Get your brackets ready, it’s So You Want to Read Comics.  This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre.  This week we’re lacing up our sneakers and taking a look at March Madness.

In 1939 the NCAA, the governing body of collegiate sports in the U.S., created a single elimination tournament featuring the best men’s basketball teams at the time.  The first tournament only featured eight teams and resulted in Oregon coming out on top.  Since then, the field has expanded to 64 teams.  The term March Madness first appeared in an essay by H.V. Porter, but it wouldn’t be until a sports broadcaster named Brent Musburger began using the term during his commentary for CBS that it would become synonymous with the NCAA tournament.  During the weeks that the tournament runs, it becomes one of the most watched sporting events in the world, the final game in 2023 garnered over 14 million viewers.  March Madness is often praised for its drama, being that it’s a single elimination tournament, its fertile soil for upsets and Cinderella stories.  It’s also during this time that many collegiate basketball programs cement their legacies, which in turn has an effect on admissions and the college’s reputation as a whole.

So, for those of you who can’t get enough of the tournament action that March Madness brings, here’s a couple of comics that capture that same spirit and are great for new readers.

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DO A POWERBOMB

Writer: Daniel Warren Johnson

Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Publisher: Image Comics

Everyone loves the spectacle of sports and seeing high level competition brings an excitement that’s hard to match.  Yet sometimes it’s the story of the competitors themselves that stand above their play.  Every year a few teams in March Madness emerge not because they play basketball well, but because there’s something about them that is interesting beyond basketball.  That’s the sort of thing you get with Do a Powerbomb.  In this universe professional wrestling is a real sport featuring real stakes.  It focuses on Lona Steelrose, who has aspirations of being the next big wrestling superstar.  Unfortunately, she’s the daughter of one of the most legendary wrestlers of all time and it’s just as much of a struggle for her to escape that shadow as it is for her to win her matches.  In order to set herself apart from her mother Lona agrees to join a tournament that will push her beyond anything she’s done before.  A lot of this story deals with how people handle the burden of legacy, whether it be something they strive for, or something they’ve been burdened with.  This story has ended and can be read in its entirety in just one volume.

MARVEL SUPER HERO CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS

Writer: Mark Gruenwald

Artists: John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton

Publisher: Marvel Comics

It’s hard to talk about tournaments and contests in comic books without talking about one of the very first to hit the shelves.  In 1982, the creative team of Mark Gruenwald, John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton (all legends of comic book creation) created one of the very first miniseries, not only in Marvel history but in comics history in general.  This three-issue miniseries featured two cosmic beings essentially forming a wager, one that has massive consequences for the universe as a whole.  As part of this wager two teams of superheroes are pitted against each other in combat, with the winning team determining the outcome of the wager.  Characters like Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Wolverine, and Black Panther all show up as contestants, with tons more appearing as spectators. Besides being one of the first titles of its kind, Contest of Champions also was progressive in how it provided reference material for the characters that appeared inside, something that would go on to be the blueprint for the encyclopedias that Marvel would release years later.  It’s this reference material that makes this a good title to pick up as a new reader.  Sure, most of the characters featured have had massive changes since 1982, but it is still a solid foundation.

Who are you rooting for in this year’s March Madness?  What did you think of these recommendations? Let us know in the comments section below.

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