Coming to Image Comics in November is a new series by Joe Keatinge and Nick Barber that examines the world of professional wrestling, but not just the stuff that happens in the ring. RINGSIDE delves into the world of the industry itself and the lives involved with it. Keatinge and Barber talked to us about this upcoming series.
COMIC VINE: What's RINGSIDE all about?
JOE KEATINGE: RINGSIDE is an ongoing ensemble drama set within the world of professional wrestling, focusing less on what happens in the ring and more so the lives affected by what happens when the art form conflicts with industry. In simpler terms, we'll see this from the perspective of wrestlers, sure, but people on staff, their families, shirt bootleggers, fans; people who work for big corporations and people who put on events in their backyard.
CV: Your book explores more of the life or a wrestler and backstage politics, something that's just as, if not more, interesting than the drama within the ring. What research was involved to capture that part of the book?
KEATINGE: In a way, I've been researching this my whole life, but once I started working on the series, yeah, it required a lot of research. A lot of reading, sure, but we're also living in a great time for discussion on wrestling. Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast has been great, I love David Shoemaker's work on Grantland. Documentaries have been invaluable too, especially the recent Resurrection of Jake The Snake or the recent One Fall, a documentary I was lucky to see premiered at Portland's Hollywood Theatre, focusing on the local promotion NWWA. I've been stressing a lot that RINGSIDE isn't some big "Smark look into how the wrestling industry works." It's not. It's a dramatization, to say the least, but in the end you still got to know your stuff.
In the end, though, research isn't about showing off details in your final work, but learning as much as you can to create empathy between reader and subject. The best way to do that is in person and, I'll tell you, while I've been lucky enough to meet some of the WWE names, the biggest inspiration has come from a number of other local Portland promotions, such as DOA Wrestling. Seeing those guys put over matches like they're filling Madison Square Garden is really damn inspiring. Those guys are the real deal.
NICK BARBER: The research I did for Ringside was mostly just watching documentaries about the 'behind-the-scenes' of wrestling, trying to gain perspective on what it's like for wrestlers and other people in the business - the stuff you don't see during the weekly wrestling broadcasts.
CV: Is Danny, the main character of issue one, modeled after anyone in particular, personality or look wise?
BARBER: Dan wasn't modeled on any one particular person - but I wanted to make him weathered, like he's been through some tough times but still show that he used to be an athlete. I love the grizzled characters from Munoz or Risso, so that was probably my main inspiration for his 'design'.
CV: Wrestlers deal with a plethora of real life problems like addiction, their bodies wearing out, and even early deaths. Will this be something you'll be exploring in the series?
KEATINGE: Yes, absolutely. The detrimental effects this pursuit has on people -- again, whether it's the wrestlers, their family, and so on -- is a big part of it. That said, there's also a lot of good that comes out of it. A lot can happen in the pursuit of your bliss.
CV: Wrestling is merely the backdrop for the story, though. We're really following a man on a journey. What do you look when creating a compelling character that the audience will react to?
KEATINGE: I don't know if I'd necessarily refer to wrestling as the "backdrop," but it's the ties that bind all these lives together. It's integral for the book. Sometimes it'll be the main focus, sometimes it will be the backdrop, but it'll always be there.
CV: Nick, in the pre-production phases of the book, what were your artistic goals for the book?
NICK BARBER: This is my first professional comic book, so that was both a blessing and a curse stylistically. I didn't have a tried-and-true method to fall back on, literally no comfort zone at all. But that was very freeing, there weren't any expectations from readers of what my art should look like - as I don't think anyone has really seen it before this. I knew Joe was on the same wavelength as me in terms of art he likes, so really it just came down to finding a look that best suited the tone of the story. Hence the rough around the edges look of Ringside, it's sketchy and loose and hopefully compliments the grittiness of the story. I think I re-did the first handful of pages numerous times before I really landed on what became the style of the book.
CV: How did this project all come together?
KEATINGE: I've been into wrestling my entire life -- I had an uncle get me into it when I was young, through the 1980s Superstars era, same uncle got be back when Attitude started up and I've been consistent ever since. Around 2009-'10, I had the original idea for RINGSIDE, which isn't too far off from what it ended up as. That said, there were a lot of iterations -- I submitted it to Image, Skybound, Dark Horse, Oni and Vertigo and all of them said no. I was actually ready to call it quits, but Vertigo editor Mark Doyle really wanted to do it and really got the book and knowing someone -- anyone --- else got it meant the world, so I kept it up.
Around the same time, I saw Nick's work online and knew he'd be perfect collaborator for it. I hit him up about working together in general and he said the gist of the kind of stuff he'd want to work on. Turned out RINGSIDE was perfect, so there we go.
BARBER: Joe already had developed Ringside a long time ago, but it was different to what it is now. When we started talking about what we might want to collaborate on it seemed like a perfect fit. I was really into doing a Michael Mann style comic - pro wrestling seemed like the perfect setting for something like that.
CV: Culturally, wrestling is very different depending the region you're in, from Japan to Mexico, and even between the northern and southern parts of the United States. Will that come into play in RINGSIDE?
KEATINGE: Absolutely. We'll be traveling around. The first few pages take place in Japan, then head over to Northern California. We're hitting the road with this book.
CV: Who's your favorite wrestler and why?
KEATINGE: Of all-time, Mick Foley, for a lot of reasons. He's great in-ring, sure, he can pull off babyface or heel, he can pull off being a hippie or a masked mad man, he puts his all into it. His first book was my gateway into getting what goes into this life -- how hard it is, how people really do break backs and miss kid's recitals and do everything they can to sell a match. He was also the first professional wrestler I got to meet -- real brief, at SDCC, I think 1998 or '99 -- and he was so kind to this strange, awkward teenager, even though I'm sure all he wanted to do was check into his hotel and call his family.
Of the more contemporary guys, I think CM Punk was one of the best in the game. I'm looking forward to his MMA run. I do hope there's more wrestling in his future, should he have the interest. His in-ring and mic skills were some of the greatest I'd seen since Foley. Plus, the guy's been known to yell, "It's clobberin' time!" on the way to the ring. Seems like a good dude.
Of the newer guys, I'm loving Kevin Owens. That guy's one to watch. He's really damn good now; I think he'll be a Hall of Famer someday. Again, like I said about Foley and Punk, Owens' mic and in-ring skills are amazing. He can sell a story better than a lot of people. I'm looking forward to seeing where his career goes.
BARBER: I don't really have a favourite wrestler. Being from New Zealand I'm obligated to say The Bushwackers, if a tag-team answer is acceptable?
Thanks to Joe Keatinge and Nick Barber for talking to us about RINGSIDE. Make sure to check the new series out for yourselves when it hits stores on November 25.