Review: Monkey Nukes

Monkey Nukes, by graphic artists Simon Mackie and Ben Rowdon, is set in West London in 1984, which immediately got me interested as who doesn't love a story taking place in the year of their birth? It's not just me, right? Right? The webcomic-come-graphic novel tells the story of the birth of Scottish-themed vegetarian hang-out the Monkey Nukes and the society that surrounds it.

Adam is a directionless young teacher whos loose-end life is unsettled more than usual when the cause of a bitterly remembered heartbreak returns only to fall into his best friend's arms. Does Adam want her back? Or does he have some other future awaiting him as he stumbles through the subsequent confusion of modelling kits, murder, coffee, drugs, love and friendship, beer and cigarettes?

Monkey Nukes is an enjoyable story that's a bit of a rollercoaster. You become engrossed in the lives of the characters and in particular the struggles of Adam's days. There are some awkward moments that really make you feel for him but mixed with these are some genuinely funny moments. Moments that some people will relate to and some that you don't need to have experienced to feel for the characters. It's a good hit of nostalgia as well, and although I can't remember the 80's as I was but a baby, a lot of what was around then was pretty commonplace in the 90s where I can remember parts of my childhood.

The minimalist style of the art makes each page a joy to look at with some rather bright colours used throughout for certain scenes or characters. The pages are generally split into 12 panels which aren't always in a strict format allowing for some panels to be wider than the rest or to just flow a scene through a row, giving the occasional change of view and more room for certain scenes to take priority.

The first half of the book is character and setting building which does mean it can seem a bit slow going with a few forgettable pages, but thankfully those really are few. One of my bugbears with reading anything is writing Scottish characters with their accent. The reasons make sense to me and it can add some humour when someone replies to them with "what?", but that's generally what my problem with it is. You get in the flow of reading and then you say to yourself "what?" and have to reread it slowly just to get an idea of what is being said.

Overall, it's a well-written story that gets you involved in the lives of the characters. You feel for Adam, you laugh with him, at him, cringe at his inability to listen and jump to conclusions, and sympathise with his embarrassing moments. Simon Mackie and Ben Rowdon have done a wonderful job at creating an endearing story filled with memorial and relatable characters. I'm glad that I read this as a graphic novel rather than the 24-48 hours between each page being posted as a webcomic. The final pages when a murder happens and then the Monkey Nukes opens for business would have been torture to wait for as the pace really picks up and made the story truly memorable - the end sequence is real can't put down reading!

One key thing to note is that this is definitely not a story for children. Not in the slightest as there are some extremely adult themes and conversations.

Rating: 4/5