Massive Publishing partners with Masked Republic to release THE LUCHAVERSE, featuring a legendary cast of luchadores including Rey Mysterio and Tinieblas Jr. to battle monsters, aliens, and evil threats from across the cosmos.
[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 Tinieblas 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
Ruben Zamora, Masked Republic found & CEO, Luchaverse co-creator
and break the mold of what lucha libre films were, and what wrestling related comics have been,
is a dream come true for me.
Teaming up with Massive Publishing to tap into the incredible business they have built over the
Kevin Kleinrock, Masked Republic President & COO, Luchaverse co-creator
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.
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).
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.
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!
As a kid, my mother introduced me to the work of the classic Lucha Libre film actors Mil
Michael Calero, Massive Publishing CEO & Co-Publixher
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.
Luchaverse: Catalyst #1 is now available for preorder at your local comic book shop via
Previewsworld.com and directly on https://massivepublishing.com/collections/luchaverse .
The 3-part event will be released monthly in comic stores from Massive Publishing with a
sprawling cast of legendary luchadores in each issue. Luchaverse: Catalyst #1, In Shops: July
17, 2024.
