BOOM! Studios’ ongoing WWE comic may have been canceled, but the sports entertainment license lives on at the publisher. In their build-up to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, the publisher announced a new one-shot, WWE Smackdown Live #1.
Written by Kevin Panetta with art by Kendall Goode, the comic will focus on Becky Lynch, a.k.a. The Man, arguably the WWE’s most popular superstar right now. It’ll also tie into Smackdown Live, currently seen Tuesday nights on USA, moving to the Fox network in October. Panetta is the writer of Bloom from First Second and Zodiac Starforce from Dark Horse, while Goode has work on previous WWE comics for BOOM!.
“The Man is one of the most electrifying Superstars to hit the ropes, and what better way to begin a new era of SmackDown Live than with Becky Lynch in the lead?” said Chris Rosa, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Current WWE Superstars collide with WWE Legends, who are all here for one of the biggest and most unpredictable nights that they’ll ever face in the ring.”
Here’s the description from BOOM!:
Join Lynch as she arrives at the arena and runs into The Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane), WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The Ilconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay), WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, and many more. Behind the scenes, unexpected alliances are formed, lifelong enemies are made, and chaos ensues as Superstars erupt into a free-for-all centered around The Man herself.
BOOM! Studios announced they had acquired the license to create WWE comics in 2016. Since then they’ve published several specials, OGNs and an ongoing series featuring WWE superstars, choosing to focus on storylines that jive with what you see on TV versus more fantastical elements. The ongoing series ended with issue #25.