Dumpster Diver

Our good buddy Dom allowed me the license of his creator-owned character The Dumpster for use in today's strip. I assume I rendered him justly. If you want more information about The Dumpster, and Dom's adolescent activities as The Dumpster, feel free to contact him on Twitter at @serebrius.

Speaking of professional wrestling, I can't imagine growing up in the 1980s or 90s without the likes of Hulk Hogan or Stone Cold Steve Austin touching a part of your life. In the 80s, between the actual WWF (now the WWE [get over yourself, World Wildlife Fund]), the Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling cartoon and honestly, the cultural phenominon that was Hulkamania, wrestling was everywhere. The names Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Junkyard Dog and The Rockers will always have a place in my heart. Its sad in a way, looking back at how the bright, shiny heroes of the day like Hulk Hogan, Superman and Bigfoot have been replaced by dark, gritty heroes. Enter Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The late 90s immursed me into wrestling after some years away with Steve Austin's complete pop culture saturation. Going anywhere without seeing an "Austin 3:16," or "Stone Cold Said So" shirt was impossible. But for as great as Stone Cold was, it was familiar faces like Shawn Michaels getting new life that really pulled me back in.

Shawn Michaels, The Heartbreak Kid, was almost a throwback to the old days. Arrogant? Yes, but he wasn't the antihero that Stone Cold or the Undertaker were. He still kept things old school... until he joined D-Generation X of course. It wasn't until right now thinking about it I realize that's a big reason why I gravitated to Michaels in those later days.

But after the excitement of Austin and the early days of Triple H and the Rock, I bowed out of wresting and haven't gone back. From what I hear from friends, the culture around WWE seems to have changed. Even the diehards like Dom or Ryan McCormick of A Fireside Chat, who follow the current regime, talk about it with less reverence.

So while its highly unlikely I'll have a third go-around with the sport (really, who has three hours every Sunday to dedicate to Raw... or Smackdown... or whatever its called) there's no denying the impact it had through a large portion of my life.

-Gint