Review by Jamie McNeil
“Bursting With Hilarious Hijinks” claims the cover, and as that’s been the case for every Bunny vs Monkey to date, it’s a safe promise. The title refers to AI the Aye-Aye, introduced during The League of Doom, but while the opening strips feature them strongly, they’re eventually absorbed into the remainder of the cast. In the meantime it’s business as usual, which means madcap as the default state.
By now that’s well known, so let’s admire the sheer fertility of Jamie Smart’s imagination. Week after week he comes up with a new five page bundle of manic energy and there’s not a single strip here that fails the laughter test, yet they’re also consistently inventive and introduce new ideas to young readers. In one strip Monkey believes his spacecraft has taken him way into the future – it’s actually just a ten minute journey – and in another the concept of Groundhog Day is introduced.
Assorted robots, though, continue to be the default menace. This volume’s variations include a giant walrus, a giant dragon, a giant monkey and a giant transformer with separately controlled detachable limbs, but there are even more. Skunky’s inventing curiosity being unable to resist the menaces prompted by monkey’s hyperactive mind is indeed a deadly combination. While Monkey and Skunky’s tormenting of Bunny is the standard scenario, Smart now has a large enough cast to vary the spotlight, and it’s Weenie the squirrel who becomes the first star of a two parter in which they attempt to prove their bravery.
That’s Smart almost showing a sweeter side, and when he does so it’s always a surprise and always touching. The least likely character to display that is Action Beaver, usually even more manic than Monkey, but silent with it, yet Smart gives him an utterly sweet moment.
Grave danger is mentioned over the final strips, as Bunny believes a prediction delivered by a ghost, and indeed the whole cast is in a bit of a pickle in the final panel. Will they save themselves? Find out in The Rise of the Maniacal Badger.
