Visionary to "Just Bring It" with new wrestling title

The Visionary Comics blog, which launched a little earlier this year, has a preview up of their upcoming title Headlocked, along with a Q&A with the creative team:

The story centers on Mike Hartmann, a fine arts major and theater actor, who is bitten by the wrestling bug after attending his first match. He becomes captivated by the lights, the crowd, and the spectacle and sets out to learn the craft of professional wrestling and make it to the top of the wrestling business.

The story follows his travels from working on blood spotted mats in high school gyms all the way to the very top of the wrestling industry. But before he can perform on the big stage, Hartmann must first navigate the seedy underbelly of a business that hasn’t progressed much from its carnival roots. It’s a journey filled with con men, racism, gangsters, drugs, sex, and violence –both planned and unscripted.

Writer Mike Kingston says he brings a love for professional wrestling to the comic:

VCS: What drew you both to Headlocked?
MK: I’ve said it before; it’s essentially my love letter to professional wrestling – even though it won’t seem like it at first. I’ve been a fan of wrestling for 23 years and I have nothing but respect and admiration for the craft of wrestling and wrestlers themselves. I’ve been all over the east coast and even the Midwest following it. A lot of people look down on it but when you really think of what goes into a wrestling match, it’s really an incredible feat of both athleticism and storytelling. I wanted to tell that story…

I'm not sure how deep this "love" really goes ... there wasn't one chair shot in the whole interview. No low blows, no moonsaults, no references to "the bottom line" ...