The Monkey King Vol 1: Journey to the West

Le roi singe #1-2

by Chaiko, Mike Kennedy (Editor)

The first volume in a diptych retelling of the legendary Monkey King fable of ancient Chinese lore. Artist Chaiko brings his unique visual style and humor to this fantasy adventure about a monkey who acquires supernatural abilities and intelligence and chooses to use them for mischief and glory before finding himself at the ire of the Heavens. Imprisoned by the Buddha himself, the rapscallion vows to prove his worth by escaping and retrieving the sacred sutras on a mighty quest.

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels

160 pages, Hardcover

Published June 6, 2023

Reviews

[Anna Quilter]

Certainly got swept along by this retelling of the mythical Chinese story.
Rascal Hero(?)/Monkey Sun Wukong starts a fantastical journey
Amazingly detailed art...

[Chris]

"The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!"

I've had a soft spot for the Monkey King ever since I was a kid, watching the repeats of the '70s TV series "Monkey" dubbed somewhat offensively into English. The "Monkey Magic" song remains forever lodged in my brain just waiting to burst out at inappropriate moments.

Over the years I've learned more about the story, from books like "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang, but it's nice to read an adaptation of the original story.

What's striking about Sun Wukong, the Monkey King is that he's a real jerkarse. He basically just goes about doing whatever he wants, causing havoc in his path, getting more powerful as he goes. He's like the Chinese version of a trickster God, completely unhinged, questioning truth to power until finally the Gods have had enough and attempt to deal with this rebellious monkey.

He's unlike most traditional western heroes in the King Arthur, Robin Hood mould. It's the kind of flawed hero people are well used to now, but it's not something I would have expected from so long ago. As Chaiko says in the introduction "Sun Wukong is arguably the most legendary scoundrel hero".

I love the artwork, particularly Wukong, he always has this sly, mischievous expression that adds a nice layer of fun to everything that's going on, even to the most dire encounters.

Thee rest of the art is quite beautiful and accurately conveys the mystical elements of the story, at least to me.

[Saul]

El dibujo es muy bueno, con un trazo ágil que combina muy bien el tono humorístico de la obra con las escenas de acción. La construcción de cada página es muy dinámica y cuidada. Sin embargo la historia es monótona y no acaba de enganchar, es probable que se deba a ser la adaptación de un texto tan antiguo, con un código narrativo más propio de los relatos mitológicos.

[Julie Davis]

We're watching A Korean Odyssey which is loosely based on characters from the Chinese classic Journey to the West. The Monkey King is a major character in the show, for example. Looking for a few clues as to the characters or symbols from that story we picked this up from the library. You don't have to know anything about Journey to watch the show, but it does make it more fun to be able to identify a few things such as the Geumganggo.

I don't like graphic novels much but this was very helpful. I look forward to reading the second and final installment!

[Steven Latour]

An excellent adaption of the original. The art works for the story and the dialogue and plot are very close to the original material. Some of the names were a little different than I am used to from other English translations, but that seems to be par for the course. This volume shows the havoc in heaven as well as the beginning of the journey with Tripitaka and Zhu Bajie.

[Peio]

Demasiado expositivo aunque el arte y el ritmo estén a la altura.

[Calista]

Wow! This is the Famous Myth story of the Monkey King in Chinese Mythology. It is considered one of the four great stories in Chinese history. This is a retelling.

I've been watching a ton of Chinese dramas about mythology. Reading this book, I realize now how much of all their stories come out of this story. On the Disney Channel, I watch the amazing show American born Chinese and that stories uses the elements from this story so well. The more I learn, the more well done that show is. It's like learning about the Olympians and realizing how almost everything alludes to those stories in some way.

I would like to find a translation of the original work, but it was great have this in graphic novel form. It made the adventure real. I love mythology and this is a fantastic story. It's important to understand this story to really understand the Cdramas out there. They all make so much more sense now.

The Monkey King seems all powerful, but he is trapped. After 500 years, he is allowed to go on a journey with a monk west and he must protect this monk. It really is quite a story.

I look forward to the next volume.

[~Cyanide Latte~]

This is a gorgeous graphic novel, a ton of fun! I don't think it's a bad introduction by any means to Sun Wukong and the epic of "Journey to the West", especially if one might be more reluctant to tackle the novel itself. (Which, I hope to get the unabridged copies of it soon!) I feel like it deserves more packed into this volume but hopefully the second volume provides some of that.

[MARIA LARIN]

Biblioteca Ágora UPV (O-TBO 667 B)
159 páginas

Novela gráfica basada en la leyenda budista de Sun Wukong, el rey mono y como pasó de ser un mono travieso a conseguir un poder que pone en jaque al Palacio Celestial.

[Josie Pawlicka]

4 stars. Fun!!

[Garrett Hazen]

Very fun, read with my 3 year old. Whimsical and very approachable as an entry point to Journey to the West, particularly as a westerner.

[Javier Ledesma]

Primera parte de la historia de Wukong, muy interesante y con un dibujo muy cuidado

[Michael Helm]

See review of Vol 2

[Laura]

Beautiful drawings and fun way to learn this ancient story.

[Mariobntu]

the art is pretty good, but the story goes way too fast

[Néstor Arrabal Martínez]

Adaptación bastante detallada de la primera parte de la novela “Viaje al oeste”. Buenas ilustraciones, aunque los diálogos a veces parecen un poco forzados.

[Gonzalo]

3.5/5
Buen dibujo, buena historia, pero los diálogos no acaban de encajar bien y eso hace que pierda un poco.

[Esther]

Preciosa adaptación de Viaje al Oeste

[Pedro Espada]

Interpretación muy fiel de la novela, con un dibujazo de Chaiko que me ha encantado que la va perfecto. El videojuego también tiene ideas del capítulo dos. Un viaje delicioso.