A comic by Headlocked Comics – written by Nick Gage and Michael Kingston

I mentioned in my review of the December Pro Wrestling Crate, which is where I got this comic, that anything as written by Nick Gage would have to be ridiculous. The modern legend of Hardcore wrestling, himself, was perhaps made most famous due to his inclusion in the Vice TV documentary series, Dark Side of the Ring. He bared his soul talking about his drug problems, near death via light tube stabbing, and even his armed robbery whilst on drugs during his time at CZW. In interviews, it always seems like he’s “not quite all there” which could be him, could be his character, but he’s definitely undeniably Nick Gage. What crazy people would have Nick Gage write a Christmas Special? Apparently the folks over at Headlocked Comics!

“Red is the Color of Christmas” co-created by Nick Gage! Every Christmas Eve, Santa puts on a wrestling show for his elves as a reward for their hard work. But what will happen when a van load of deathmatch wrestlers show up? Featuring a guest appearance by Ron Funches. Art by Doug Hills with letters by Jacob Bascle and a painted inspired cover by Jill Thompson.

“Narrated” by Ron Funches, this is a deathmatch wrestling ode to those old Rank and Bass Holiday specials that used to air on TV many moons ago – think Rudolf and Frosty just with wrestling. It was funny to see Santa as a hardcore wrestler named “Sammy Claude” trying to connect with a couple of misfit elves that were having trouble fitting in. It seems that they could never quite cut it as toymakers, as everything they made was deemed unsafe, with rough edges and sharp pieces pointing out. Gage cuts an inspirational promo about how “nobody is really a misfit, and maybe they haven’t found their place in life yet”. When it was almost time to leave they got shocking news – a religious group tried to sabotage the hardcore wrestling show by buying all of the tables and lightbulbs from the hardware store! The only chance to save Christmas was Nick Gage and two renegade elves and a car load of sharp and unsafe toys!

This is a fun comic that was written as well as it was ridiculous. It actually had a solid message despite being a comic book, because anyone that feels like a misfit likely just hasn’t found where they fit in yet. Solid words from noted philosopher of the 21st century Mr. MDK himself, Nick Gage. The comic is pretty short, but it was a decent “pack-in” on my crate. I’m not sure I would buy it at full price, but it’s a cool thing to have nonetheless.

If you missed out on this in Pro Wrestling Crate, you can get a copy HERE