“Monkey see, monkey kill!” reads the back cover of DC GOES APE, an anthology of primate-primary superhero stories from 40 years’ worth. That’s a great tagline, but too bad the actual book can’t live up to that kind of punch.
The introduction by Mark Waid details how in the early 1950s, DC editor Julius Schwartz noticed that whenever a gorilla appeared on the cover, sales skyrocketed. It got to the point where monkeys were plastered several times a month before the powers that be put a kibosh on it. Why did monkeys translate to moolah? Don’t know … and I bought this book.
The idea of an all-ape anthology is far better in theory than in practice, because while one story every so often is a novelty, 11 of them is overkill. I don’t know if the first one, “The Super-Monkey from Krypton” is the most enjoyable because it actually is, or because it has the benefit of appearing first, when one’s enthusiasm level is high. It’s a 1959 tale of a monkey who stowed away on Superboy’s Earth-bound ship way back when and thus, has superpowers, too.
Superman doesn’t fare as well in the next one, “Titano the Super-Ape,” which is typical of the insanity level of early-1960s Man of Steel adventures. The craziest shit happens, and the characters make the most bizarre, left-field decisions as if they’re bursting with why-didn’t-I-think-of-that logic:
Lois Lane: “Titano saw me put on small glasses! He imitated me and put on huge glasses with lead lenses!”
Superman: “Your scheme worked, Lois! Those lead glasses will stop his Kryptonite-vision!”
Perhaps the most famous DC gorilla — not that that’s a crowded field — is General Grodd, and he makes a pawful of appearances here, including against his archenemies The Flash and Teen Titans’ Kid Flash. Batman’s the start of two stories, and the 1979 one by Jim Starlin is a highlight because the storyline is actually serious. The Captain Marvel one isn’t serious at all, but that matters not, because the SHAZAM! title never was.
Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Animal-Man and the Super Friends (complete with the Wonder Twins) also are represented, to varying degrees of success … mostly on the low end. You may not want to fling poo at this collection, but it’s no banana split, either. —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes: Volume 1
- Showcase Presents Superman Family: Volume 1
- Grease Monkey
- Showcase Presents Hawkman: Volume 1
- Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan
