Royal Rumble 2018 Special
Writers: Lan Pitts, Kevin Panetta, Ryan Ferrier, AJ Styles, Michael Kingston
Illustrators: Rodrigo Lorenzo, Dominike Stanton, Kendall Goode, Daniel Bayliss
Colorists: Doug Garbark, Jeremy Lawson
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Review by Greg Brothers
If you are a fan of the WWE, the Boom! Studio series has been an entertaining read so far. The series in general has 
done an excellent job of intertwining actual events and backstage antics.
The Royal Rumble 2018 Special takes the same approach but revolves around the January tradition of the Royal Rumble. Two of the stories focus on the aftermath of the events leading up to two memorable moments. Lan Pitts focuses on the aftermath of Ric Flair joining the WWE and winning the World Title. In the backstage meeting after the match, Pitts captures the voice of Flair, Henning and Hennenan perfectly. It is stories like this and the I am Phenomenal story written by A.J. Styles and Michael Kingston that make Royal Rumble 2018 Special successful.
When you have a compilation book you run the risk of some of the stories not being as good as others. Unfortunately, Royal Rumble 2018 Special falls into that trap. The Randy Savage: Not Show King is over the top and too cartoonish. Even though it imagines the people as their characters and not as real people, the story fails to capture the essence of them.
Where Royal Rumble 2018 Special is successful across the board is the art. In every one one of the stories the designs of the characters are based on realistic looks. The layouts are overall a traditional panel set up, which works for the storytelling. As much as the traditional feel works for the storytelling , it is the full-page panels that really shine.
Verdict: Buy it.
If you are a fan of the WWE, then Royal Rumble 2018 Special is a great read and a definite buy. It is entertaining to read about possible backstage interactions and stories behind famous events. If, however you are not a fan of wrestling, then skip it. Without the background knowledge of these events, there is nothing that draws you into the story to keep you coming back.
