Monkey Squad One Annual #1
It can be difficult for people to know when to jump in during an ongoing series, especially in the world of mini comics where early issues can go out of print in a hurry. Well, if you have any interest at all in this series, and it is a lot of fun from what I’ve seen so far, start with this issue. There is a detailed issue by issue recap on the front inside cover, there are character bios for everybody you could think of, and there’s even a schematic of their headquarters. If I can find the past issues of this series (the organizing system here in my apartment is in a bit of a shambles) I think they would make much more sense now that I know what came before. This issue is more about story snippets and catching up with the characters than anything else, so don’t go looking for one coherent storyline. Still, this is the sort of issue that ends up being invaluable in a long run, and it sure sounds like Doug is gearing up for a long run. The story bits we do see include the Squad sitting around and chatting about getting to go to the Kid’s Choice Awards, the training of a young Connor (beginning at age 7, but then again nobody on the team is even a teenager yet), some new members of Monkey Squad Two followed quickly by their disbanding (that would be a spoiler if it wasn’t listed clearly on the cover), another piece from the alternate future timeline story (and I love that it refers to the exact pages of the issue in question and where this new story would fit, that’s some excellent attention to detail right there), and a nice flashback story to the Monkey Squad from 1996 including who was on the team, who they were fighting and what happened to some of them. Really, all my complaints about past issues go right out the window with this one. Now I know what’s going on and who all these people are, and that really goes a long way. I have no idea how Doug could pack this much information into a recap for a regular issue, which is one more reason why this series is screaming out for a website. The man needs a central location to keep all this information straight, not to mention a place to show off his artwork. One last thing I have to mention is that Doug sent a letter along with this saying that he’s dedicated to making me a fan, which is exactly the right attitude for anybody to have who has received a less than glowing review. Try harder, put out better work and if you still don’t win me over, who cares? I’m some chatty guy with a website. Improving your comic should be the goal all by itself, and that should be a constant goal if you’re taking all of this seriously. And Doug, yes, you have officially won me over. Unless the next issue sucks… $2.50
