La Mano del Destino Introduction Essay

Sarah and I first met J. Gonzo at Heroes Con, I can't recall what year this was but he had at least two issues of his self-published comic out on his table in Artist's Alley.  Sarah bought a t-shirt from his table for me -- I think it was father's Day -- and someone tipped Gonzo off about it being Sarah and she was buying the shirt for me, because it turns out Gonzo was a fan of our stuff. So, blah blah blah, we had a shirt and he gave us some comics and we talked a bunch and eventually Gonzo was someone we always looked forward to seeing at shows and trying to grab a meal with. We talked comics, wrestling/lucha libre, his crazy traveling schedules, tattooing (he's also a tattoo artist) and of course, the ups and downs of the business.  Gonzo is a good guy and a talented cartoonist and creator. 

I really enjoyed the La Mano del Destino comics and was honored when J. Gonzo asked me to write an introduction for the Kickstarter collection back in 2020. It was a great project, a two-sided book, collecting the series in Spanish on one side, English on the other. It took me ages, as always, for me to finally get the introduction finished. As is usually the case, it wasn't a matter of procrastination but wanting to do the job right and above all NOT SAY ANYTHING TOTALLY STUPID AND EMBARRASSING. 

So I tend to overdo these things (okay, most things) and write way too much, and get bogged down in editing, and do too much research and write too stiffly. But still, it's always from the heart. I mostly try to write from the heart and not let the head calcify my thoughts too much in trying to write "good". or sound "smart". or use "quotes". 

Basically, I want to sell the book -- knowing that introductions don't sell books, at least not those written by someone at my niche level, not to any great effect, maybe someone will look at something out of curiosity if the introduction is by anyone other than Neil Gaiman. But you want to give the book and the creator the 'rub", to use a wrestling term. Use whatever professional pull you might happen to have to promote the comic or book and the person who created it. And use whatever writing ability you might have to give everyone a lift. If someone asks someone like me to do an introduction, it's because they like me, not because they think I'll sell copies. I try my best, I try to come at it from a decent angle so the introduction is at least interesting and pertinent. 

I won't write blurbs or introductions unless I am a fan of the project. And that's the thing that makes it so hard to do -- it's hard to write about stuff you like. At least for me it is. It's easier to pinpoint things I dislike rather than make sense of the things I do like about a piece of work. Or at least to convey that sense of things in an interesting, and maybe, if I'm lucky, insightful way. So, this took forever, to find a way in, to bring things together and to tie it into my feelings about the work. 

For those of you who wanted to see more comic book reviews on the site, I thought this introduction might count. The book is available in an edition from Image Comics (collected in English only). If you are interested, ask your local comic shop about ordering it (or if it's on a shelf already), if that's not feasible, here's the evil Amazon link (according to which, 5 copies are left in stock, but who knows). https://www.amazon.com/Mano-del-Destino-J-Gonzo/dp/1534319476

And it looks like Gonzo has begun his continuation of the series with an 80-page Giant that he crowdfunded earlier this year: https://zoop.gg/c/lamanodeldestino

So, here's my introduction to La Mano del Destino. Unfortunately I don't have a copy I of the book itself, either edition. Obviously there was an oversight and I never checked in because I thought there were issues with the production on the KS edition that held it up a bit, so I waited, and then I forgot and then it became so late in the day I feel weird asking about it. Don't tell my therapist. We have bigger problems to deal with. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this look at Gonzo's swell comic, maybe it'll even help sell a copy or get a it checked out from a library. One never knows. 

La Mano Del Destino Foreword

In 1975, when I was ten years old, my mother would usually be out on dates on Saturday nights – which was more than okay by me, because it meant I could watch the big color T.V. in her bedroom. The show I most looked forward to watching on Saturday night was WWWF Championship Wrestling on WOR-TV, channel 9.  This was what the WWE fed was known as before it was the WWF, and I thought their weekly televised program was the single greatest hour of television ever invented, because it was nothing but big hefty brutes fighting one another. If my mother had ever come home between midnight and one a.m. she would have found me jumping up and down on her bed like a monkey on a hot plate, cheering on the good guys, booing the bad guys and occasionally taking a wicked bump onto the floor after various ill-advised attempts at mimicking brainbusters, inverted suplexes and swinging neckbreakers. Luckily this did not happen, otherwise I would not be here to write this foreword.

