The Mexican comic book, Sensational Struggles #446, has been teasing us with a Tag Team wrestling match for several pages, and now FINALLY the wrestling is underway.
Vampiro enters the ring and soon finds himself at the mercy of the evil “Explosives.”
We are treated to some gorgeous cartoon drawings of Vampiro being beaten and kicked, utterly destroyed by the Heel team.
His masked partner offers zero assistance, casually lacing his boots while poor Vampiro is being raped and killed in the ring.
The audience serves as a Greek Chorus, chastising Pierroth for not rescuing his helpless partner and reminding him of the obligations of manhood. But Pierroth is still angry over being emasculated by the long-haired, make-up wearing Vampiro, so he ignores their angry retorts and beastly facial expressions.
These drawings of the wrestling torture inflicted on Vampiro are just awesome. The artist really knows how to make violence look enticing. If I had this masterpiece stashed under my mattress when I was of comic-book-reading age, I would’ve locked myself in my room twice as often!
Both Heels are in the ring, over-powering poor Vampiro and having their way with him. Vampiro is drawn to appear completely helpless and suffering.
But Pierroth wants Vampiro to see how it feels to be emasculated, so he remains outside the ropes, his muscular body idle and unused.
Pierroth at last enters the fray, but instead of helping poor Vampiro, he shocks everyone by striking his helpless partner in the throat.
Vampiro is depicted as totally out-numbered, being made to suffer for daring to emasculate the macho Mexican.
The punishment goes from rough to downright inhuman. Again, I ask: was this comic book really intended for children? Aren’t these violent drawings of shirtless men pounding on each other, the cruelty and rapey-ness of it, likely to cause young male readers to develop a fetish for pro wrestling?
Is Vampiro being raped here? What are they doing to him outside the frame as he is held bent-over with his arms restrained? And what is running down his chin? (I suppose that is blood…)
The reader’s take-away from this violent story is that a sissy Canadian should never try to cuckold a powerful Mexican man — or he will be beaten until he’s bloody. Here Pierroth reasserts his masculine dominance over Vampiro by kicking him in the head and telling him to “Go to hell!”
