From the ridiculously serious to the seriously ridiculous, I present Six Gun Gorilla, a madcap riff on a western strip about an ape with a revolver that's also by turns a social commentary, a dystopian sci-fi story about librarian dumped by his girlfriend, a meta-narrative about the nature of authorship and storytelling and a laugh-out-loud read. Got a good idea of what to expect yet? Didn't think so. The titular Gorilla is an experiment gone wrong, and one that the Orwellian government of the story would rather was kept under wraps or - even better - buried underground. That's why he's hiding out on the Blister, an inhospitable wasteland that'll do as a western frontier substitute and allow writer Si Spurrier to wax ludicrous on as many tropes as he likes, much to the delight of Six Gun Gorilla's readers and apparently also stellar new artist Jeff Stokely, who brings vibrant, kinetic action to the page every issue. The book introduces new insane concepts to the story almost every other page, from live-streamed suicides in warzones to a world where electronics don't work so armies are reduced to clockwork and steam-powered weapons, and does so with a grin on its face and a song in its heart, which it also has tons of. Who'd think a comic about an anthropomorphic ape with a poncho would hit you so hard? Six Gun Gorilla has actually ended its six-issue run, but will soon be released in trade paperback form, so I suggest you pick up a copy when it does. It's wacky, smart comics with talking animals done right.
