I believe I was on Facebook when I saw information about this wrestling comic, recently issued by Squared Circle Comics, telling the origin story of the Killer Bees, the Baby-Face Tag Team from the mid-80’s.
After reaching their goal on Kickstarter a few months ago, the publishers have made the comic available for free. I downloaded the first issue and will provide a few images here. They now have a Patreon page (which I promptly joined for $2 per month) so we can support future issues of the Killer Bee story as well as more wrestling comics to come!
Let’s take a closer look at the image of B. Brian Blair in the process of Body-slamming a long-haired viking stud on the front cover of the magazine. The wrestlers are drawn with fantastic larger-than-life physiques, totally buff and masculine, which definitely makes me want to keep reading. That flowey blond hair on the helpless victim is pretty spectacular too.
Meanwhile, Blair’s face is dangerously close to his opponent’ face, staring eye-to-eye with one hand thrusting up between the dude’s thighs. The proximity of their mouths reminds one of that famous upside-down kiss scene from one of the Spider-man movies.
The comic book describes Brian Blair’s childhood obsession with pro wrestling and early career in the ring. We’re treated to lots of shirtless men wrestling around with their swollen muscles bursting out of the frames and off the page. The confines of the magazine page fail to contain all the manly aggression and violence, much like the ring ropes often fail to contain the action.
If I had seen this comic book as a youngster — if it had existed when I was in about middle school — oh man, I would’ve been OBSESSED! Shirtless masculine bodies fill the pages, muscles flexing as they lock up together in orgies of punishment and suffering. The imagery is pure, raw pornography for a pro wrestling lover in the heat of puberty. NOTE: The content is non-sexual, don’t get me wrong — there is no nudity or rape scenes as found in other comics we’ve reviewed on this blog. I still find this Killer Bee comic to be creative, enticing, and well-drawn.
So B. Brian Blair emerges from his rookie training utterly buff and swole — the ideal He-Man. Now I followed Blair’s career when I was growing up, I liked his body, I thought he was attractive. But I sure don’t recall him resembling Conan the Barbarian, with bowling-ball biceps and all those sexy striations along his ripped ribcage!
I guess we can grant artistic license to the cartoonists who are telling the story. They have the freedom to make their protagonist as physically stunning and god-like as they wish. Their idealized depiction of young Brian Blair makes the work more entertaining and, for some, potentially arousing. Hey, give me something for my $2 per month Patreon pledge!
Blair later transitions to Tag Team wrestling in a Bookend Baby-Face pairing with Al Madril in Texas. In matching trunks with shiny gold belts around their waists, they’re presented as a successful inter-racial couple, which had to be popular along the southern border.
But their relationship is doomed because Blair is shown to be bigger and better than Madril, eclipsing his partner, his biceps larger in comparison, the bulge in his trunks more full. Blair needs a mate who is equally as strong, virile, and powerful as himself.
One day while eating lunch with Terry “Hulk” Hogan, Blair hears about a hot young prospect with a fearsome Dropkick named Jim Brunzell and is immediately interested in hooking up. This was before the days of Social Media and Grindr, back when you had to rely on your friends to set you up.
In this alternative front cover for the comic, Brunzell is shown suspended in mid-air, preparing to drop an Elbow on some blond beauty (maybe Terry Taylor.)
Much like Blair, Brunzell’s physique is incredibly ripped and powerful, his muscles twisted and flexing like steel cords. One interesting artistic choice was the positioning of his legs, spread wide apart and inviting our gaze, his yellow-booted toes pointing together.
The initial meeting between the Killer Bees is depicted like a wedding scene. We see the smiling bride and groom (Brunzell and Blair) both looking toward the officiant, the promoter in the t-shirt who “likes the pairing.” We even see the witnesses: the bald Best Man smirking in the foreground, and the long-haired Maid of Honor (Hogan) between the two partners that he introduced. This wedding-photo positioning implies that a Tag Team is like a marriage, that the partners are more than mere co-workers to each other.
Issue #1 ends with the two partners trying to think of a catchy name for their newly formed team. Now I want to see more episodes of this story (and future stories to come.) I GOTTA see the Bees wrestling in their matching masks! And there is talk of a “Fantastics” comic book series coming soon. If they did THIS with B. Brian Blair’s physique, I can’t wait to see how they depict Tommy Rogers!
So please join me in helping to support the arts. Visit Squared Circle’s Patreon page and consider a monthly contribution. For each level of your donation, you can earn rewards and give-away items. One interesting prize offered at the $50 level is the “Squared Circle Jobber” reward. The artist will draw you in the wrestling scenes, as a jobber for the Killer Bees to dominate! Do I get to decide what they will do to me?
