ReadItDaddy's Comic of the Week - Week Ending 23rd February 2018 - "Monkey Nuts (Volume 1 and 2)" by Robin and Lorenzo Etherington (Lulu Self Publishing Platform)

Our Comic(s) of the Week this week hail back to a (sadly departed) attempt to stick a ton of dynamite up the butt of the british children's comic industry...
"The DFC" was David Fickling's first attempt to try and give kids a comic that they could call their own, that broke away from the usual Dandy / Beano / 2000AD stranglehold on the Brit comic market for kids, and cut a swathe through the horrible trend in 'merchandise / franchise' led magazines which (sadly) still dominate today.

The DFC might be long gone but its legacy lives on, and it gave us the first glimpse at the sheer craziness of a couple of characters who - HOORAY - now see the light of day once more.

Thanks to a dedicated move by their creators to bring their original vision for their own comic to life in a really nifty large format, we once again get to thrill to the adventures of Sid and Rivet, their 'husky' boss (who just happens to be a coconut) and a rather lippy Faberge egg.

Whip that lot into a liquidiser and hit the 'frappe' button for "Monkey Nuts" now reissued via a successful kickstarter in the aforementioned LOVELY large comic format, with Monkey Nuts volume 2 hitting the ground running for the first time.

Sid and Rivet, Hirsute and...well, rivetty.

How on earth do you even begin to sum up the twisted and crazy genius of a pair of stories about a monkey, his robotic (coffee dispensing) best buddy and their adventures crime-fighting in a mysterious undiscovered landscape in the Bermuda Triangle?

Simple answer - don't even try to make sense of it, just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride...

Oh man, you'd kill for a three-wheeler ride like this, right? Nutsmobile!

The story opens with a rather sorry looking Sid on his downers, before his new partner (quite literally) drops in on him like a ton of bricks.

From this unlikely pairing comes a crime-fighting duo who start out their career in the crosshairs of a rather nefarious villain who puts a price on their heads so big, no one can resist a piece of the action.

Robo, Monkey, Coconut, Egg. Makes perfect sense, right?

We couldn't wait to get in on this kickstarter, having previously loved all things Robin and Lorenzo have ever written and drawn (though we're still far from complete in our collection, we really need to track down "Luggage" next so if you guys are considering another one of these awesome large format reprints, that might be a great idea for the next one!)

The story reminds us a lot of Long Gone Don and it's obvious Robin and Lorenzo had a lot of fun coming up with new and inventive ways for Sid and Rivet to lurch from one crazy disaster-movie set piece to another - mostly intact!

Utterly frenzied stuff that doesn't let its foot off the gas for a second. If you're lucky enough to ever spot a copy of Monkey Nuts up for grabs, grab it like a hot banana souffle.

C's best bit: Sid and Rivet's boss, who is like a coconut-shaped J Jonah Jameson! Awesome!

Daddy's favourite bit: Again, that level of detail in every spread that just has you reaching for the magnifying glass. Love the huge format print, crazy madcap antics of this comic pair and can't wait to see what those clever Etherington Bros get up to next. Fine work, gentlemen!

"Monkey Nuts (Volumes 1 and 2)" by Robin and Lorenzo Etherington was available via kickstarter. Self purchased.