Review by Frank Plowright

Considering Bunny vs Monkey so regularly features Skunky’s machines operated by Monkey for maximum mayhem, it may occur to ask why this collection is specifically titled Machine Mayhem! It’s because rather than the usual imaginatively violent contraptions, or more correctly alongside them, the machines here are assorted robot intelligences. Before they start, though, there’s a sad farewell to Robot Steve, a strip where the poignancy is more likely to affect adults than children.

Robot Steve’s replacement is Robot E.V.E., considerably more intelligent and capable of learning, and their exploration of the world forms the basis of several strips here. Whether the other forest animals are the best examples to follow when it comes to assessing reality is of course open to question. Also introduced here is Roland T. Mole, the world’s most aggressive mole, which is as good as any indication of Jamie Smart’s sense of humour. Or perhaps the flamethrowing flamingo is. Either way, chaos and destruction is a common ending, although with Monkey’s enthusiasm usually backfiring on him.

Although E.V.E.’s experiences are the nearest Machine Mayhem! has to a theme until the final quarter, as usual, the collection veers from one big idea to the next, rarely lingering for more than five pages before another topic is introduced. It’s not difficult to imagine Smart’s attention span as only slightly more lingering than Monkey’s, yet the sheer bulk of creativity indicates a prodigious work ethic.

The art is chaotic, vivid and energetic as the storylines, packed with figures and as often as not ending with explosions or gloop, and sometimes both. For creations that are so simply drawn they commit well to assorted emotions, and if you want to try drawing them, every new book offers a start to finish selection. This time it’s Metal Steve and Metal E.V.E. each in fourteen stages.

As Smart now runs his major plots in annual segments, everything is cleared up before we move on to Multiverse Mix-Up!