By Jamie Smart, with Sammy Borras (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-307-3 (Digest PB)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Continuous, Chronologically Catered Cosmic Nonsense …9/10
Million-selling, chart-topping Bunny vs Monkey has been the bonkers bristly backbone of The Phoenix since the first issue back in 2012: recounting a madcap vendetta gripping animal archenemies set amidst an idyllic arcadia masquerading as more-or-less mundane but critically endangered English woodlands. Concocted with gleefully gentle mania by cartoonist, comics artist, novelist and educational Man-about-Towns/2024 Illustrator of the Year Jamie Smart (Fish Head Steve!; Looshkin; Max and Chaffy, Flember), these trendsetting, mind-bending yarns are wisely retooled as graphic albums available in delightful digest editions like this one – a paperback version of the epic hard cover that opened the year just ending.
All the tail-biting tension and animal argy-bargy began yonks ago after an obnoxious little beast plopped down in after a disastrous British space shot. Crashlanding in Crinkle Woods – scant miles from his launch site – lab animal Monkey believed himself the rightful owner of a strange new world, despite all efforts from reasonable, sensible, genteel, contemplative forest resident Bunny to dissuade him. For all his patience, propriety and good breeding, the laid-back lepine could not contain or control the incorrigible idiot ape, who to this day remains a rude, noise-loving, chaos-creating, troublemaking lout intent on building his idealised “Monkeyopia” with or without the aid of evil supergenius ally Skunky or their unhelpful “henches” Metal Steve and Action Beaver…
Problems are exacerbated by other unconventional Crinkle creatures, especially monochrome mad scientist Skunky whose intellect and cavalier attitude to life presents as a propensity for building extremely dangerous robots, bio-beasts and sundry other super-weapons…
Here – with artistic assistance from design deputy Sammy Borras – the war of nerves and mega-ordnances resumes even though everybody thought all the battles had ended. They even seemingly forgot the ever-encroaching Hyoomanz…
Eternally divided into seasonal outbursts, this ninth magnificent hardback archive of insanity opens in the traditional manner: starting slowly with a sudden realisation, by building on the shocking denouement of the last book when the lop-eared good guy cried enough and quit. The cosmically surreal shenanigans resume on New Year’s Day with the woods gripped in snowy winter and still utterly ‘Bunnyless’ after the steadfast voice of reason surprisingly ascended to higher realms to get a little peace and quiet…
As the shellshocked populace (Ai, Pig Piggerton, Weenie Squirrel, Metal E.V.E., Le Fox and Lucky the Red Panda) meander and moan, seeking someone to fill that vacant place, even the anthropoid antithesis feels the loss and builds a replacement but it’s simply ‘Not Bunny’ and ends up scrapped like so many dastardly ploys, compelling morally ambiguous outsider Le Fox to seek change for its own cathartic sake. As he makes his companions ‘Switch Up’, it results in a huge explosion that unearths and awakens their long-lost companion… or does it?
Although apparently back from the Puddle of Eternity thanks to a fluke of the Molecular Stream, “Bunny” has total amnesia and utter incredulity regarding Monkey’s antics – and even more so after he unleashes scatological atrocity weapon ‘Stickleplops’ and learns with some shock that this rabbit has no tolerance for nonsense…
Spring arrives, heralding another harsh lesson after the simian starts lobbing ‘Eggy Drops!’ and Bunny again acts contrary to expectations, before Monkey’s reality-bending ‘Flying Fun’ starts grinding down the forgetful rabbit’s resilience and ongoing attempts to restore lost memories result in a true theatrical travesty in ‘The Show Must Go On’. To facilitate another DNA experiment, Skunky and Monkey raid the Human farm Pig came from and force the tender-hearted refugee to guide them on their ‘Mouldy Mission’ after which an untitled (unless you read music) and silent – but deadly – tale of Skunky’s wind-borne ultimate weapon leads to ‘A Moment of Calm’ for Le Fox, shattered by incessant stupid questions like “where are my socks?” and “have you seen that black hole I made and lost?”
