SCREWJOB #2

Well, it's been an uncomfortably humid, and at times torrential, week down at the Hidden Fortress Press, which is not an ideal situation for printing in. The ink takes forever to dry, paper sticks together, and the machine is constantly barfing out paper jams and ink clots. But without a moment to spare, the second issue of SCREWJOB is FINALLY DONE!

Look at this amazing cover by Jimmy Giegerich:

Remember that time Stan Hansen stuck his finger in Vader's socket and just flicked that eyeball out of there? And Vader had to push it back in and keep wrestling for like another 15 minutes?! That moment in time has never looked more beautiful.

This issue features 10 sinister tales of the squared circle, from the warped minds of Blake Sims, Paul Lyons, Melissa Mendes, Box Brown, Guy Benoit and Rick Altergott, Walker Mettling, Josh Bayer, Beaver, Pat Aulisio and Clark Jackson, with endpages featuring portraits of some of the most Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling by Julia Gualtieri.

More scenes from the past two week's blitz of printing:

after the printing comes the cutting, folding, collating, stapling and trimming

Stan Hansen's handiwork ad infinitum

 I love this detail from Beaver's Great Muta vs Kabuki comic

Sugar Cane Diaz by Guy Benoit and Rick Altergott

Bret "the Hitman" Hart, doing what he does best, by Pat Aulisio

If you're in Chicago this weekend, come find the Hidden Fortress table at CAKE for first shot at getting your hands on this book, otherwise you'll have to wait a week or so until I put it up in the Hidden Fortress store

SCREWJOB

I think maybe it's finally time to start talking about SCREWJOB, our new comics anthology devoted to those glorious combatants within the squared circle: the professional wrestler! Over the past couple of months I've leaked some previews of Box Brown's Abudllah the Butcher comic, Pat Aulisio's Goldust and Lale Westvind's Wild Wanda, and here are a few more:

Josh Bayer was the first person I asked to work on this book, within minutes of having the idea for it pop into my head last year at Comic Arts Brooklyn. Of course I had to ask him, he's a brilliant cartoonist and a connoisseur of the wrestling arts, the perfect blend for creating something as beautiful as this Classy Freddie Blassie comic:

As a wrestler and a manager, Freddie Blassie was one of the greatest heels the wrestling world has ever seen, and had been known to take a nail file to his teeth, sharpening them so that they could more easily penetrate the tough skin around his opponent's skull

About a week ago, Pat Aulisio sent me a link to some of Blake Sims' rad wrestling comics, suggesting that I contact him to work on the book. Of course I did, because his stuff is so sweet, but with the art deadline looming I felt pangs of guilt about not having asked him months ago... but somehow this dude cranked out an epic Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Sullivan and his Dungeon of Doom comic in a weekend! What a badass

I'm really excited about how this book is coming together! There are more comics coming in every day, all of which I'll be previewing soon, James Quigely (aka GUNSHO) is hard at work on the cover, and I just got some amazing Tigermask and Mr Fudo pinups from Matt Leines. This book is looking beautiful!

If all goes according to plan, SCREWJOB will be available at the Hidden Fortress table at SPX in September!