Late Comic Review: Katsuya Terada’s Monkey King

I love the Monkey King. I love him a lot. A funny thing about him is that I unknowingly grew up with him as a child. I, like many children of the nineties, watched the famed anime Dragon Ball. What a lot of people don’t know is that it’s a retelling of the monkey king’s tale, Journey to the West. Journey to the West is considered to be one of the four great novels to come out of china, telling the story of a monkey who is born from a rock, grows up to be a powerful being and ultimately is punished for his arrogance by the great Buddha to escort a nun to western India. Once I learned of Dragon Ball’s source material I read it, and since then have found my self in love with this story and all of it’s adaptations.

Katsuya Terada’s Monkey King is my latest plunge into the mythos. This, so far, has got to be my favorite adaptation so far; it has this great Conan the Barbarian feel to it. It is quite important to point out that this is Katsuya Terada’s Monkey King for the sole purpose that this is all him, from the script, layout, art and to the whole finished product.

The Story is great, if it’s not known to you then you might want to hold on to this book, as it takes the Japanese approach when it comes to this particular story, meaning it just assumes that you know this story like 90% of the Japanese population does. The story starts smack-dab in the middle of the entire plot with Monkey well on his way to India whilst already paired up with a nun and his pig companion, Hakkai. Halfway through the book, you’re abruptly given an origin story on his birth, and by the end of the book you’ve reached where you started.
The dialogue is minimal, with character expressions and development relying on the art, which is nothing short of great. Each panel has its own color palette, and there’s a great look to each page. The art is painted and looks fantastic, the attention to detail is fantastic as Monkey never stops feel visceral and powerful, but because of the art, the action scenes can feel rush, forcing you to fill in big movement gaps with your imagination.
Remember how I said it had a great Conan the Barbarian feel to it? It’s not because of the story telling, but rather the content of the book. This has a fair amount of breasts and dismemberment; In one panel you might be looking at the naked body of an angel and when you turn the page you might be seeing that same angel being dismembered in half and eaten in explicit detail. So, it is not for the faint of heart of those easily offended.

For 15 dollars, this book isn’t cheap. There’s thirteen chapters, each being about seven to nine pages long. The writing is minimal, with many sound effects written in Japanese, but you do get fantastic art, great quality paper, an essay on the back talking about Katsuya Terada’s creative process and even a translation guide for all the Japanese text in the book. I felt like I got my money’s worth and I’m happily looking forward to the next book, volume 2, in April.

Aldo happily gives Katsuya Terada’s Monkey King a score of 9 out 10.
If you’re a fan of great art, Chinese mythology or just the Monkey King, pick this one up or you’re a fool for not reading it.
Katsuya Terada’s Monkey King is published by Dark Horse Comics, costs $14.95 in paperback format and is for Mature Readers only, 18 and up.

Pick it up or Order it from your local comic book store, tell them Aldo Approves!