Rival Angels Season 3 Volume 2

Part of a Kickstarter reward package.

Title: Rival Angels: Season 3 Volume 2
Date: 2018
Publisher: Rival Angels
Writer: Alan Evans, Justin Riley, Cale Ranots
Artist: Alan Evans, Cale Ranots
Colorist: Aaron Daly, Mabel Lim, Kay King

After 10 years without missing an update, the pro wrestling webcomic Rival Angels wrapped up with a massive cross-promotional storyline, collected in this final trade paperback volume.

Although multiple backstage storylines are wrapped up here, the wrestling really takes center stage, with a classic wrestling angle in the style of Kenny Omega's current cross-promotional reign in AEW, AAA, and Impact.

In the Rival Angels world, this kicks off with all four of the Upstarts buying front-row tickets when Japanese promotion BRA does a Chicago stop on their US tour. This serves to reignite storylines that were left behind when Sabrina Mancini left Japan at the end of Season 2, Volume 1.

A cross-promotional PPV is quickly organized, headlined by Olympic medalist Camille Cote challenging Yvonne Carmichel for the Rival Angels World Championship. And that's just the beginning of the final push that results in the emergence of a powerful new faction, and completes the journey of the Upstarts to the main event level.

The wrestling angles and matches are pretty much spot-on perfect here, and the interactions between Sabrina and Sun are a highlight, although all of the Upstarts get their moments.

There are also a few nice epilogues bits that take a look into the future, as well as a backup story by Cale Ranots that goes into the technical aspects of BJJ and catch wrestling in a training session.

Considering the epic journey of this series, this was a great conclusion that really showcased the creator's love of pro wrestling, and sent the fans home happy.

Rating: 9/10

Rival Angels: Season 3 Volume 1

Part of a Kickstarter reward package.

Title: Rival Angels: Season 3 Volume 1
Date: 2017
Publisher: Rival Angels
Writer: Alan Evans, Justin Riley
Artist: Alan Evans, Dave Reynolds
Colorist: Aaron Daly

The action here focuses primarily on Ultradragon (Sabrina and Sun) and their quest for the tag team championship, as Sabrina deals with her doubts about not being able to "win the big one". Meanwhile the Upstarts continue on their slow path toward forgiving past issues and restoring their friendships. And there's a new threat on the horizon as Olympic medalist Camile Cote debuts, and proceeds to destroy everyone in her path.

This was a really focused story, which has not always been the case with Rival Angels. It's nice to see the pacing balance between in-ring action and out-of-ring soap opera continue to improve.

Ultradragon's quest for tag team gold was a great storyline, but Brooke had some excellent moments as well as she had taken on a more serious role in the story. Def Tech's plot was on more of a slow burn during this volume, but there was enough there to keep things interesting.

A new segment at the start of each chapter featuring a page of internet fan commentary was a nice addition, and a decent representation/parody of online wrestling fans.

A Christmas-themed story drawn by Dave Reynolds gave some background insights into Sabrina's relationship with her family.

Rating: 8/10