I am a huge wrestling fan which is so underrepresented in fiction, so I adored that this existed! I would have devoured this as a kid, but still loved it as an adult. Plus, having Rebecca Quinn aka Becky Lynch's endorsement is an added plus!! A must get for the kid in your life who loves wrestling.

This was so much fun! I often struggle with graphic novels aimed at kids as I find they have a tendency to talk down to the kids reading it, but this one didn't do that! It's action-packed, colourful and really engaging, which I know younger readers would love.

Katie is a great main character, so full of passion and energy and super strong too. Seeing the wrestling world through her eyes really made it more exciting for me. I'm not a huge fan but her excitement was infectious. The plot, while a little predictable was well-paced and action-packed.

Oni Press has been killing it lately in representation and story telling! This was SO MUCH FUN to read! Wrestling isn't something I really care about, but I loved Katie's love of it!

Of all the sports, wrestling is probably the most suited to the graphic novel format. It's already more action than planning and strategizing. And Scheidt doesn't rely only on wrestling action. He's taken a wrestling team and made it a team of international secret agents. So there is travel, exotic locales, and political intrigue. The plot keeps moving constantly but leaves room for reflection and emotional depth. It's solidly entertaining and empowers the young protagonist to become a vital part of the novel's resolution. It will entertain young readers and hold up to repeat reading.

'Agents of SLAM' by Dave Scheidt with art by Scoot McMahon is a graphic novel about a group of pro wrestlers who work for the president.

Katie Jones is a young wrestlingfan with a video podcast. When she gets invited to the White House to meet her hero Bruno Bravado, she finds a secret organization run by the President to fight crime. When an evil group of wrestlers threatens the country, Katie and her new friends have to stop them.

I liked this story for younger readers, even if some of the plot seemed a bit obvious to me. The wrestlers are all pretty silly and the art is fun.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

SLAM was formed to keep the World Domination Society in check . Their efforts lead to plenty of body slams, and some wrestling matches that are totally NOT fixed.

And, lucky wrestling vlogger Katie gets to be smack dab in the middle of all the action.

Look out! It's sometimes hard to tell the heels from the heroes in this action-packed graphic for adventure-loving middle grade readers.

This was such a fun, bright, beautiful comic! Very adventurous and fun, would love to have a physical copy of this.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Agents of S.L.A.M by David Scheidt

Two enemy wrestling teams fight to take control of the greatest power on the planet - WD$ team wants world domination but S.L.A.M wants world protection.

The novel is set in our universe, in America. It centres two wrestling teams, the US President and a child internet blogger. There is lots of representation of black and poc characters. Some themes of the book include friendship and betrayal.

I read this as an eARC from NetGalley.

The book is full of friendships, betrayal and fight scenes. It’s fun and lighthearted with great illustrations and a good storyline. It’s a quick read, only took me less than an hour. The goal of the book is to teach you not to idolise celebrities because they don’t always turn out to be good people and this was definitely achieved.

It was good to see a young black girl be the main character and protagonist and ultimately save the world. My favourite character was Rane, she was a great villain and I loved her character design.

I would definitely recommend this book, I think it’s appropriate for middle grade ages and up. It has the same art style as the animated version of Teen Titans and also Kim Possible.

TW/CW:
- Death
- Violence
- Fire

Thanks NetGalley and Dave Scheidt for the opportunity to review this ARC! :)

Over the years, I’ve been realizing that there is something crucial adults can learn from kids: how to be playful. Moreover, we must understand that this sense of playfulness can coexist with emotional depth. Whenever I hear someone say that animated media are “just for kids”, I wonder when folks will stop underestimating the creativity and intelligence of children. These thoughts have led me to watch more animated shows, movies, and most recently, to read more graphic novels.

Katie Jones is a famous twelve-year-old vlogger with a passion for wrestling. While getting to interview her idols, she learns that there is more going on behind the scenes than she thought. It is now up to her and the pro-wrestlers to save the galaxy from their rivals, the World Domination Society (W.D.S.) This is a fast-paced story with fun dialogue, twists, and an enthusiastic, knowledgeable protagonist. The vibrant illustrations and colors make the novel even more enjoyable!

