Intro
WWE has had a foot in the comic book world for a while now. They’ve had series covering NXT, Smackdown superstars, and past legends in the sport. This is the first comic centered around the New Day in particular, but it also comes from Boom Studios, the same company that produces all of WWE’s comics.
The comic also has some cover variants. The main cover features art of the New Day standing on a pancake. The cover I got featured a photo of the New Day serving pancakes (are you sensing a theme here?). Both are very fun to look at, though I can’t really figure out a system in their distribution.
The Plot
Overall, the plot of the comic is biographical. It’s not completely accurate, of course, but it does a good job of boiling down the New Day’s characters to their basic personalities. The comic also exaggerates some of the New Day’s personality traits in order to make the story more fun to read, which is again completely understandable.
The first half of the issue shows Kofi, Xavier, and E as teenagers. Kofi is a wrestling superfan who looks up to Ron Simmons and eventually gets to train with him. Xavier is a video game nerd who excels in everything he does, including wrestling. E isn’t familiar with pro wrestling but uses his natural strength to fight bullies and is guided to the sport by a barber who watched him fight a gang of hooligans in the street.
The next part covers their time in WWE. One notable detail is that the comic skips over the New Day’s time as heels. This makes sense, though, since doing so provides a story that’s easier to follow.
Million Man Ministry
When the New Day was set to debut as gospel preachers, one of the names proposed for their heel faction was the “Million Man Ministry.” I’m shocked that the idea even got to E, Kofi, and Xavier’s ears. I wanted to mention the hypothetical name here because it’s one of the clearest examples of some of the rather bizarre microaggressions the New Day have faced during their time in WWE.
Like I said earlier, the comic doesn’t cover New Day’s time with their heel gospel preacher gimmick. It does, though, briefly hint at some racial microaggressions they’ve had to endure. For instance, at one point Kofi is presented with cringeworthy ring names, one of which being “the hood warrior.” While the tone of the comic is always upbeat and lighthearted, it doesn’t pretend that the New Day didn’t have to struggle. I think the authors had a good balance in this regard.
New Day: WWE’s Triforce
The comic is predictably carried by its protagonists, Big E, Kofi, and Xavier. Their vibrant and fun personality dynamic is preserved in the comic. It’s clear that the authors are big fans of the New Day and understand what makes the team so effective and charismatic. Kofi is the passionate, hard-working underdog, Xavier is the geeky, slightly awkward brains behind the trio, and Big E is the golden-hearted muscle.
While they don’t call the Legend of Zelda franchise by name— probably for legal reasons— Xavier compares the New Day to the Triforce, an artifact made out of three golden triangles. The three triangles are power, courage, and wisdom. In the comic, Xavier tells Kofi and E that they have the courage and power, respectively, but they need Xavier’s wisdom to complete their team. This leads to E and Kofi accepting him into the group, which is effectively the climax of the book.
The comparison between the New Day and the Triforce is both unexpectedly accurate, and another fun way that Xavier’s love of video games is incorporated into the comic.
Conclusion
My one main gripe of sorts with this comic was the price point since it’s $7.99 for a paperback copy. I got over that quickly though, since you have to account for the price of licensing and the fact that Boom Studios is a smaller company than Marvel or DC. Plus, the book itself, particularly the cover, is of very nice quality.
Overall, The New Day: Power of Positivity is a very fun comic series so far! It’s a great read for comic book fans who like wrestling, or wrestling fans who like comics. I can’t recommend it enough, either for reading or as a collector’s piece for superfans of the New Day.
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