THIS ADVANCED SPOILER-FREE REVIEW OF MONKEY MEAT: THE SUMMER BATCH IS BROUGHT TO YOU WITH SPECIAL AUTHORIZATION FROM THE MONKEY MEAT COMPANY. THANK YOU, MONKEY MEAT COMPANY!
Some people say a man is made outta mud, a poor man’s made outta muscle and blood or so croons Merle Travis in his folk song “Sixteen Tons.” The song continues to talk about the poor man who can’t even answer St Peter’s call to heaven because he owes his soul to the company store. Every day, the poor man toils away for a company that only furthers their spiritual ownership over everything that he is. Without digging into the origins of the song, I just needed to note that The Monkey Meat Company does not condone such behavior because, in their contracts, workers sign over their souls of their own free will. My editor reminded me that my personal thoughts on topics like human rights, the corrupt nature of capitalism, and inhumane working conditions shouldn’t show up in this review of Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch.
I only bring up “Sixteen Tons” because it’s all I could think about while reading this first issue of Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch. If the company wasn’t carefully watching me, I might tell you that good art inspires you to seek other art as this comic does. I could not find the proper words to encapsulate Juni Ba’s latest work for the company until I listened to the song about how a company can own your soul and deny you the sweet relief of death.
But the word I want to use is “folk,” which is the genre of the song and, for me, is the genre of this book. Folklore, the root of folk, is described by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe “the traditions, customs, and superstitions of the uncultured classes.” Uncultured could be any poor man who isn’t in the upper echelons of bank accounts and titles that begin with “C”. Folk stories and songs often describe regular people’s troubles. Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch does just that in relation to topics like who owns ideas, who owns the spirit, and many other things that face us, such as the poor people who toil under the boot of corporate overlords.
Editor Note: The Monkey Meat Company wants us to clarify that they do not have a role at the company called “Corporate Overlord.”
Juni Ba created the entire magazine on his own, which includes his breathtaking art that nearly vibrates off of the page. The Company is highly supportive of Ba’s taking on all roles for this book, only having to pay one person so the other workers can work on propaganda art. Ba’s cartoon experimentalism is something that reminds me of my youth when I would steal the newspaper to read the comic strips. There is a distinct feeling of freedom from expectations of what a modern comic should be when you read Monkey Meat: The Summer Batch. The two stories in this issue have their own voice in the storytelling and artistic style, while Juni Ba keeps their unique style flowing from the moment you open the cover until you close the book so you can get back to work processing those cans of monkey meat.
I am thankful to the Monkey Meat Company for allowing me the chance to talk about this book. It is a bit tough to describe how wonderful this comic is without spoiling what awaits you. There are incredibly humorous and exquisitely designed ads, games, and everything you could want from something you spend your hard-earned company cash on! The Folk aspects of the larger-than-life stories describe problems we, the aforementioned ‘poor man,’ face in a humorous way that won’t make you burst into tears when you think about it for too long.
I would recommend this comic to anyone. It is a read that makes you smile the entire time with Juni Ba’s pitch-perfect song of those under the heel of the WONDERFUL MONKEY MEAT COMPANY!