Monkey Prince #4 – Gene Luen Yang, Writer; Bernard Chang, Artist; Chris Sotomayor, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The hilariously chaotic new superhero comic from Gene Luen Yang takes a big step up this issue, as Marcus faces off against his biggest enemy yet—the Golden Sun King, aka a magically-enhanced Penguin. This mutated super-criminal has kidnapped Marcus’ parents—two corrupt scientists—to lure Batman out of hiding, but he gets a much more bizarre hero instead. It’s surprising just how big a part of this series Batman and Robin have been, with Damian actually being the most recurring antagonist until this issue when they sort of make peace. It does feel like the two of them are a little retro in terms of characterization—especially Damian, who is a lot more prickly and sarcastic than he’s been lately. But the combo of this deadly-serious superhero team and the hilarious banter of Monkey Prince and Shifu Pigsy makes for some of the best team-up chemistry I’ve seen in a long time.
This is probably the funniest issue of the series, particularly when it comes to Shifu Pigsy’s shapeshifting. Yang’s excellent run on The Terrifics gave him the opportunity to write Plastic Man and Offspring extensively, and I wonder if he picked up a lot of his skill for physical comedy there. It pays off here, but under all the manic action there is a surprisingly strong emotional core. Marcus has been running around the country for much of his life, never really having much of a place to call home due to his parents’… profession, and the end of the issue makes it look like he might finally find that in this new location. Then the concept of the series is pulled out from under him once again—surprising us too—and it looks like the story might be going in a completely new direction next issue. It’s an odd series at times, but it’s one that successfully captures the spirit of past great teen hero books like John Rogers’ Blue Beetle.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
