HURACAN RAMIREZ el invencible
One of the most recognizable and significant masks in lucha libre history was
the blue and white swirled visage of
HURACAN RAMIREZ. Originally introduced in a warm-hearted wrestling comedy film in the early 50’s, the mask was sold much like a modern franchise property to actual ring
performers later. Of the various men who have donned the hurricane mask over
the decades,
Daniel Garcia was the true ring innovator, and became a legend of the mat. His wrestling
prowess carried what would have otherwise been a footnote in Mexi-lucha-hero
history into a multi-media franchise.
Huracan’s films were socially conscious commentaries rather than
B-genre fare, and for that have not translated as well into modern fandom. The comics, however, are a lot more fun.
B-genre fare, and for that have not translated as well into modern fandom. The comics, however, are a lot more fun.
Huracan’s title, starring Garcia at the height of his popularity, was published in the
early 70
’s by Editorial Rodriguez, and ran for several hundred issues.
Of the lucha legends that crossed over into comics, Huracan Ramirez was easily
the best dressed. Stylishly mod, and right on the cusp of Mexico
’s 5-10 years behind-the-times fashions, the dapper enmascarado was always in a
sharp suit and smoking some sort of fashionable pipe.
The fotomontaje in Huracan Ramirez was, well, pretty rotten. The examples I have and have seen are very
inconsistent, ranging from adequate to downright inept. The bank of poses,
especially for Huracan himself, often wasn
’t up to the task of the editorial, and the compositing was sloppy.
The strength of Huracan’s books, however, lied in the stories and situations, and a dry, sublime sense
of humor. Huracan would wander into situations where the participation of a
masked wrestler was downright absurd. A notable story saw the ring hero subbing
for the goalie of the Mexican soccer team during a huge World Cup game.
The series also saw repetitive use of what seems to be adult heads pasted onto
out-of-scale reduced bodies to replicate
mini-super estrellas or children. Kids with sideburns... Soooo beyond wrong...
Plenty of ring action in Huracan Ramirez comics. Here, the mask and faceplate design have been painted onto the opponent
model/actor.
Huracan was a sportsman of the highest order. Here, he fills in as a soccer
goalie, followed by a dominating performance on the foosball table. Note the
riveted bar crowd.
NEUTRÓN
If one contender to El esmascarado de plata was going to make a serious run at the title, it would be the early 60’s Edar series Neutrón, based on the successful Republic-serial-esque superhero movies starring Wolf
Ruvinskis in release at the time. Four of these
“El esmascarado negro” films were dubbed into English contemporary with the “Samson” flicks by K. Gordon Murray, so the iconic black mask with white lighting bolts
is actually somewhat well known in the U.S.
Neutrón in both comics and film was certainly from the Mexi-lucha-hero gene pool,
however the character was never actually portrayed as a wrestler moonlighting
as a justice fighter. Neutr
ón was more a straight superhero, and regularly fought masked nemesis, the mad
Dr. Caronte.
The comic version of Neutrón had a boy sidekick “Neutroncito” who wore a junior version of the costume in red, with a skull-cap instead of a
mask. The duo operated as government-approved agents, and had an astounding
array of advanced technology, weaponry and vehicles at their disposal
— ray guns, space rockets, the works...
Caronte appeared as often in comics as he did in the films, always messing
around with arcane forces he shouldn
’t have been in a quest for immortality, and leaving Neutrón to clean up the mess. And like the movies, Caronte was overly verbose. The
books I
’ve seen are way too dialogue heavy, prone to scenes of a reticent villain
mulling over his hatred of the world. The movies used similar scenes almost
like padding (not having the advantage of ring footage to fill time), but they
really slow down the reader’s pace on the printed page.
The presence of an arch nemesis, though, is a plus the black mask had over the
silver, and the violent lucha-literate fights with Caronte are just great.
The posing in the fights scenes is often superior to Santo, with big
over-exaggerated punches and wrestling moves like flying dropkicks and
“huracanranas” thrown regularly. It must have taken some skill to capture these in clear still
photographs.
The Neutróns I’ve seen are very film-like in tone, with cinematic lighting replicated in
chiaroscuro. But film-realism did not stop the artists from using creative
license and pitting their character against all sorts of strange menaces.
Mummies and giant insects abound.
So why isn’t the black mask top of the heap? Covers. Take a look for yourself, the covers are so god-awful in some cases, it just
takes the series down with it. And although various wrestlers have donned the
black mask in the ring from time to time, Santo
’s real-life lucha libre mega-fame fuelled the sales of his book like no other.
Sadly, no creative team is credited in the few Neutrón issues I’ve found, and I can’t really tell whether or not Wolf Ruvinski actually posed for the comics. Either
way, they
’re just great.
Long-winded as this article is, I’m frustrated it’s not more thorough, mostly due to a lack of hands-on material. These comics
just have not endured, and even though word is out in Mexico that collectors
(aka gringos with disposable incomes) want the stuff, few actually have it to
sell. A bigger tragedy is the seeming equal degree of loss in the corporate
sense
— where are the publisher archives? Where are the reprints keeping this prolific
genre alive?
Will photo comics remain the unsung heroes of Mexi-lucha mass media?
Keith J. (combing eBay) Rainville — August, 2007
Article text ©Keith J. Rainville, 2007. Artwork from the private collection of Keith
Rainville. Content reproduced is
© of the original owners.