This was a short good read. It seems like I can read anytime for comfort but it isn't very memorable like a book you read once and forget about.

I enjoyed this a lot. The characters were well-rounded and multi-faceted, and that plot twist caught me completely unaware somehow. I love that ring wrestling is known all over the galaxy and is the standard sport to base decisions off of. This graphic novel had me laughing as the story progressed, and the moral was very warming and positive and encourages us all to be the good we want to see in the world.

Thank you NetGalley and OniPress for the ARC. I look forward to more adventures with Katie Jones and finding out what S.L.A.M. really stands for.

*reviewed from uncorrected eARC*

wrestling superfan vlogger Katie Joes gets to tag along with the pro-wrestler Agents of SLAM on a secret mission to battle the evil WDS (World Domination Society) and soon is asked to join the ranks of SLAM. Things get even more complicated when alien toughs decide to take advantage of the chaos.

highly improbable, but if you have a young wrestling fan, they might just love this.

I think grade 3 to 5 boys will enjoy reading this book, since this one it's proper for this age. Some funny contents, fighting scenes, and super heros in the book.
"Speaking of which, I've learned that our heroes can let us down. Sometimes people aren't who we think they are". So true.

Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for providing the ARC of Agents of SLAM!

Everything about "Agents of SLAM" is fast-paced and enjoyable. I loved seeing the world of wrestling in an atmosphere where they are saving the world. The art was extremely cute and the dialogue, funny. I thought that the twist of the story was well-written, and I liked seeing Katie Jones process in overcoming her conflict in the story. One part that got me was the relationship between Reaper and Rane... loved it!

I enjoyed the inclusion of the epilogue as well. From beginning to end, "Agents of SLAM" provides a witty and exciting book.

Agents of SLAM is a wrestling graphic novel that people of all ages will enjoy! Katie is a wrestling vlogger who has the chance to interview her wrestling heroes. She quickly finds out that good and evil are not just for the TV - the World Domination Society actually wants to dominate the world! She teams up with SLAM to help defeat them and prevent them from taking over.

This was such a cute story. I love that the main character is a girl, instead of a boy, showing that everyone can love wrestling! It played on a lot of different wrestling tropes, but even people who have never watched wrestling before could enjoy it for its messages.

Plot:

SLAM Wrestling is the greatest sport in the world, and twelve-year-old Katie Jones is the world’s biggest wrestling fan and a prolific vlogger with millions of followers. After wrestling manager, Mr. Johnson becomes President of the United States, Katie is invited to the White House to meet her wrestling idols, such as the famous wrestling legend, Bruno Bravado.

However, Katie’s life is about to get a whole lot more intense, as she isn’t there for a simple meet and greet. President Johnson is secretly hiring Katie for her wrestling knowledge, to help the ‘Agents of S.LA.M.’ to protect the Earth from evil-doers, known as the W.D.S, the World Domination Society, a group of heels (villains in wrestling) who have stolen the ancient golden championship belt, which grants the wearer of the belt super-human and even supernatural abilities, such as increased speed, strength, and the power to resurrect and control ancient creatures such as dragons.

Katie must help the Agents of S.L.A.M. to protect the world not just from the heels, but from aliens as well because as it turns out, wrestling is a sport enjoyed not just on earth, but across the galaxy!
The Agents of S.L.A.M.

Story:

This story is completely brilliant, as it contains everything a wrestling fan could want from a story based around the sport, and more. It has heroes (faces), villains (heels), opposing teams (factions), mystery, drama, big reveals, and when I said there’s more, there’s also dragons, magic, and aliens in this book, so even for the fans of fantastical stories often seen within comics, this book has it all.

The story includes wrestling character stereotypes as well, from the buff bravado hero who everyone loves, the creepy dark facade who looks evil but is actually heroic, the luchador mask-wearing hero, a strong young female, a somewhat slow-witted country boy, and an old legend who keeps them all in check.

Of course, with this book being aimed at a younger audience, the young protagonist being Katie Jones, would make this story feel relatable to any young wrestling fans because what kid wouldn’t want to meet and work with their heroes? I don’t watch wrestling as much as I did when I was a kid, but I know for a fact I’d have loved the opportunity to meet my wrestling heroes like Undertaker, Edge, and Triple H because they were (and still are) awesome and with my action figures I often imagined them going on missions to fight evil-doers. So this book is similar to my childhood imagination, and to see something like that in a book makes it a perfect read for any young reader.

