The Ring: The Man Who Beat the Man #1
Creative Team
writer: GAIL SIMONE
illustrator: ELISA ROMBOLI
colorist/letterer: IOLANDA ZANFARDINO
publisher: DARK HORSE COMICS
There are few things on Earth as narratively satisfying as the comeback, and of all the sports we’ve dreamt up, there aren’t many that can match up to the amazing potential boxing has for them.
But what if you combine that with top-tier comic book storytelling? You would get one of the most exciting new comics of the year, as writer Gail Simone and artist Eliza Romboli, team up to deliver a slobberknocker of a first issue.
The Ring: The Man Who Beat The Man, is kinetic, fast-paced, and kick-ass. But its strongest punches are the ones after the fall.
Gail Simone immediately endears you to the comeback kid of the story, Marcus “Mercury” King, a man who could take the punches inside the ring, but couldn’t bear the ones that come after the match is over.
Simone has such a flair for great lines, “They called me some profane things as well, until they stop calling me at all. So I crawled in a hole and pulled the edges around me. And the world didn’t come lookin”. Come on, what a joy to read.
But it isn’t just Marcus, everyone introduced in this issue is begging to be explored further. Especially old time sports reporter Cameron Duggan and his young assistant Lisa Wolfe.
Duggan doesn’t know anything about social media, but everything about boxing. Wolfe is his total opposite. Together they begin their coverage of the titular tournament “The Man Who Beat The Man”, and Wolfe proves just how dangerous social media can be, instantly garnering thousands of views on TikTok.
Surpringsly, and thankfully, Duggan, our old timer, doesn’t immediately extol the virtues of print media, instead, he recognises how out of his league numbers like that are, and respects Wolfe's ability to get a story going.
Wolfe is definitely the character that leaves the strongest impression here, her ability to instantly sniff out a good story, and get under the big boys of boxing's skin is an absolute treat to watch in action. Speaking of the boxers, each one introduced in this issue feels like characters straight from “Punch-Out” or “Street Fighter”.
They stretch across multiple nationalities and each of them is equipped with their own unique personality, whether its Ivan “The Bear” Valkov with his fruity drinks and aggressive fighting, or Wei “The Great Wall” Zhang and his two degrees. Through these characters Simone effortlessly portrays some of the micro-agressions we see in sports media. Especially with Wei Zhang, who cares for Markus as he was the only one “who learned to say my name right”.
None of what makes this issue great would be happening without Eliza Romboli’s incredible artwork. Vibrant, brutal, somber, the words to describe it go on and on but her work is truly a perfect fit for the story. Marcus is bright and burning at the beginning, and once he’s knocked out Romboli turns his world grey, right up to the very moment he reconnects with his estranged wife and the light finally comes back to him. It’s wonderfully deep visual storytelling and Romboli makes it look effortless.
Final Verdict
The Ring: The Man Who Beat the Man #1 is one of the most exciting new comics of the year. Writer Gail Simone deeply understands what makes the comeback special, that it isn’t what happens before the fall that matters, what matters is what you do once you get back up.
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Writing | 10 |
| Story/Plot | 8 |
| Art/Line Work | 9 |
| Colors | 9 |
| Final Score | 9/10 |
