The EW Pull List: February's best comics include Monkey Prince, Monkey Meat, and monkeys in space

You might find some interesting similarities among EW's favorite comics from the past month. For one thing, there are a lot of monkeys! DC's Monkey Prince introduces a new Asian American superhero based on Journey to the West, Image's Primordial sends monkeys beyond time and space, and the fascinating anthology Monkey Meat envisions a world-conquering corporation based on those lovable primates.

Below, find out why you should check out these and other comics if you haven't yet.

Best new books

Love Everlasting #1 (Substack)
Tom King (writer), Elsa Charretier (artist), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), Clayton Cowles (letterer)

Ever heard of romance comics? Once upon a time they were nearly as popular as superhero stories. In this new Substack comic, one of the premier writers of modern superhero comics (Tom King) presents his take on this other, nearly forgotten genre with the same cerebral storytelling he's brought to the likes of Mister Miracle. One issue in, Love Everlasting is already a brain-bender: Its protagonist appears to be waking up again and again, each time in a slightly different variation of a classic romance plot.

What exactly is going on? It'll be interesting to watch this mystery unfold over the course of future installments — but it'll be just as entertaining to see more art from Elsa Charretier (November), who perfectly channels the visual aesthetic of those classic romance comics with her own special touch.

Monkey Prince #1 (DC)
Gene Luen Yang (writer), Bernard Chang (artist), Sebastian Cheng (colorist), Janice Chiang (letterer)

It can be tough to introduce new superheroes to established pantheons like DC and Marvel, which is why those publishers often choose to pursue diversity by changing up the identities of the characters wearing the famous costumes. But the struggle of creation can also be worthwhile, because the most famous heroes have a tendency to revert to their status quo. This is all a long-winded way of saying that Monkey Prince, DC's new Asian American hero, is absolutely delightful so far.

After making his debut in last year's Asian Superhero Celebration one-shot, the Monkey Prince now has his own solo comic. He already feels right at home in the pages of DC comics, while also bringing a breath of fresh air. It helps that DC's newest superhero is rooted in the mythology of Journey to the West, one of the great works of Chinese literature. The protagonist of that epic story is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Over the course of this first issue, young Marcus learns that he is the son of that legend, the Monkey Prince. With the help of magic, he becomes capable of transforming into an acrobatic, fast-talking, butt-kicking monkey hero.

There's a lot of potential here. Gene Luen Yang has proven his skills at writing comics about Asian American characters struggling to figure out their identity (American Born Chinese) and good old fashioned superhero action (Superman Smashes the Klan), so he's the perfect scribe to bring this new character to life. Pitting the Monkey Prince against Batman from the get-go (though Marcus doesn't realize it yet, his parents are minions of the Penguin and he even goes to the same school as Damian Wayne) also gives him an interesting dynamic with the rest of the pre-existing DC universe.

Best endings

No One Left to Fight II #5 (Dark Horse)
Aubrey Sitterson (writer), Fico Ossio (artist), Raciel Avila (colorist), Taylor Esposito (letterer)

It's so hard being the Vegeta. From the very beginning, No One Left to Fight has worn its love of Dragon Ball Z on its sleeve. The dynamic between protagonist Vâle (the strong, lovable champion fighter who saved the world) and his best frenemy Timór (the irascible rival who knows he's not quite as strong and is very bitter about it) echoes the iconic relationship between Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z, but it goes deeper in exploring the emotions of that rivalry. Those tensions came to a head in the final issue of the second No One Left to Fight series, with rewarding results.

After several issues of the characters trying to find a cure for Vâle's seemingly terminal condition, Vâle has decided he wants to go out fighting — and Timór seizes the opportunity to finally prove his worth against his lifelong rival. The splashy, violent, knock-down, drag-out brawl that ensues is exactly what we readers want from this comic (writer and co-creator Aubrey Sitterson refers to the book as "the comic you always wanted," and this is certainly the fight we've always wanted), but what feels really meaningful about it is how Vale strips away Timór's illusions and excuses. Why does winning matter so much to Timór when he already has a family who loves him, while Vale remains trapped in a perpetual adolescence? Is celebrating what you have the key to getting what you want?

In exploring these hard questions on top of the bombastic brawls, No One Left to Fight goes above and beyond its inspirations and influences. It's hard to know where the characters go from here (the crater on the cover gives you a sense of the ultimate destruction unleashed within), but we'd certainly like to see Timór and Vâle again someday.

Primordial #6 (Image)
Jeff Lemire (writer), Andrea Sorrentino (artist), Dave Stewart (colorist), Steve Wanda (letterer/designer)

Over the course of its six issues, Primordial proved itself a unique take on the Space Race era. While movies like First Man painstakingly recreate the lives of the men who walked on the moon and TV shows like For All Mankind theorize believable alternate histories, this follow-up comic from Gideon Falls creators Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino went even further by eschewing human astronauts completely. We all know that the Soviets sent a dog named Laika into space… but what if the animals encountered something so strange out there that no humans were ever sent?

Sorrentino's art and Steve Wanda's designs have been the outstanding element of Primordial, depicting these animals (a couple American monkeys in addition to Laika) inadvertently breaking through barriers of time, space, perception, and language. Throughout the issues, it was understandable to wonder where all this was going: whether the cosmic sci-fi was the focus, or the alternate history (in the later issues, we see that this alternate timeline has somehow resulted in Soviet control of all Europe — which now seems, uh, frighteningly relevant). But the beautiful thing about the final issue is the clarification that the story was always really about the relationship between humans and animals — a love that can transcend time.

Other highlights

Monkey Meat #2 (Image)
Juni Ba (writer/artist)

Is it still possible to be a hero in our media-saturated, corporate-dominated age? That's the thought-provoking question posed by the second installment in this incredible new anthology series. The title Monkey Meat refers to a corporation that sells processed food and uses the resulting profits to control everyone else: consumers, employees, even God.

In this second issue, a nerdy young manga fan named Haricot consumes the corporation's latest product, Soul Juice, and transforms into the kind of powerful hero he's always read about. Now he has the power to inflict "justice" on those who have wronged him. This gives writer and artist Juni Ba the opportunity to pump out pages of epic Dragon Ball Z-style action, but as the fight wears on, other characters start poking holes in this kind of superhero narrative: How does your suffering justify inflicting harm on others? Why would you ever trust a corporation to have your best interests at heart when they'll tell you outright they just want your money?

Monkey Meat is set to be a five-part series, and we can't wait to see how much darker it gets.

Related content:

• Inside new Substack comic projects from Tom King, Brian K. Vaughan, and more
• Read the first full issue of No One Left to Fight for free
• The 10 best comics of 2021