SPX/Baltimore Comic-Con Spotlight 2013: Bamn

Welcome to another entry in the 2013 SPX Spotlight series!  For the next month, I'll be highlighting creators and publishers who will be at one of the best convention, the Small Press Expo.  You can check out all of my spotlights for SPX from both this year and prior years here.

Welcome also to my 2013 Baltimore Comic-Con Spotlight entries. Over the course of this week, I will also be highlighting creators and publishers who will be at another of my favorite conventions, the Baltimore Comic-Con. You can check out all of my spotlights for the Baltimore Comic-Con from both this year and prior years here.

Comics and wrestling. They appear to go together for a huge proportion of the fanbases. Is it because both frequently involve costumes? Is it because both use epic storylines? Perhaps the fact that both involve people of unlikely proportions?

Whatever the reason, if you like wrestling and comics, then Bamn is the comic for you. Now into it's fourth issue (with issue five being a planned SPX debut), Bamn is the story of a pro wrestler who is down on his luck and ready to hate the world. He's a pretty big loser, and no one would care if he fell off the planet.

But when he meets a group of kids with love of wrestling in their hearts and a gang of bullies who make fun of their geekish nature, he slowly starts to see that maybe he can still have a purpose in life, after all.

I haven't had much interest in wrestling in years. I briefly knew Hulk Hogan (the good guy version), Andre the Giant, and the mid-80s crew. However, even though I don't connect on the subject matter, I do like the story that writer Troy Jeffrey-Allen and artist Jay Payne are telling. Sure, it's about a love of wrestling, but there's also the idea of redemption, underdogs, and living out your dreams. Payne's art isn't going to be to everyone's taste (his proportions are rather abstract, which can get distracting) but he certainly has fun working with the characters the pair created for this series.

I did a review of issue three when it came out, if you want more details on an individual issue. Troy and Jay should have issues 1-4 at Baltimore, with 5 joining at SPX. Wrestling fans should stop by and see what they think. You can find them by the little wrestling ring they put on their table.

Pinned down and can't make either SPX or the Baltimore Comic-Con? Bamn's website is here.