3MB wants to Highlight The IWC; No Not that IWC. The Illustrated Wrestling Community 

It’s an age old question: who is the best in the world? It’s one of those unanswerable questions like what’s the sound of one hand clapping or who would win in a race between Superman and The Flash? Actually,  comics answered that last one. Comics answered this question too: Kyle Starks proved that Ricky Thunder – not Chris Jericho,  not Daniel Bryan, not CM Punk – is the best in the world.

 The Ballad of Ricky Thunder starts with our title character living the dream. He The World Champion,  racking up a list of victories as long as his blonde mullet, dispatching each one with his signature Thunder strike kick. Plus he has a cool dog: a dachshund name Miss Elisabeth.

His dream starts to go south when the other wrestlers tell him that wrestling – the sport that he loves and has loved him back – is fake. [We here at 3ManBooth understand that a fictional comic can get away with such liberties like proclaiming that professional wresting – the greatest of all sports and professions – is not real. Creative License. .. ] Disillusioned,  Ricky goes off to do some thinking when he’s interrupted by some aliens looking to conquer earth. Thinking the earth is unprotected,  they are just as shocked to find Ricky and his big gold belt embossed with the words “World Champion.” Ricky is being used to challenged for his title, but now Earth is on the line? It’s on!

Kyle Starks really has fun with his love of wrestling in this epic encounter. First, Ricky’s alien opponent is The Amazon from the NES Pro Wrestling videogame. That’s only the start of nods to pro wrestling.  Ricky faces The Amazon in a catch as catch can style, even setting up a makeshift ring in the process. To be the best in the world,  Thunder is inspired by the greats. He uses the signature moves of Hulk Hogan,  Stone Cold, The Rock and others in an attempt to save the earth. He even channels the dirtiest player in the game and delivers a chop that echoes through the cosmos!

Does Ricky Thunder overcome his own personal weakness to defend not only his title but also the world? We don’t want to give anything away but… well, you’re reading this right?

Re-live The Ballad of Ricky Thunder at Kyle Starks website. (You can also follow him on Twitter and Tumblr) We personally recommend the book version though. Also check out Starks’ other works like Sexcastle. We backed this comic on Kickstarter for 2 reasons: 1) it’s the Ricky Thunder of 80’s action heroes and 2) our rewards got us not only Ricky Thunder volume 1 but also a follow-up story. Plus, we have it on good authority that at least 2 WWE Hall of Famers (or reasonable likenesses thereof) appear in the comic, brother dude!