By Zack Quaintance — The most telling thing I can say about Monkey Meat #2 is that when I finished this comic, I created a new spreadsheet titled “Best Single Issues of 2022.” And I put this issue right at its top. Yes friends, I absolutely loved this second installment of Monkey Meat, an anthology series by one of the most interesting cartoonists in comics right now, Juni Ba.

What I want to get into with this piece today is what did and what did not surprise me about this comic, starting with the latter. I was not surprised by many things in Monkey Meat, but that’s not a criticism. The book had what has become Ba’s signature aesthetic, which I’ve previously described for NPR Books as a style that “melds the folklore and culture Ba grew up with in Senegal into something wholly new, something between sci-fi and fantasy, all brought to life by a range of aesthetic influences from traditional Senegalese art to late 90s manga to Cartoon Network animation.” As with Ba’s debut graphic novel, Djeliya, that aesthetic is deployed once again here. Which, good; it’s still singular, still novel, still refreshing. We see it here in black-and-white, which is new, but as we’ll discuss later, is a choice I liked, given how it serves the interests of this story.

The other element of Monkey Meat #2 that I expected in this comic was the sort of thematic framing device that gives shape to this series: there is an island that functions as the home of a mega corporation called Monkey Meat, and our story quickly takes us to that island. It does so with familiar themes around the world degenerating into a corporate state where individuals are commodified, dehumanized, and, quite frankly, abused. Here’s a tagline that lays out the frame perfectly at the start of this one, “Silly rumors of poor labour conditions and mysterious supernatural horrors on the island have surfaced, so we decided to report them to you ourselves!”

Poor labour conditions AND mysterious supernatural horrors. You got me, let’s go.

On to the elements of this comic that I found surprising and delightful. As mentioned above, this comic is largely in black-and-white, with some exceptions, mostly using black and gold. This shows that the choice is deliberate, and it’s easy to see why, with our lead in this book reading manga that is heavily implied to be Naruto on the first page. This issue is in black-and-white because it’s a tribute to manga (which is one of the influences Ba and I discussed when I interviewed him for my NPR piece).

That’s just the starting point, though. What this issue slowly becomes is an exploration of the impact of storytelling on our lives, and perhaps one of the best explorations of that idea I’ve seen. There’s no shortage of comics interested in that idea, especially of late. I could point to everything from Black Hammer to DC Comics last mega event, Dark Nights Death Metal (not to be confused with its newly-announced Dark Crisis). Where Monkey Meat #2 transcends that interest, though, is that it wants to raise questions about the impact that stories can have, both good and bad.

So often, comics seems to venerate storytelling as a respite, a savoir, a lifeblood for existence. And, obviously, it can be all those things. I wouldn’t be spending (way too much) time on this web site if I didn’t believe any of that. But it can also be subverted, twisted, and used to further the agendas of forces that work against us. Essentially, Monkey Meat #2 asks what if noble artists aren’t the only ones who know how to tap into the power of stories. What if their work can also be subverted, manipulated, and mangled by bad actors (including mega corporations) in ways that foster suffering, oppression, and pain. Monkey Meat #2 spends the bulk of its time orbiting around that point.

Of course, heady ideas are just that until an actual comic shapes them and makes them entertaining, which this book does really well, channeling some madcap mixture of manga and Ba’s own finely-honed knack for fantasy action stories. It’s just a great read, one that feels as entertaining as it is thoughtful, landing it as (so far) the best single issue I’ve read in 2022.

Overall: Monkey Meat #2 is the best single issue comic I’ve read this year. It raises questions about the power and nature of stories while itself delivering an action-packed fantasy tale, all with Ba’s unique knack for kinetic cartooning. It also stands on its own, so pick it up even if you missed the first issue. 10/10

REVIEW: Monkey Meat #2

Monkey Meat #2
Writer/Artist/Letterer: Juni Ba
Publisher: Image Comics
The anthology series set on Monkey Meat Island continues with the unfortunate adventures of Haricot, a sweet young boy who falls victim to harsh bullying. When Haricot finally gets the power to assert himself, will he become a hero—or a monster?
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Monkey Meat #2

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.