In a jungle somewhere, robots are building a mysterious factory...presumably as part of the evil scheme of someone-or-other. Elsewhere in the jungle, a group of monkeys (Tribe? Pack? What is the collective noun for monkeys, anyway?) go about their normal lives.A robot kills a monkey, a monkey kills a robot. And then the battle is on.
Kochalka is one of the most distinctive and individual voices in modern comics; he manages to do autobiographical pieces that aren't self-indulgent (probably because he does them as a single-page daily diary, which focuses him to look at specifics and keep it short) and also does odder comics. Like this one, which I think was his first book-length project, back in 2000.
Monkey Vs. Robot is a nearly wordless book-length comic, drawn in Kochalka's distinctive thick-lined, loosely-rendered style, in which, yes, monkeys fight robots. That's pretty much the whole plot. There's some vague symbolism (monkeys = nature, robots = technology), but it's clear that this isn't what really interests Kochalka. He just wants to get into the hot monkey-robot action.
And I can definitely appreciate that; this is a fun story, with some unexpectedly poignant moments (on both sides).
And I can definitely appreciate that; this is a fun story, with some unexpectedly poignant moments (on both sides).
4 comments:
What is the collective noun for monkeys, anyway?
It's "troop", isn't it?
Is this based on the classic internet meme video? From almost 10 years ago, the musical video based on the monkey versus robot premise?
Paul D: It doesn't claim to be based on anything in particular, but Kochalka is also a musician, so...I guess it's possible.
A quick search shows that the creator of the video was Kochalka.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3862339595444502353
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