It’s been a while since I started my re-read of wrestling adjacent crime drama Ringside, so it was about time I returned to the darkest side of the ring.

Danny Knossos has bloodily made his way through numerous goons to get to his kidnapped ex-partner, Teddy, who’s still MIA.

Meanwhile, Reynolds and his protege are due for a meeting with their boss – soon, their future will be revealed.

Will they continue working house shows, or is something even bigger lined up for the legendary Reynolds? Or indeed, the idealistic young wrestler he’s taken under his wing?

As this first story arc wraps up, writer Joe Keatinge continues to shine an absolutely brutal light on Danny’s post wrestling life. He’s in deep, with seemingly no escape – and things just seem to be going from bad to worse, no matter how much of a smooth talker he is in addition to the physical punishment he’s able to both dish out and take.

Nick Barber’s art is a fantastic fit for the series; it’s simple and clean, though blood and brutality is never far away. One particular violent scene is made all the more powerful for focusing on the face of one character, while blood and horrible sound effects occur from just off-panel.

Though we end on a somewhat optimistic note here, or at least in comparison to where the issue begins, it’s clear that all of our main characters are making further bad decisions that are going to get them all into even more trouble.

Ringside is one of my favourite comics of the last few decades and it’s never got the acclaim or attention it deserves.

It’s a brutal and often downbeat read, but its story, set against the backdrop of the seedy world of professional wrestling – in which it seems no one can emerge unscathed – and its themes of regret, missed (and squandered) opportunities and the dim hope of redemption still resonate just as strongly today as they did when it was first published.