[Hood River, Oregon] Massive Publishing and Masked Republic team up this July to launch the most exciting luchador stories within the pages of The Luchaverse, a genre-blending thrill ride starring iconic talents like Rey Mysterio and Tiniebelas Jr. These luchadores may battle in the ring by day, but by night those with an ancient secret lineage serve humanity as monster hunters and world protectors!
“Being able to bring some of today’s biggest names in lucha libre into our original story world and break the mold of what lucha libre films were, and what wrestling related comics have been, is a dream come true for me.” – Masked Republic founder & CEO and Luchaverse co-creator Ruben Zamora said.
Each Luchaverse: Catalyst event issue will be a double-feature with 48 pages of thrilling action bringing readers straight into the heart of a centuries old mystery that has suddenly rocked the most powerful luchadores to their cores as an unimaginable power is unleashed. Releasing July 17, 2024, the first issue is written by Ivan Plaza (Chido Comics) & Marco Lopez (Puerto Rico Strong, The Nightcrawlers).
Cover by Francesco Tomaselli
Kicking off the Luchaverse: Catalyst event, Rey Mysterio, the most recognized luchador on the planet, discovers his legacy outside the ring as the next in line to take on a great evil prophesied to return and plunge the world into darkness. It’s all action and adventure as Mysterio, aided by the clandestine military group known as “The Ambassadors,” heads deep into the jungle to an arcane ancient temple with one mission in mind: retrieve the inconceivably powerful MASK OF THE FIRST MYSTERIO. Interior art by Ben Harvey (Marvel Comics’ cover artist) and colourist Bryan Magnaye.
Cover by Ben Harvey
The second part of this double-sized first issue spotlights the reigning Legends of Lucha Libre Champion, Tinieblas Jr., whose father was the first luchador, after El Santo, to have his own comic book series in Mexico in the 1970s. Interior art by Diego Simone (The Purple Oblivion).
In the pages of The Luchaverse, Tinieblas Jr. is the supreme monster hunter, heir to a legacy as protector of both the human and monster realms forcing him to take on the legions of the damned and all manner of creatures that go bump in the night. The actions of Rey Mysterio & The Ambassadors have set off a chain of events most in The Luchaverse are still trying to connect, but Tinieblas Jr. and his assistant Ramona are working to remain one step ahead as they race to solve mystery at the heart of where the two worlds meet before both realms are changed forever!
“Teaming up with Massive Publishing to tap into the incredible business they have built over the past two years and enabling us to bring The Luchaverse into comic book shops across the globe – we see a tag team that is primed for success,” – Masked Republic President & COO and Luchaverse co-creator Kevin Kleinrock added.
Cover by Diego Simone
“As a kid, my mother introduced me to the work of the classic Lucha Libre film actors Mil Máscaras and El Santo. I loved their larger than life pulp hero personas that transcended the ring. It’s awesome to see Masked Republic giving that treatment to the modern stars of Lucha Libre and getting to debut with a story featuring Rey Mysterio feels special as I remember obsessing over his early matches and to this day consider him one of my favorite wrestlers of all time.” – Michael Calero, CEO/Co-Publisher, Massive Publishing
Luchaverse: Catalyst #1 is now available for preorder at your local comic book shop via Previewsworld.com and directly on https://massivepublishing.com/
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Massive Publishing was founded in 2022 by Michael Calero, Trevor Richardson, and Kevin Roditeli, and launched with its first imprint Whatnot Publishing, a partnership with the social commerce platform, Whatnot. After distributing over 800,000 units to retailers in their first six months, Massive was added to the Deluxe Publisher Tier of Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise. Massive is distributed to the book market through Simon & Schuster.
WEB: www.massivepublishing.com
SOCIAL: @massivepublishing
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For Comment,
CONTACT: Dr. Robyn Crook
COMPANY: Massive Publishing
EMAIL: Robyn@massivepublishing.com
Masked Republic, Inc., a privately held company, is the first integrated live event, merchandising and media organization uniquely centered in the emerging growth market of lucha libre (Mexican wrestling) beyond the borders of Mexico. The company’s core businesses include representation of dozens of the biggest stars in the industry for wrestling and non-wrestling related appearances, worldwide merchandising, live event production and management, production and distribution of content across multiple platforms including television, home entertainment, pay-per-view, digital media, and film. The company is headquartered in San Diego, CA with offices in San Francisco, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Mexico City, Mexico and London, England.
WEB: www.MaskedRepublic.com
SOCIAL: @maskedrepublic
