Content warning: this review mentions eating disorders, toxic relationships, and childhood domestic abuse.
The ties between wrestling and comics run deep. And while I am not the person to explain why that is (I’m a tennis and rugby guy), these two bedfellows are brought together in a new graphic novel called Total Suplex of the Heart by Joanne Starer and Ornella Greco. And while I know next to nothing about wrestling, that didn’t stop me from enjoying every piece of Total Suplex of the Heart.
Total Suplex of the Heart, out June 18th, is published under Humanoids’ imprint, Life Drawn. The imprint specializes in “biographies and slice-of-life tales that show us what it means to be human.” The story follows a young freelance writer named Georgie who, like many people in their twenties, is trying to gracefully reckon with the pain of her early life as she forges her own future. While working on an assignment, Georgie crash lands into the world of wrestling, where she finds love, friendship, heartbreak, and hope in the most unexpected of places. Writer Joanne Starer (Fire and Ice: Welcome to Smallville, Sirens of the City) based elements of Total Suplex of the Heart on her own experiences in wrestling in the early 2000s.
Humanoids
Like Starer’s other work, Total Suplex of the Heart excels in its character relationships, humor, and emotional truth. Because the story is one graphic novel as opposed to a collection of single-issue comics, it benefits from a streamlined sense of momentum. Ornella Greco’s (Star Trek: Picard’s Academy) artwork is a treat throughout the whole story, and I would be eager to read several more graphic novels illustrated by her. While wrestling is known for being over the top, all of the characters in the story felt real in and out of the ring. From the get-go, it was easy to root for Georgie, which made her stumbles later on in the story all the more heartbreaking to witness.
Part of what makes Total Suplex of the Heart shine is its unflinching honesty about toxic relationships, and how so many of us are conditioned to hand-wave away our partners’ hurtful behaviors. It’s an immense feat on behalf of Starer and Greco to pull off the slow, creeping way that toxic dynamics can manifest in a relationship on the page. While Greco’s sunny artwork pulls us into a sense of security, it also nails the heavier moments of the story. At the same time, the harm that Georgie experiences in her relationships never feels gratuitous. There’s a trust placed in the reader to understand and empathize with the protagonist.
And it’s this sense of empathy underlying Total Suplex of the Heart that evidences the power of graphic storytelling. I have never stepped foot anywhere near a wrestling ring before, but I could easily commiserate with Georgie’s desire to be taken seriously in a male-dominated industry. While Total Suplex of the Heart is full of comedic moments, it also has moments of tragedy – much like life. To return to the purpose of Humanoids’ Life Drawn imprint, this balance is what defines a human life.
Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting to see topics like toxic relationships, eating disorders, and childhood domestic abuse come up in the story when I began reading it. Some readers may benefit from a content warning, but rest assured, all of the heavier material in Total Suplex of the Heart is handled with sensitivity.
Total Suplex of the Heart has a powerful, cathartic effect that makes it a must-read for anyone who has ever sat down and listened to a playlist composed of different versions of “Landslide” (I have). I don’t mean to sound flippant, but as Total Suplex of the Heart evidences, it’s important to look back on painful moments in one’s story and acknowledge their place in our personal growth. And find the humor in them.
Starer and Greco’s collaborative unity made Georgie’s wins feel like victories for us as readers, and her losses feel like our own. It takes immense bravery to tell a story that feels so personal, and we should feel lucky that Total Suplex of the Heart takes the plunge without a second thought.
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