The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling: A Hardcore, High-Flying, No-Holds-Barred History of the One True Sport

"The one true sport," Sitterson establishes from the start, is no sport at all. Instead, it has both a history and a current practice that relies on barkers, fakery, and, ultimately, storytelling through opponents' actions. Veteran cartoonist Moreno depicts appropriately stylized and overblown wrestlers, shady announcers, and often sleazy owners and operators. However, this is no screed against either wrestling or the actors: it is truly a solid history and social study of why and how pro wrestling has been winning hearts and minds for about 150 years. The roles of international competition, syndicate competition, and competing approaches to the storytelling tropes spill across the action-packed panels in easy-to-follow explanations. Between chapters, Sitterson offers brief looks at elements of wrestling. Readers will come away with a greater understanding of drama, character development, and business negotiations than they might have foreseen.