Art:

The illustrations in this book are brilliantly designed, with clear thick linework to make every character and background details such as crowds, clearly visible. The text is big and bold, jumping out of every panel it appears in, giving the reader a real sense of action.

The colours are smooth and bright making this an eye-catching piece of work, that attracts its young readers. The panel shots, in the beginning, make the book feel like you’re watching a wrestling show on TV (without moving of course) with the perfectly designed angles, and the depth between the background and foreground.

The characters are fun and this book certainly feels like it could be adapted easily into an incredibly brilliant kids’ television show that even some adult fans of wrestling would enjoy.

Conclusion:

I honestly love this book. Its art jumps out of the pages with its bright colours and thick clear linework that make each character stand out from the rest. The heroes and villains look awesome, the story is genuinely enjoyable and sticks to the idea of a wrestling plotline with faces and heels going head to head, but instead of just being a wrestling story, it adds some extra enjoyment with its fantasy elements by adding magic, monsters, and aliens to make it feel like a bizarre comic book that takes you out of the real world and throws you into a world I think many of us would love to be apart of.

Agents of S.L.A.M. will be released on the 19th of April 2022 and if you’re a fan of wrestling or your kids are, then this is a book for you and them to enjoy.

Wrestling super heroes save the world from the very bad guys and some aliens.

Weird and wonderful tale filled with silliness, fun and every trope going. However, the story will engage young readers and the key messages are good! The main protagonist is wonderful.

A brilliant addition to KS2 libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review Agents of S.L.A.M!

I really enjoyed this one!

First of all, I was immediately satisfied with the wonderful art style. I loved the digital brushes used by the artist and the wonderful colour palettes and fantastic line work.

I wasn’t sure what way my opinion would go for Agents of S.L.A.M as I’m very much a UFC watcher and fan, and don’t often dabble in wrestling. But I loved this, it had all the fun and drama of wrestling as well as that cool sci-if comic book feel.

The Red Reaper was a highlight for me. Especially when we got to visit his home, meet his bats and his fantastic mum and see the juxtaposition of his home life and his bad-ass look in S.L.A.M.

I would defiantly be interested in continuing this graphic novel, and encourage others to pick it up and give it a go- especially if you enjoy wrestling!

Agents of S.L.A.M. is an upcoming graphic novel being released by Oni Press. It's from creators Dave Scheidt and Scoot McMahon, who previously worked together on Wrapped Up, and tells the story of a wrestling organization with a huge secret. These are not just wrestlers. They are responsible for protecting the Earth from an extraterrestrial threat. 

The story features Katie, a young girl who happens to also be a vlogger who loves wrestling. More specifically, she's a huge fan of the Agents of S.L.A.M. and the wrestler Bruno. After being invited to tour the secret S.L.A.M. headquarters, Katie finds herself thrown into a world she never would have imagined capable of existing. Even worse? As the day goes on, she learns that sometimes we build our heroes up too high, making it all the easier for them to prove us wrong.

What follows next is a story full of action, heart and hilarity. As someone who is not particularly a fan of wrestling, I admittedly was not sure I'd like Agents of S.L.A.M. Yet, by the end, I was glad I gave it a shot. This is a middle-grade title, technically, but it feels like a book that readers of all ages will come to adore.

This crew of wrestlers is delightful and so diverse. From a grandmother who pilots the jet, to a female who leads the crew and a young girl who proves herself more than worthy of being a hero, it's hard not to enjoy the fiascos of this crew. They are a disaster but in the best way possible.

It's an absurd story. Wrestlers that work for the president and go to space? It should utterly ridiculous. Yet, what unfolds is a story of a makeshift family that is hilariously entertaining. If you're looking for something you can enjoy with your children, Agents of S.L.A.M. is a title you should check out come April.

Perfect for fans of wrestling, adventure, and kids becoming the heroes of their own stories. A fun cast of character sand a great set up. Hope there will be future volumes in the series!