Small Town Suburbia Is Rocked In The Saga Of Evil Monkey Man #1

It was an average day in beautiful Cold Spring Harbor…that is, until the lab blew up. Emergency personnel raced to the scene only to discover a monkey man seemingly terrorizing a scientist. The truth was something just as confusing, although not as menacing. This poor guy didn’t know how he got in this position or why he now looked like a big monkey.

The Saga of Evil Monkey Man begins with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. It’s a strange and silly story of mistaken identity and old school cult sci-fi. Artist Butch Mapa creates a peaceful atmosphere that’s thrown into complete chaos by this explosion and the appearance of the monkey man. The look of shock on the townsfolk is pretty funny because they’ve never seen anything like this before. Imagine walking down main street in your local town only to find a big monkey dude getting chased by the cops.
Much of this comes out in the colors from Blake, creating a tranquil environment full of life. It’s like it’s always high noon in Cold Spring Harbor without any shadows to damper your day. The sun shines brightly on everything, including the monkey man. This tones down the scare factor of this creature, playing it more for laughs than terror.

The identity of the monkey man is still a mystery, although we get some hints as to his origin in the prologue back up story illustrated by Bong Dazo. There’s some definite mad science going on here. The kicker is that he’s just as confused and scared as everyone else. He doesn’t know how he came to be this way and before he can start figuring it out, the police are ready to take him down like a wild animal. Granted, he doesn’t help much by fighting them all, but it was self defense.
This throws into question the title of the book, because we have to wonder if this guy is really evil or of that’s just the moniker he’s been saddled with. Judging by how this issue plays out, I’m thinking it’s the latter.

Writer N Blake Seals works quickly to introduce not only our main character, but some of the supporting roles and possible adversaries. There are a few people looking to capture, study, or profit from the monkey man, all with varying degrees of nefariousness. We’ll see if he can stay one step ahead of them as he searches for answers and possibly a cure for his current condition.
The Saga of Evil Monkey Man #1 from Monarch Comics is currently available through the publisher’s official website and digitally through ComiXology.