I would like to take this opportunity to let my past self know that writing an arm drag series spot in comic form is really dumb, and a giant pain in the ass to draw. If the comic ever makes its way to a lucha libre territory (there’s one sitting there in my notes, ready for use), I will likely spend a lot of time cursing my past self as I attempt to draw page after page of complicated tilt-a-whirl headscissors countered into arm drags and ARGH just thinking about it makes my head hurt. And of course to be authentic, most of the matches will probably be trios. And that of course will also be dumb, but I will do it anyway, because considerations of how much something is going to suck to draw later never seems to influence my writing process now.
Rod Black is a design born entirely out of having a name for a character written down, an idea of his role in the story, and no idea what the hell he’s going to look like. I designed him on the spot when it came time to draw his first appearance, way back in HEAT 94. El Gangster II is pretty much El Gangster I with black pants. Gangster I appeared as a totally throw-away design for Classic Wrestling Moments 3, then got a name and some development. And a little brother, who is arm-dragging Rod Black like a mofo right now.
On Saturday: Can Rod Black maintain his advantage over El Gangster II? Is there another move that made me want to punch my past self for writing? Probably!
