Tap or Die #3 is a comic written by Anthony Stokes and Christopher Curtis with illustrations by Emilio Utrera. Domino goes up against Pride in his first match since his return. This is a pro wrestling comic with plenty of drama and violence along with some science fiction elements. The main man for this tale is Domino, he was an up-and-coming fighter with an undefeated streak until he lost to Real Deal Randy and ended up in the hospital. Now he’s on the warpath and is fighting whoever stands between himself and the champ. Supporting him from the stands is fellow wrestler Iris, she herself is on currently on a win streak. The story begins in the ring with Domino and Pride facing off as the announcer does his stuff. After some verbal jabs between the fighters the augmented reality is turned on and the rumble in the jungle begins. The violence here is hard-hitting and bloody with some gruesome attacks. The pacing is a bit faster than steady as the fight scenes don’t have many words. The tone is serious with the atmosphere like that of an AEW or TNA show. There are many intense moments as these guys get angry quick and danger is high. The dialogue is aggressive and conversational with narration coming via the match commentators. There are no word-heavy pages here. While the last issue was a bit calmer this one brings the violence as we get to see Domino back in action as he attempts to get his career back on track.

            The art here is detailed with slight cartoonishness and a strong focus on shading. This is in black-and-white with lighting playing a significant role. During the fight the augmented reality is a jungle so we’ll see trees and vines along with some shrubs. Outside of the ring the story will lead us to different areas of the arena like the corridors with random fighters to the locker rooms to even the press conference area. The backgrounds here usually show the surrounds but the rest of the time it is a sold/gradient color. The expression level here is above-average as these wrestlers emote as well as their real-life counterparts. Aggressive and angry emotions are most of what we’ll see with a bit of sadness and rare non-nefarious smiles. The faces are very detailed and occasionally get animated with the expressions being easy to decipher overall. The violence here is mostly physical though it does get bloody. The action scenes flow smoothly with usually a few panels per page.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like pro wrestling stories with science fiction elements that star a black with a cast full of black people and features violence and drama then this is for you.

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

PG-13. Violence.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I killed it for survival not for sport.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/decay/tap-or-die-1-3-a-nsfw-wrestling-comic/description

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

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 9, for 38% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 1, for 4% 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 – 3

“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 – 1

“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.”