Just in time for Wrestlemania, Comixology Originals has announced Hard Style Juice!, which brings together the worlds of family crime and pro wrestling.
Writer Clay McCormack, artist Ricardo López-Ortiz, colorist Heather Moore and letterer DC Hopkins have formed a stable and will bring the story of King Castro and his family to the arena. Or, in this case, to Amazon and their digital comics platform.
“Pro wrestling and comic books have always felt like two sides of the same coin for me, so combining the two was a no-brainer,” McCormack said. “Hard Style Juice! is a crime drama, but instead of organized crime the family is dedicated to the glitz and spectacle of professional wrestling.”
Here’s how Comixology describes the series:
Wrestling is big business in arenas across the country, and for the Castros, it’s the family business. “King” Castro is the patriarch of the family, he’s also the manager, booker, promotor, MC, and owner of the local independent wrestling promotion KCPW. His daughter, Ramonita “Mona” Castro, has dreams of going to business school, but also has a penchant for wrestling. And his son, Rey Castro, is the star. A real showman, Rey is known as the “King of the Death Match,” and he’s on the verge of getting a contract to go pro.
But when a shocking in-ring death occurs, it sends the family spiraling out of control, and down the path of revenge as one big question looms: Was it an accident or was it murder?
“Hard Style Juice! is the underdog sports story I’ve always wanted to tell,” López-Ortiz. said. “I’m bringing all the high-octane energy and fluid motion you’d expect from a comic with the title Hard Style Juice!”
The first issue will hit the ring on April 16.