Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has spent the better part of three decades executing one of the most successful brand reinventions in entertainment history. Rising from the hyper-masculine, scripted world of the WWE to become a global box-office titan, Johnson has successfully navigated the treacherous waters of action, comedy, and family-frien
The Squared Circle of the Soul: Navigating Identity and Trauma in Bread Tarleton’s ‘Soften the Blow’
Professional wrestling is often dismissed as mere spectacle, a choreographed dance of hyper-masculinity and predetermined outcomes. However, for those who look closer, it serves as a profound lens through which to view the complexities of the 21st-century American experience. In his evocative graphic novel Soften the Blow, creator Bread Tarleton ut
