please any grappling fan who picks this one up.

The issue follows something of a dual narrative, shifting between the present day and the tragic in-ring events that I insinuated above. It’s a fast-paced first issue that throws a lot of characters, events and action at the reader, but McCormack does a great job of reeling us all in with what is, at its heart, a fairly simple story of tragedy and vengeance. The five-part story promises a lot of twists and turns, and with a compelling cast of characters and a pretty damn striking visual style, I can’t imagine anyone picking up issue one without immediately wanting to pick up issue two.

As something of a lifelong ‘rassling fan, I’m always going to have my interest piqued by any new wrestling comic that hits the shelves, and while the quality of such offerings has definitely fluctuated over the years, it seems like we could be onto a real winner here. Blending gruesome crime, tense drama and the over-the-top glitz and glamour that goes hand-in-hand with pro-wrestling, this is a high-octane new series that comes highly recommended.

Rating: 4/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]