Jarrett Williams delivers knockout with “Super Pro K.O.” from Oni Press
Cartoonist Jarrett Williams grew up watching wrestling, and that fandom has inspired his first full-length graphic novel.
Williams, who wrote and drew the Web comic “Lunar Boy,” is the creator of the graphic novel “Super Pro K.O.,” which features wrestler Joe Somiano’s first day at the SPKO wrestling company.
The cover to Super Pro K.O.
“He comes into this company thinking it’s going to be super easy, but of course it’s not; that’s not the case at all,” Williams said. “He has to deal with all these crazy wrestlers (and) the politics backstage.”
The manga-influenced “Super Pro K.O.” has a wild cast of characters, including the luchador El Heroe; the second-generation star Mr. Awesomeness 2; and the world champ, the somewhat deranged King Crown.
“I’m from a generation of cartoonists that were influenced by so much, from Western comics (to) Japanese comics, and so I think ‘Super Pro K.O.’ is just like a hybrid of all those things,” Williams said. “It’s definitely an action story.”
Growing up, Williams said he watched wrestling Saturday mornings, including World Championship Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling.
“And then as I got older, of course, I was a big fan of like the Monday Night Wars,” Williams said, referring to period in the 1990s that included World Wrestling Entertainment, WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling competing for viewership.
“And so now it’s just crazy that I’m actually doing a comic about these things,” he said.
Williams said he’s surprised at the number of wrestling fans who have come up to him at conventions to talk about the sport.
“Since I’ve been doing this comic, a lot of people have been coming out of the woodwork, like, ‘Oh man, I’m a fan, too, and this is my favorite wrestler, and this is my favorite angle,’ and I love that,” Williams said.
“Super Pro K.O.” Vol. 1 is available from Oni Press.
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
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