The Gimmick, the latest series from AHOY Comics, is a dark comedy about a wrestler with potentially terrifying superhuman abilities. Written by Joanne Starer and drawn by Elena Gogou, The Gimmick isn’t afraid of putting its love of professional wrestling on display, using industry lingo to tell a specific story and creating characters that could believably be found backstage at a wrestling promotion. The Gimmickย #1 wears its big heart on its sleeve, but that heart sometimes gets in the way of a cohesive vision and compelling storytelling.
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The Gimmick tells the story of Shane Bryant who is hiding a powerful secret. Shane’s a good guy who likes the people he works with, standing up for others when he has the opportunity. During a match at the beginning of the issue, he’s in the ring with a well-known racist, and becomes fed up with the man’s horrible, hurtful remarks. Shane hits the man in the face and, to the shock of everyone watching, his fist goes straight through the man’s head in a bloody explosion. The story really begins when Shane flees the arena, going on the run and beginning a national manhunt. Shane ultimately ends up in Mexico with a veteran wrestler, a longtime friend who puts him in a mask and sets him as an independent luchador, allowing him to make some money while he hides out south of the border.
On paperย The Gimmick is a wonderful idea. A darkly comedic wrestling tragedy that doubles as a road trip story, taking aim at racism and corporate greed along the way. There’s a lot of great stuff at the surface of this series working to propel it forward. Sadly, the execution isn’t quite up to par with the concepts.ย
The opening fight against Schmidt, the evil racist wrestler, wants to be a rallying cry against those kinds of men. While the death of Schmidt is exciting and effective, all of the dialogue and setup leading to the comic’s first major moment feels painfully forced. This trend continues throughout the issue. Conversations don’t feel natural and characters come off hokier than intended, making it difficult for any of them to really resonate with you.
One of The Gimmick‘s biggest strengths lies in the way Gogou’s illustrations mesh with the bright and vibrant colors from Andy Troy. Some images absolutely pop off the pages. Getting from one panel to another, however, is sometimes a challenge. The art and layout don’t always work in service to the story. There are multiple times when it feels like you’ve somehow missed a panel, or even read them out of order, because the information you need isn’t presented clearly.
The Gimmick isn’t off to a great start. Its first issue is challenged at best, and there’s no major turn of events in its final pages that sinks its hooks into you, compelling you to revisit it next month. All that is to say, there is a big heart and an empathetic soul buried beneath The Gimmick‘s mistakes. That’s something you can’t teach or develop as a series goes on. With some cleaning up and tighter editing on the surface, The Gimmick has the potential to become something much better in future issues.
Published by Ahoy Comics
On March 8, 2023
Written by Joanne Starer
Illustrated by Elena Gogou
Colors by Andy Troy
Letters by Rob Steen
Cover by Erica Henderson
