Undisputed #1 & #2 - 5 Days Left to Back the Campaign & New Art!

I don’t say this often, at least not out loud. But I’m proud of the work I did on Undisputed. I worked hard to use the world of pro wrestling to tell a very simple action story in a way that hasn’t been done before.

To be fair, I’m not writing anything compared to Free Planet. I’m not caught up, but by all accounts, Aubrey is churning out next level story-telling with that title. And I’m super happy for him, and looking forward to plowing through it soon. But, I’ve said it before, I think fairly savvy readers will know where the story is going by about page 8 of issue 1. The real challenge was to tell a familiar story in a new way. I’m confident that I met that challenge with Undisputed.

I also want to say that I love the art that’s come in for this story, too. I have had the chance to work with some incredible artists. Wedersom Arantes, Francesco Iaquinta, Erik Arreaga, Juan “Of the Dead” Ortiz, and Tanner Ogle. All have translated the script in their own ways, and have turned in beautiful work.

Since this is a pro wrestling story, and I am a lifelong fan of pro wrestling, I wanted to tell an authentic pro wrestling story. I’m fortunate to know a good handful of people in the business, including Maven Bentley. Maven (not the one from WWE’s Tough Enough, and by the way, Maven Bentley had the “Maven” gimmick first) spent 20 years in pro wrestling. Besides being a manager, most notably of the stable BLK OUT, a manager, and an infrequent wrestler, Maven was Vice President of Combat Zone Wrestling.

CZW is a Philadelphia-based independent organization that launched in the wake of ECW’s demise, and turned ECW’s “extreme” wrestling and made it “ultraviolent”. CZW also played a role in the early success of many well known pro wrestlers, including Adam Cole, Joe Gacy, Sami Callihan and John Moxley. Combat Zone Wrestling (along with companies like Ring of Honor and Chikara) called the former ECW Arena home for over a decade in the early 2000’s. This was where I went from being a WWF fan to a pro wrestling fan. And thanks to Maven, I have the distinct honor of not only attending the last pro wrestling show at the original ECW Arena (now the 2300 Arena), I was also backstage, standing at the Gorilla Position for the main event.

The reason Maven Bentley and I became friends was through my involvement in MMA. We met at an MMA show at the former ECW Arena that I was working on. I worked for an MMA promotion at that time, and also freelanced as a sports social marketing consultant. Maven and I became friends, and we would attend each other’s shows. This lead to me doing some consulting for CZW, as well as Dragon Gate USA (which at the time was being promoted by Gabe Sapolski). During this time, I also had a chance to do some play by play for a very tiny indie fed, who’s name escapes me (it’s been 15 years).

I tell you all of this to say that I have experiences in pro wrestling that informed Undisputed and lets me play with kayfabe. I wanted to write a story where the reader isn’t sure if the matches are shoots or works (predetermined or not).

Yeah, I spent a lot of time making sure the pro wrestling in Undisputed was authentic. I wanted to create a thing that people in the business could read, and feel represented. But I don’t think I did so to the detriment of non-wrestling fans. For non-wrestling fans, Undisputed is a fun action story full of characters wearing cool masks, and kicking each other in the face.

The reason I say all this is because there are less than 6 days left in the Kickstarter campaign. It is for issue 2, but issue 1 is available again for anyone that missed the first campaign.

The issue 1 campaign finished with 47 backers. Issue 2 is at 39. My goal is to get 9 backers in the next 6 days. I want to get to at least 48 backers. I want to grow the story’s audience, grow this community. I want more people to read and enjoy Undisputed. So, if you haven’t backed the campaign yet, please don’t hesitate. Time is running out.

Visit the Kickstarter campaign page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/teamninjashark/undisputed-1-and-2

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