Written by Viviana García Besné y Amigos Designed & Illustrated by Jeffrey Everett & Friends Welcome to the art of LUCHADORES VS. EVERYTHING - the most unique and incredible book on the luchador film genre ever written. Over 590 pages! The book is done, printed, and on its way to our fulfillment center! This will be the ONLY time you can get this Premium First Print Deluxe Hardcover Collectors Edition - no reprints happening that will capture all these details ever again! Family, friends, and colleagues of the famed Calderon and García Besne families dive into the history of their family's films and the beloved genre. Packed with special guests such as film expert, and passionate lucha libre enthusiast, David Wilt; interviews with actors from the golden age of the films; the grandsons of El Santo and Blue Demon; WWE Legend and Hall of Farner Amy "Lita" Dumas, luchadora Estrellita y muchos mas. From first two films of El Santo, shot in Cuba in the days leading up to Castro's ascension, to classics featuring Dracula, El Hombre Lobo, Frankestein and Hija del Frankestein, and from the most prolific luchadora films including La Mujer Murcielago (Batwoman), Las Mujeres Panteras, and Las Lobas de/ Ring to the highly controversial "sexy versions" of Santo classics - this book covers more than two dozen classic films and is packed with never-before-seen materials and images. • The book includes a mountain of restored posters, lobby cards, stills, and promotional materials including discovered from the family vault contracts, scripts, letters, and production records. • Over 30 contemporary artists creating new original works inspired by these films plus legends lending some of their most popular lucha libre themed pieces and photography to our pages. • Includes a collectible, screen printed box, a spot UV coated cover, and a double-sided dust jacket with an exclusive "Luchador Cinema" mural from artist Miguel Valverde best known for his "History of Lucha Libre" mural inside Arena Mexico.
The bell is about to ring.
In less than an hour, this campaign taps out.
If you were waiting to jump in, this is your last shot.
Jump in before the count hits three.
Add another book.
Grab the lotería.
Take the posters.
Vámonos!
Hi everyone,
Over the past days, I’ve been thinking a lot about what this campaign really represents.
Yes, it’s a book.
But more than that, it’s a collective act of remembering something that was never meant to be preserved.
The films, the stories, the images that shaped Luchadores vs. Everything survived through improvisation, chance, and community long before this campaign existed. What’s happening here feels like a continuation of that same fragile process, something that only exists because people decide, individually, that it matters.
Now that we’ve reached our initial goal, it might feel like the project is already safe. But the truth is that what we are building together is still very much alive and unfinished. The scale and care that this book deserves depend on sustaining the momentum of this moment.
Every pledge is not just a pre-order, it’s a vote for this work to exist in the world with the depth, beauty, and integrity it deserves.
Whether you joined on day one or just recently, thank you for being part of this living process.
Gracias infinitas,
We are so very excited and humbled that we have now passed 500 backers and (as of this writing) we are less than $500 from our next stretch goal of adding 4 preivew pages of our upcoming Film Frames Graphic Novel Adventure in stunning Pan-Dimensional 3D (plus a pair of 3D glasses). And once we hit that goal we're off to the races on the next one which is to have famed muralist Miguel Valverde Castillo, who painted the glorious lucha libre history mural inside Arena Mexico, paint an additional side to our book jacket which would be over 1 foot wide of lucha movie maddness in the same style as the Arena Mexico mural.
If you have not seen inside our test prints as we fine tune the final product check out the legendary Jorge Gutierrez seeing a 100 page softcover sample for the first time here
And if you want even MORE - here's 7 minutes of book designer Jeff Everett (Rockets Are Red) showing off different parts of the book from our hardcover test print of about 320 pages of what is now more than 400+:
As the clock ticks down to Thursday, February 26th at 9 AM PT and the end of our campaign, remember that the only way to guarantee yourself a copy of the deluxe hardcover collectors edition at the lowest price it will ever be is to get it during this campaign. After that, IF any copies remain they will be going up in price. The inventory we plan to print is already close to 75% sold out.
We want to thank you all again for your support over the last 10 days. It has been a wild ride and earlier this week we broke $50,000. And now, as of this writing, we sit at $53,427 - which means we're now more than half way to our next stretch goal of $60,000 at which point we'll be able to add a 4-page preview of our forthcoming 3D comic to the book & book backers will receive a pair of 3D glasses to be able to check it out in all its glory.
This week we thew our collaborator spotlight on three absolute LEGENDS who have their works in our book.
First, on the art side, the two greatest lucha libre comic book cover artists of all time, Rafael Gallur and Rodolfo "Pegaso" Perez - not just illustrators but painters of countless covers (plus modern era covers for Masked Republic Comics' Vampiro: Rockabilly Apocalypse).
And then, we are so very honored that the estate of the most iconic lucha libre photographer of all time, Lourdes Grobet, will be licensing multiple photos to us for the book which also features an interview between Viviana and Lourdes' daughter Alejandra.
We also want to thank Mundo Libre (@mundolibrearts on social media) for their collaboration revealing some 8 exclusive art pieces for the book from some truly incredible artists from around the globe. Be sure to check out their account and @luchadoresvseverything on Instagram for closer looks at these pieces and their artists! Get them all in glorious prints inside the pages of our book (some are also available as 9x12 giclée art prints as add ons as well)!
And finally....while we all work hard over the weekend to get is to the next stretch goal, we'll also be putting the finishing touches on the Day 1 Backer Reward Raffle video so we can share with you who the lucky 10 winners were out out of the 296 who backed the campaign in the first 24 hours. Stay tuned for that video to drop early next week.
In the meantime, here's still the best ways to help us reach our next stretch goal and unlock even more:
Back the campaign if you have not yet Peruse the add ons and pick up additional art prints or other cool merch (every add on helps us hit our stretch goals as well) Spread word of the campaign to your friends, family, followers or anyone else who will listen - or who you know loves lucha libre, luchador films, horror, sci-fi, Mexican cinema, cinema, Mexico or just likes cool art!
Thanks to all of your support we have now hit our 4th stretch goal: Special book inside front & back cover liners featuring El Terrorifico Dr. Napalm’s 54 Luchadores vs. Everything Loteria cards.
So where are we on the book right now?
The premium collectors edition hardcover backers of the book in the campaign will receive will:
💥 Be 400+ pages instead of 350!
💥 Come with a one-sided dust jacket (book wrap)
💥 Be shipped to you in a collectors box designed by Rockets Are Red with special buffers inside to hold your book and add on art prints securely. (it will also fit your Day 1 Backer Bonus 9x12 print perfectly as well)
💥 Loteria cover liners
BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WE CAN DO TOGETHER!
Next Goal: $60,000 - Included in the book will be a preview of an upcoming 3D comic made from one of the films covered in our book PLUS a pair of 3D glasses to be able to view the preview in all its glory!
How To Help Unlock It?
🔑 Back the campaign if you have not yet
🔑 Peruse the add ons and pick up additional art prints or other cool merch
🔑 Spread word of the campaign to your friends, family, followers or anyone else who will listen - or who you know loves lucha libre, luchador films, horror, scifi, Mexican cinema, cinema, Mexico or just likes cool art!
LOW STOCK WARNING: We have less than 50 of our most popular bundle available at “Early Bird” pricing. Once 250 have ordered our “Ringside” package it will close and the only way to get it will be at a $15 higher price (which is still a great value for the package!)
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