Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 – Welcome to the show

Everyone is catching strays from writer/artist Juni Ba in Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 from Image Comics

The Monkey Meat Series is Back!

From the Solicitations: “The anthology is back for five new issues, from the creator of The Boy Wonder! Going on vacation? How about a hellish African fantasy island run by a corporation selling cans of monkey meat?

Enjoy our summer vacation format with two tales, games, and double the traum… huh, excitement!” (IMAGE)

Forget the comical monkey business theme around this comic book.

While Juni Ba’s creative genius was in full display in 2024 with titles like “The Boy Wonder” (DC Comics), this is a whole other monster.

The Summer Batch!

Issue number one offers several commodities for the reader. Before you proceed to jump into this Monkey Business, there’s a “No Liability Agreement“. You have to sign in order to visit the Monkey Island.

First, this comic has the gimmick of a tourism promotional magazine for the Monkey Meat Corporation and it’s Island Resort. Second, the magazine includes a fan letter corner tittled:”The Recreational Corner“, just like old comic books used to have. Including responses from the editors too. There’s even a game of “Connect the Dots”.

*SPOILERS FOR ISSUE ONE*

Monkey Meat Presents: “#@!!~“

The first short story from this issue is about the employment policies of the Monkey Meat Corp. (MMC) Imagine this, the MMC loves their employees so much, that after Thaddeus Lug killed himself in protest against his working conditions, the MMC bought his soul so they could revive him every time he died. The MMC kept a stockpile of bodies available to resurrect Thaddeus. After all, the working conditions at the Monkey Meat Island were synonymous with death. Previously, before he killed himself in protest, Thaddeus was just an ordinary groundskeeper. Now, his occupations change and become more ridiculous with each reincarnation.

Monkey Meat Presents: “Heated Ownership Battle“

The second story from this issue is somehow even more ridiculous than the first one. The comic book characters called Monkeagle and Monkey-Girl jumped off their pages when fans used magic to bring them to life. This surreal event, sparked a legal battle with the Monkey Meat Corp publisher. Who by law owned the rights to the characters. But they were no longer characters from a comic book. Now, they were alive beings. This event prompted the following question: if a gains sentience does it also gains rights under the law?

How About the Art?

Juni Ba has refined his style so much so, it’s become easily recognizable. Although, it has a cartoonist look, there’s no lack of emotion, action or seriousness. Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch #1 looks can appear funny an entertaining to children or young adults. While at the same time carry the themes of the stories it wants to tell.

Overall Grade: 8.5/10

 The story of Thaddeus is an allegory for Publishers. It shows how they bring back creators again and again to continue squeezing whatever they can out of them. However, the story of Monkeagle & Monkey-Girl is a one-for-one metaphor for DC’s Batman & Robin.

Specifically the infinite amount of versions of the character. Also, Ba is very critical of the fans, their on and off support, reactionary stances and their hypocrisy. Lastly, Ba makes a very cartoonishly evil depiction of Publishers. He does this by exposing their absurdly exploitative practices when it comes to the hold they have over intellectual properties. Everyone catches strays from Juni Ba.

Juni Ba is an awards winning, Senegalese-born cartoonist, who writes and draws for comics, editorial and animation, with clients such as Marvel, DC, Image, IDW, Boom, Dark Horse and many more. His writing and art credits include DJELIYA, MOBILIS: MY LIFE WITH CAPTAIN NEMO, MONKEY MEAT, BOY WONDER, THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, BLACK PANTHER, among others.

Source: https://www.juniba.fr/about

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