Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Monkey Prince #2 Review

Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go Go!

Written by: Gene Luen Yang
Art by: Bernard Chang
Colors by: Sebastian Cheng
Letters by: Janice Chiang
Cover art by: Bernard Chang
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: March 1, 2022
 
Monkey Prince #2 pits a headless Marcus (aka the Monkey Prince) against Batman and Robin, and then gets his head back, and then takes off on a flying cloud, and then throws away the magic circlet, and then the Penguin turns into a golden horned monster hungry for Qi, and then Marcus's parents run away, and then and then and then and then and then and then...

Was It Good?

Oy! Monkey Prince #2 turned the series with a mildly interesting-but-incomplete premise in issue #1 into an all-out assault of "and then"s in a rush to get in as many developments and tick off as many plot points as possible as quickly as possible without a moment to breathe.



In short, this issue has a pacing problem. It tries to do too much too fast without any thought towards letting the story develop organically or naturally. You get the impression you're reading the CliffsNotes version of the story to cram for a quiz later, but this is it. The CliffsNotes is the story.

Yang rushes through events so quickly, there's no nuance, no emotion, and no time for characters to react to any of the bizarre events that are happening around them. It's GoGoGoGo from start to finish and you're left feeling like you weren't entertained so much as you were read a laundry list of plot points.



On the plus side, the art is good and Yang uses the Monkey Prince's immortality for a little slapstick humor, especially when he loses his head. 

Make sure to listen to our Weekly DC Comics Recap and Review Podcast to hear us talk more about this book.  Just look up "Weird Science DC Comics" anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Bits and Pieces

Monkey Prince #2 has too many things happening, too fast, and all at once. The art is bright and colorful, but the story has no time to breathe so the characters can react and feel what's happening around them.

6.5/10


 

1 comment:

  1. Monkey Prince #2 pits a headless Marcus aka the Monkey Prince against Batman and Robin, and then gets his head back, and then takes off on a flying cloud, and then throws away the magic circlet, and then the Penguin turns into a golden horned monster hungry for Qi, and then Marcus's parents run away, and then and then and then and then and then and then.

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