Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Monkey Prince #1
DC Comics
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Art by Bernard Chang
Colors by Sebastian Cheng
Letters by Janice Chiang
The Rundown: Marcus will discover a new world and a hidden destiny.
Marcus is a young boy growing up in Gotham when his life is upended by a visitor in the night. When his father is threatened by Batman, his family immediately pulls up stakes and gets out of town. His life continues as normal, but his fear constantly haunts him. When they return to Gotham years later, that fear only gets worse.
After meeting a mystery man at his school, Marcus is challenged to conquer his fear while his parents find themselves working with a prominent member of the Gotham underworld. When Marcus discovers that things with him are changing, he soon finds himself in a hidden world where he discovers a truth about himself. A truth that will bring on the attention of the Dark Knight.
The Story: Gene Luen Yang takes the standard superhero origin story and creates something fun and interesting in this first issue. I like the connections made within the story and how it progresses organically with none of the moments feeling forced. The story has some great humor mixed into the plot as well and the reader is engaged with Marcus’ journey. I liked a lot of this first issue, and it will be interesting to see how the character’s disdain for Batman plays out based on the issue’s finale.
The Art: Chang delivers some beautifully detailed imagery throughout the issue. There are some great action scenes and the characters and wonderfully expressive. I was impressed with the composition of the scenes.
Monkey Prince #1