Events take an even stranger turn and Bunny starts being weirdly changeable when Weenie and Pig discover something strange in ‘The Cave’ just as Skunky & Monkey deal with the ghastly contents of the ‘Bin of Doom!’ prior to indulging in pranks and ‘Birthday Wishes!’ for Bunny…
A revolting mess goes on ‘A Blobby Journey’ and attains transcendent loveliness just before ‘The Day the Sky Fell In! (Part one and two)’ sees imminent lunar catastrophe barely averted by the advent of “Danger Sausage” even as Bunny experiences virtual (un)reality in ‘Plugged In’: but still can’t stop Summer starting with ‘The Fastest Monkey in the World’ when the ape idiot gets hold of a super-speed suit…
It’s time for some tragic origin-ing courtesy of ‘Action Beaver: The Early Years’ after which Pig gets a unique pet in ‘Old!’ whilst a diversion to times past sets the scene for future frolics as a couple of pirates bury their ‘Hidden Loot’ blithely unaware how their actions will annoy a monkey centuries from then. Ungracious and solitary, Le Fox dabbles with Skunky’s devices to create a beast able to enforce some ‘Shush!’ just as the evil genius is busy probing the captive Red Panda and discovering exactly what ‘A Little Bit Unlucky’ feels like at ground zero. Maybe that’s what causes the period of intellectual funk and lack of creativity that necessitates holding an ‘Invent-a-thon’ to restore appropriate levels of chaos and carnage to Crinkle Woods…
With Bunny seemingly resolved to endure Monkey’s incessant antics, ‘Nice Neighbours’ displays the ingrained idiocy of Weenie & Pig as seen in a windblown Fantastic Voyage tribute before ‘Butterflew’ sets teeth firmly on edge and ‘The Shubmarine’ that swims through soil meets an inevitable fate…
Events take a strange turn as Autumn begins and ‘Dig Up!’ reveals an incredible subterranean civilisation and fantastic big beasts before ‘Muckey’ sees the simian sod achieve a lifelong dream to become “the stinkiest monkey in the universe” – a situation only remedied by an ancient process hidden in Metal E.V.E’s memory banks…
The ongoing mystery of our hero’s amnesia is slowly solved when cyborg ‘Bunny Law’ targets Monkey, but with Skunky distracted by a cosmic calculation and unable to ‘Work it Out’ the brutal invasion by a really ‘Big Bunny’ proves to the creeped-out Crinkle critters that there is more than one of their friend around. At last galvanised into affirmative action, Monkey resolves to build his Monkeyopia before it’s too late and begins his campaign in ‘Squeak-ooooo’ unaware that his latest superweapon has a fatal flaw. Undeterred, he’s back with cybernetic ‘Fists of Fun’ and able to decimate the woods at will just as ‘Happy Birthday Bunny (Part one & two)’ reveal what really happened to Monkey’s nemesis… and how a terrifying ‘Shadow Bunny’ has come to take care of his unfinished business.
Winter returns with Christmas well on the way and ‘Super-powered Monkey!’ in charge of everything, crushing opposition with his “Doom Fists” under ‘A New Regime’. Happily, ‘A Very Hoppy Christmas!’ signals a true miracle as the proper Bunny returns with all those other rabbit replacements in tow…
The agonised, anxiety-addled animal anarchy might have ended for now, but there’s a few more secrets to share, thanks to detailed instructions on ‘How to Draw Shadow Bunny’, ‘…Rock Bunny’ and ‘…Bunny Law’ as well as handy previews of other treats and wonders available in The Phoenix to wind down from all that angsty furore…
The zany zenith of absurdist adventure, Bunny vs Monkey is weird wild wit, brilliant invention, potent sentiment and superb cartooning all crammed into an eccentrically excellent sequence of pictorial packages.
However, this particular MonkeyPuzzle Madness isn’t actually on sale until January 2nd next year!!!.
Don’t let that deter you, nor should any kids in your orbit suffer for the vagaries of publishers’ scheduling. The hardback version of Bunny vs Monkey: Bunny Bonanza! is still available and it’s the bloody Season of Good Will so there’s no need to wait! These tails never fail to deliver jubilant joy for grown-ups and pint-sizers of every vintage, even those who claim they only get it for their kids. Shouldn’t that be you?
Text and illustrations © Fumboo Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.
Bunny vs Monkey: Bunny Bonanza! will be published on January 2nd 2025. You can preorder now or not let time hold you back…