I was a fan of wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino, Bobo Brazil and other good guys who always played by the rules, never used so-called “foreign objects” and never hit anyone with a closed fist. Well, hardly ever. But my absolute favorite wrestler back then was Mil Máscaras, the “Man of 1,000 Masks”. Máscarashad an immediate visual impact that elevated him from the rest of the grunting and grappling crowd. Most of the ring workers of the time looked like moonlighting longshoreman, lumberjacks and union strikebreakers. There were a few sideshow wildmen like George “The Animal” Steele, a few flamboyant wrestlers working the Gorgeous George angle and some semi-costumed persona wrestlers like Chief Jay Strongbow. There were also masked wrestlers on television, but by and large they were anonymous bad guy bruisers without any real style, character or flair.

In comparison, Mascaras showed up looking like nothing less than a full-blown, real-life superhero, replete with sharp-looking tights, a magnificent cape and a physique befitting a costumed crime fighter straight out of a comic book. Mascaras also introduced a style of wrestling that was new and exciting, a seemingly endless variety of unique attacks, holds and submissions. Most impressively, he used the ropes and ring posts in order to perform high-flying aerial moves.

The mask was the big thing, of course. Mascaras had an actual, full-on secret identity, entering the ring every Saturday night wearing a different version of his signature mask with an “M” emblazoned upon it. In its basic appeal to a kid like me, the mask represented another world, one seen in comic books, cartoons and movies. I had no idea how much deeper the mask tradition ran, how important it was to Mexican culture overall. I didn't know anything about lucha libre. I had no idea that Mascaras was considered a power wrestler in Mexico rather than the high flyer he was known as in the WWWF. All I knew was that he was the closest thing to a real-life superhero I'd ever seen.

The similarities between professional wrestling and superhero comics cannot be overemphasized in how I reacted to Mil Mascaras' persona. Marvel superhero comic books were my main nerd crush in childhood, and along with the Peanuts comic strip and Mad Magazine were what compelled me to want to become a professional cartoonist. Just as I bought into the myths of the Marvel bullpen as one big, happy family and Stan Lee as the congenial all-father, I believed that what happened in a WWWF ring and what the announcers told me was the absolute truth. Heroes were good, villains were bad, with great power comes great responsibility, all of that stuff. Kayfabe was very real in 1975, especially for a ten-year old. I desperately wanted Mil Mascaras to win his matches against Superstar Billy Graham and Butcher Vachon in the same way I wanted Spider-Man to win his battles against Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin.

On paper, pro wrestling and superheroes seem like a perfect match for comic books. In the past few decades, American publishers and creators have tried to turn pro-wrestling superstars into comic book heroes, with the results more or less a botch. WWE “sports entertainment” personas just don't seem to fit the type in any way that takes, they're much more successful as action figures than action heroes. In films like “Santa With Muscles” and “Hell Comes to Frog Town”, Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper played on their in-ring personas, but didn't play “themselves”. More recently Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista and John Cena have become film stars, similarly, there's a distinction between their movie roles and their in-ring characters.

On the other hand, Mexican Lucha Libre icons have been appearing in comic books and movies since the early 1950's, usually playing themselves as crime-fighting wrestler- superheroes. In 1952 El Santo appeared in photomontage comics published by José Guadalupe Cruz –  these helped shape the wrestler's iconic popularity for an amazing thirty years. El Santo started punching and kicking celluloid criminals, mad scientists and monsters in 1958. Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras also starred in their own long-running film series, and there were comics and movies featuring such iconic luchadores as  Tinieblas,  Rayo de Jalisco and Médico Asesino. They also did their own wrestling and action stunt work in their films, further cementing their status as action heroes on the side of justice. The traditions of lucha libre were faithfully observed in these media crossovers, masks remained on, mystique and secret identities were upheld throughout filming and promotion. Fans knew the masks and personas and what they stood for. For all intents and purposes Luchadores were Mexico's superheroes.

I didn't actually see anything resembling a real lucha match until the early 90's, during the “Monday Night Wars” era of pro wrestling. I was hooked after I saw my first Rey Mysterio Jr. hurancanrana on my T.V. screen, bringing back fond memories of Mil Mascaras. The WCW luchadores are what got me back into wrestling, Eddie Guerrero, La Parka, Psicosis, Lizmark Jr,.Hector Garza, Silver King, Juventud Guerrera and Los Villanos, among others. It wasn't long before I was watching CMLL and AAA every week on Univision, not understanding a thing anyone was saying but enjoying the hell out of the matches. Luchadores embodied comic book superheroes and villains in a way that absolutely jibed with my fanboy/fanman senses. The wrestlers had names like Octagon,  Atlantis, Dr. Wagner Jr, Black Tiger, Blue Panther, Lady Apache, El Satanico and Los Infernales – and there were even wrestlers who were flagrant bootlegs of American comic book characters like The Riddler (E.Nigma) and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lucha Libre was perfect  for someone like me. The costumes and personas were compelling (well, mostly, I couldn't handle Los Payasos, because, y'know, clowns). I loved the acrobatic, daredevil wrestling, the technical chain-wrestling, the high drama and low comedy (Super Porky!). And, of course, I loved the masks (except for Los Payasos).

Lucha Libre had a largely non-existent presence in American comics up until it became a minor pop culture phenomenon in the States. Before that the highlight was the groundbreaking indy comic Love and Rockets. Begun in the 80's (and still going!), the series by brothers Jaime Hernandez and Gilbert Hernandez (with contributions by brother Mario Hernandez) exposed U.S. readers to Mexican wrestling culture as part of the overall series. Another high spot was Rafael Navarro's lucha libre noir series, Sonambulo. The Batman villain Bane appropriated the look of a luchador, but the DC Comics character isn't a wrestler or even Mexican (instead coming from a fictional Caribbean Republic). Mike Mignola's paranormal detective Hellboy has run into luchadores during his travels in Mexico. A number of indy and small press comics have appeared in recent years, many of them treating Lucha Libre as a gimmicky high concept or empty exercise in character design.  A lot of these projects had the look and feel of an animation pitch posing as a comic, coming off as inauthentic and kitchsy.

Which brings us to La Mano del Destino, and J.Gonzo.

Fittingly, I met Gonzo because of a lucha mask. Some years back at Heroes Con my wife/collaborator Sarah Dyer was looking for something to get me as a gift for Father's Day. She saw a shirt on Gonzo's table featuring La Mano's mask, knew it was perfect for me, and, to make a long-sleeved story short, that was our introduction to Gonzo and La Mano.

When I flipped through the first issue of La Mano del Destino, the ten-year old kid inside me was once again jumping up and down like a monkey on a hot plate (this time falling on his ass after an ill-advised attempt at a somersault plancha). It was one of those “where has this been all of my life?” moments, finding something that filled a specific niche in a way you knew you'd love. From the cover on, it was clear this was a celebration of lucha libre and superhero comics by a passionate and talented creator. I was immediately sold, even though I think Gonzo gave us the comic for free. And the shirt. But that's not why I'm praising him, honest.

It's because La Mano is simply a terrific comic. It combines the best of two worlds that Gonzo clearly loves, the action and iconography of the classic era of lucha libre with the power and bombast of Jack Kirby's superhero comics. Kirby's visual influence is effectively melded with the look and style of 60's-era lucha libre, most notably with La Mano's mask and ring gear  echoing Kirby's super-escape artist Mister Miracle. There's also a thematic link between the characters – La Mano's break from his supposed destiny reminds me of Mister Miracle freeing himself from the  pact made by Darkseid and Himon of the New Gods. “The Pact” elements play smartly into the world of Lucha Libre's family dynasties and legendary feuds, in Gonzo's hands, wrestlers, promoters, managers, trainers and stables all have their place in the grander scheme of things like the warriors on Apokalips and New Genesis.

Whether you're reading this in English or Spanish, the underlying language spoken throughout these pages is that of comics, which Gonzo is completely fluent in. The skills brought to bear are as varied and formidable as a seasoned technico's moveset, with a variety of layouts, storytelling techniques and art attacks. From cover to back matter elements, these comics show off not only his talents as a cartoonist, but as a graphic designer and tattoo artist, making the  presentation as strong as the story and art. There's also a lot of extra moving parts which add to the reading experience, including activity pages, pin-ups and letters pages – and an adorable cartoon mascot La Mano. It's a total package. Everything works in tandem to create a five star comic book event you'll want to revisit often, each time finding something new to enjoy you didn't notice before.

And while Gonzo's creative approach on La Mano is borne out of tradition, love and respect, it would be a mistake to consider La Mano del Destino as simply an homage to his wrestling and cartooning heroes. He honors the past without being slavishly bound to it, forging a path forward while keeping those traditions alive. For all the influence that's on display, La Mano stands on its own, refusing to be pinned down as strictly a nostalgia act.

Anyway, it's past time for me to shut up and let La Mano wrestle. But before I go, let me just say how honored I feel to have been asked to contribute a foreword to this terrific collection. I've been in Gonzo's corner ever since I first encountered him and his work. As a fan and fellow cartoonist it's been a pleasure to follow not only the saga of La Mano del Destino unfold over the years, but to also watch Gonzo's talent as a storyteller and artist develop and grow through the process. Gonzo's a cruiserweight comic book champ as well as a hell of a good guy. I admire his work, his work rate and his dedication. Like any fan, I'm greedy and want to see more from him in the future. More stories, more action, more characters, more of La Mano's journey, more of Gonzo's vision of his Luchaverse. Bring it all on. I'll be waiting for it like it was a Saturday night in 1975, with one minute left until midnight. As excited as can be.

Evan Dorkin

Staten Island, NY