Monkey Prince #12 // Review
The Lazarus Storm has left Metropolis in a serious mess. It’s okay. The city’s seen its share of messes before. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t need saving. Given that the nature of the storm in question is inherently magical, Metropolis’s usual savior can’t do a hell of a lot about it. Naturally, it’s going to fall to a more magical hero with a bit less experience to deal with the threat in Monkey Prince #12. Writer Gene Luen Yang concludes a major story arc with the aid of artist Bernard Chang and colorist Marcelo Maiolo. Monkey Prince closes out his 12th issue with style, poise, and more than a little novelty.
There’s an army of skeleton warriors who have swarmed across one of the largest cities on earth. There’s a serious hunger that needs to be fed. When it becomes apparent that she has the kind of life force she does, Supergirl goes from being a defender to being a target. She’s quickly hauled off by an army of skeletal warriors. The Monkey Prince can fight an army of skeletons...with an army of himself. Things are going to get more than a little confused, what with all of the...him...that has come to inhabit the rescue effort.
Yang has set up a very clear path to the end of the 12-issue series. The big climax feels big enough to save a city while simultaneously being intimate enough to complete the inner journey of the title character. The problem is that the story that Yang is exploring really should have been more like two issues in length. The action on the page and the menace of the villains need a lot more room to give the action more of an emotional grounding. The personal journey of the Monkey Prince at the end of the issue should have had more time to develop to truly feel like the completion of a 12-issue journey.
Chang and Maiolo deliver the action to the page with a palpable sense of dark magic horror. The Monkey Prince’s swashbuckling form shines here and there, but it never quite lives up to the crazy heroism that it could have had if the art team had more room to explore the weird dynamics of an army of clones of a single hero. The more heartfelt dramatic moments do embrace the page with a great sense of emotional warmth. Not many art teams could pull off two meaningful hugs in four pages without seeming a bit strange. Chang and Maiolo are talented enough at bringing authentic emotion to the page that it doesn’t even feel weird or anything.
It’s taken about eleven issues, but Monkey Prince has found a very cool and distinctive kind of definition over the course of his mini-series. What seemed like it might have been a strange experiment when it started really feels like a nice addition to the DC Universe. It’s too bad this ends up being the final issue of the series.
