Monkeyman & O'Brien [Paperback]

Art Adams (Author), Arthur Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

What do you get when you mix the beautiful daughter of a brilliant scientist with an extra-dimensional radiation bath? You get Anne O'Brien, half of the dimension-hopping, monster-battling team of Monkeyman & O'Brien! Together, this super-intelligent gorilla and this uber-woman are the only things standing between the people of earth and the menace of living gargoyles, frogs from space, and the Shrewmanoid and his army of monsters! To put it succinctly, they're two rays of hope in a world gone mad! Join Art Adams for nonstop, eye-popping action in this science-fiction adventure.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse; 1 edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569712328
• ISBN-13: 978-1569712320
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #900,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dimension-Spanning Fun with Art Adams' Creations, May 6, 2009

By 

CB - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monkeyman & O'Brien (Paperback)

I have to say, first off, I'm glad to see that this is still in print - it's quite a fun, good old-fashioned comic book ride.

What is "Monkeyman and O'Brien" all about? Here goes: Ann O'Brien, after a malfunction in her inventor father's transdimensional machinery (caused by a fight with her sinister sister) brings an intelligent, giant talking ape (named Axwell Tiberius) to Earth, finds herself imbued with super-strength, super-speed, and super-stamina due to exposure to cosmic rays. The two team up in an effort to take Axwell back to his home dimension and, in the process, become embroiled in several adventures, including against the nefarious Shrewmanoid (an homage to Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's Fantastic Four villain, the Mole Man) and an interstellar conqueror, among others. And that's about it.

"Monkeyman and O'Brien" is, admittedly, an acquired taste - either you like it or you don't. As you will see if you buy this, it was a miniseries that was planned to continue (it's set up for a deeper plot and move involvement with some of the minor characters, like Ann's nefarious sibling) but unfortunately didn't go anywhere. You essentially have to be a fan of Art Adams' to really like this - you can put this in his "intermediate period" of artwork when he is becoming more stylized, between his work on X-Men Legends Volume 3: Arthur Adams (Marvel Legends) and X-Men: Longshot and newer work like his run on Authority (The Authority Vol. 4: Transfer of Power) and his work on Alan Moore's Tom Strong's Terrific Tales: Book One. I personally enjoyed "Monkeyman and O'Brien," and it is a fun, goofy yarn, but, admittedly, not fantastically written. However, for fans of Art Adams, it is definitely worth a read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but needs story work, December 18, 2007

By 

Ryan Agadoni (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monkeyman & O'Brien (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewer, but I'll grant an extra star for the art. I like Art Adams style a lot. His texturing gives his work a very unique feel.

The story and writing are just not that great. We're not given much to work with as far as the characters are concerned: Ann is smart and able, her friend is a bland friend ("I support you, and sometimes act concerned"), Ax Tiberius is smart and able, Ann's sister is sort of evil for some reason. And the Shrewmanoid loves Ann. There is a lot of opportunity for comedy and character moments, but the story does very little to serve these ends. I mean, a giant gorilla! Otherworldly creatures! Characters that don't take themselves seriously! This should be as fun as Hellboy, but Adams just doesn't make his characters behave in any interesting ways. Even the action isn't very creative or compelling.

So, while it's worth having the book for the beautiful art (one criticism: why does Adams always draw the jaw lines a bit off?), the rest does not compel me, which is sad. I hope to see more of his work, and hopefully he takes some cues from Hellboy or Sam & Max or some other funnier book to inject some life into his stories.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read, December 29, 2007

By 

A. Gonzales "Dlonra Selaznog" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monkeyman & O'Brien (Paperback)

The newly release toys of Monkeyman and O'Brien from the Legendary Comic Book Heroes line inspired me to get this book. It's a fun ride, and you can never go wrong with giant gorilla goodness. This kinda takes me back to the original TMNT comics of the past.