The setting of sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa is stuffed to the gills with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars, and excellent weed as Dave and his freeloading pal Paul thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, “What steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that inhabit it?” (though most people’s answers to these questions don’t involve sword fights and hovercrafts).
The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book features two full-length stories, “The Leaking Cello Case” and “John Wesley Harding.” Both stories start off in the every day then morph into oddball mysteries that never go quite where you expect them to. As odd as some of the capers and misadventures getm they are always conveyed with a kind of casual, deadpan poker face that manages to make them all the more believable.
There is a reason that Cheech & Chong, The Big Lebowski and Harold and Kumar get referenced a lot in discussions of this book, since the two main characters are quirky and likable stoners. Even if one of them has monkey feet.
The art is a curious mix of cartoonish realism, and the city of Cape Town is vividly portrayed, especially in the panels (and there are many of them) with the characters driving around town.
If there is a downside to this book, it’s that it tends toward talk-heavy panels. Small panels filled with massive speech balloons crowding out the characters are the norm.
Red Monkey Double Happiness Book is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read for the mystery/crime comic fan looking for something a bit different than the harder noir stuff that seems to dominate these days.
