Tap Or Die #1 is a comic written by Anthony Stokes and illustrated by Emilio Utrera. A wrestler waits in the wings for his chance to have a big fight that will propel his career. This is a wrestling-themed story with backstage drama, brutal fights, and big personalities. Our leading man for this tale is Domino, an undefeated fighter who is just itching for a match in the higher division. He has friend named Iris, a woman who is also undefeated and helps Domino train. The story seems pretty basic on the surface but there are some lurking elements that’ll have you looking at things from a different perspective. This takes place where pro wrestling is real combat, sort of like MMA but with some theatrics. There are many hard hits and rough-looking attacks but there really isn’t much blood. The pace is steady with most pages sporting at least three panels, with pages frequently going over four. The tone is more upbeat than serious though there are moments. The dialogue sounds like something you’d hear on AEW or a reality show with it being jokey and witty; occasionally the punctuation is off. Owing in part to the talking style there are no wordy pages here. This is a debut comic that gives us a close look at the lead while providing us with some entertaining combat and a slight air of mystery.

            The art in this comic is black-and-white with the contrast between the light and shadows playing a prominent role. The outdoor scenery consists of tall buildings while the interiors are mainly arenas with a wrestling ring at the center. The backgrounds in the panels show parts of the bigger scene more often than not. The locations are primarily exercise or combat-related. The atmosphere here will remind you of a pro wrestling show you’d see on TV. The expression level here is high which is consistent with the theme. The range of emotions here is above-average as not every feeling shown is that of anger or determination. Due to the details in the faces there is no doubt about what emotion the various characters are conveying. All the fighters shown seem to be very charismatic. The action here is similar to your average pro wrestling match with big, organ-rupturing strike and ring-shaking slams. The scenes flow well and there is a little bit of blood. Outfits are of standard wrestling fare for the fellas with the women wearing more MMA-styled gear.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring black characters with MMA/pro wrestling combat and behind-the-scenes drama then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, nudity.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I guess I’d better get that soda.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/decay/tap-or-die-1-a-sexy-wrestling-comic/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 29

Violent Pages: 12, for 41% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 3, for 10% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 2

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 1

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 2

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”