Monkey Prince #12 – Gene Luen Yang, Writer; Bernard Chang, Artist; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: I said after last issue’s tie-in that there might be a bit too much to wrap up in only one issue, and I was definitely right. This issue is easily the most chaotic of the run, trying to wrap up a ton of subplots and Lazarus Planet plot threads while also bringing Marcus’ personal journey to a satisfying close. Overall, it accomplishes that—but with a few bumps along the way. In the aftermath of Lazarus Planet, King Fire Bull has been defeated—but definitely not destroyed. The villain winds up in the care of an equally ruthless partner, who seeks out the energy he needs to restore himself. That energy just happens to come from Supergirl—who is currently working with Marcus to restore the city, and is uniquely vulnerable to magic. While Shelli, the half-trench girl from the second arc, tries to rejoin the crew and switch sides, an army of skeleton warriors descends and quickly neutralizes Kara—setting off the final rescue mission.
While Kara seemed to get overwhelmed a little too easily here, this issue does do a good job with working in some strong storyarcs for Marcus. The book has been hinting for a while that not all is as it appears when it comes to Marcus’ origin. Is he truly the son of the Monkey King, or something much more mundane? When the truth comes out, it essentially sends him into a breakdown with Kara’s life in the balance. It takes an intervention from Shifu Pigsy to help him figure out his identity and rally to save the day. Overall, this final issue definitely suffers a bit from story compression as it rushes to its conclusion, but it nails the most important thing—bringing Marcus’ solo arc to a close in a way where it feels like he’s actually grown. I’m not sure what the plan is for the character is going forward, but I would definitely say DC should be giving Yang a pass to write whatever he wants for them going forward.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
