Monkey Meat #2

Monkey Meat #2

by Juni Ba

The anthology series set on Monkey Meat Island continues with the unfortunate adventures of Haricot, a sweet young boy who falls victim to harsh bullying. When Haricot finally gets the power to assert himself, will he become a hero—or a monster?

Genres: Comics

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 9, 2022

About the author

Juni is an illustrator and writer hailing from Senegal and France. His current works include the Kayin and Abeni mini series and the Monkey Meat stories both published by Kugali. He’s also a cover artist with works for Skybound and IDW. His artistic fuel is mostly based on orange juice.

Reviews

[Theophila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so much better than the first.

[Femme Power Comix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I connected with this issue much more than the first one (which was a 2.5-3 star read for me). Making this an anthology is a unique option & keeps things fresh so I’m looking forward to the next tale!

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We’re in the business of making money, dear friend. Not personal growth.”

The concept of this book providing an outlet to explore infinite ideas and these brilliant themes is genius, I’m only two issues in but his series continues to surprise me with the depth it is able to explore. This issue covers a lot from the way power corrupts to all of your anger being repackaged and directed towards another’s goal. And this issue contains some amazing fight scenes, I love that Lug is still included the cautionary tale caught so deep in the trap of this world as he tries desperately to ward others away from his fate while doing the best he can to still help others. This story revolves around a boy named Haricot, hilariously meaning bean in French. He has a love for manga and heroes who wipe away evil doers, but his parents recently sent him to monkey meat island to get a job after failing his first head at Uni. He mainly kept to himself with his nose in a good story, until a couple of underworld gangsters thought he was laughing at them and beat him up. The boy felt even more useless than before and felt like he deserved a justice he couldn’t find anywhere. But then he walked by the right vending machine at the right time, as inside was a dark god trapped in a can of soul juice. Or sing the boy the power to defeat his enemies if he simply drank him.

The boy accepted, buying the bottle and merging with the dark god. He exploded with power, a new look, and a large powerful hand. Bringing us to the present day, as he has already used his power to tear through the streets looking for the gangsters who hurt him, only to pick a fight with the groundskeeper…Lug, who tries to point out to the kid that a hero would not cause any of the destruction around them. The fight is wicked and filled with impact frames as the clash, but it ultimately ends with the boy grapes Lug by the neck as he grows in dark power. In this pivotal moment Lug asks what the world did to the kid to bring him to this moment, flooding his head with memories of rejection from school and any jobs. Only for lug to realize that’s it, compared to Lug’s life that is nothing and doesn’t justify any lashing out like this compared to everyone else who lives here as well with cards dealt worse than this kid.

But then the salesman interrupts, offering to take the boy to the individuals who caused him suffering in the first place. Lug tries to warn him off of listening and fling with the salesman, only to be injected with a sleeping serum. For a moment the boy is unsure, but the salesman uses his wicked tone to convince the boy that lug is weak and have not properly taken advantage of the position of power they gave him. This boy can be different, he can finally inflict justice on the evil that exists in this world. Only for the Salesman to show the kid the truth, bringing him to the staff lounge where the gangsters rust beat him up stand alongside a bunch of other costumed staff members spending their days watching movies and dressing up as the characters from them. The gangsters were performing an act from goodfellas, and if the kid was to inflict “justice” it would be on dim, but highly profitable, staff members who watch and replicate too much TV. But even so, at the monkey meat corporation they value skill and they think this kid could be an essential members of their society that receives respect as a leader of their armed forces. The salesman hits on every word that the kid desires, now convinced that they are giving him everything he ever wanted without realizing the trap he just fell into.

[Eric Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's mooore good, the second time! Lug's Soul Juice is on special delivery as we speak. Gonna get myself boosted, meatheads... maniacally planning...

"Bu... But justice..."

This book levels up!, story drenched with humor and dark satire, frenetic-faced past artwork, and I clearly bought into the theme. Thank you Juni Ba, and sorry, I am still all out of change.

The opinions expressed here do not reflect those of the [redacted] company. Nor do we hold any responsibility in case you are dismembered, eaten alive by otherworldly entities, or bewitched.

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fun…in a disturbing way that reminds us of our complicity in a grotesque capitalist system — but fun! It’s interesting to read this alongside Mark Russell’s ‘One-Star Squadron’ and get these complementary critiques of capitalism: whether by tech or by old-fashioned meat grinding, capitalism has a strange power to transform people into their monstrous selves.

[Gregory Rothbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monkey meat was fun and kind of brought back the satirical fun I had in years past.