Bunny vs Monkey: Machine Mayhem

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Skunky is a very intelligent Skunk, and most likely the smartest person in the Main Crew, he takes pride in his inventions, and enjoys making lots of weird and funky gadgets. His personality is quite cunning, and enjoys destroying the woods, although claims that "I have my own life too you know! I don't just go around messing up the woods all the time." He is quite logical, and isn't always really a Villain. Skunky is generally more of an ambivert and it really depends on his mood whether he's extroverted or introverted. The crusade pauses for Weenie’s birthday and the hunt for ‘The Best Present in the World’, but restarts again when E.V.E. crashes the party with ‘Something to Say’ about the “rise of the machines” and end of all flesh… Pausing for Weenie, Pig, Ai and Bunny to share some ‘Scary Stories’ around a night time campfire, the crisis enters a new phase when the ghost of local legend Fantastic Le Fox, manifests, even as the manic simian is captured and transformed into E.V.E.’s ‘Metal Monkey’…

Le Fox is ‘An Old Friend’ resolved to help the animals survive, and his strategic advice is welcome, but the turning point comes in ‘Clash of the Robots’ as Metal Monkey and Steve duel, even as their mecha-mistress takes charge, unleashing DNA-altering microbots that put the fleshy freedom fighters to flight in ‘Uh-Oh-Nano!’ Each self-contained strip is a triumph of design, invention and hilarity, Smart’s unmistakeable illustrations dazzling and delighting readers. Amidst all the chaos though, Bunny, Monkey, Weenie and Pig are proper characters, always believable, no matter what they’re up to. One of the most brilliant comic strips of today. A close call with humans in ‘Bunny vs Monkey Jellybeans!’ precedes piratical pretenders Weenie and Pig’s ‘A Dangerous Voyage’, before Monkey endures his own Journey into the Unknown. As “The Most Brilliant Animal in the Woods” Skunky convinces his erstwhile ally to shrink down and explore the inner cerebellum of brain-battered, bewildered ex-stuntman Action Beaver for ‘The Lost Memory’ of a misplaced ultimate weapon, which is what probably inspires him to make his own, after entering a competition and prematurely unleashing his ‘Winning Entry’…How can you not love a book which includes the lines ‘Skunky, do NOT use the interdimensional portal-opening device!’ and ‘This time next year, we’ll all be wearing chutney’ or indeed, ‘Où est l’Action Beaver?’ But lines like these are only one of the pleasures of Jamie Smart’s comic strip adventures, Bunny vs Monkey. A reality-altering beast threatens in ‘Wishful Thinking’ and the entire woods go all French just as aliens invade in ‘L’Honk Honk’ before Monkey and Skunky explore artisanal dining in ‘Eat Up!’ with appalling consequences for their customers, after which Ai and Monkey discover uncanny ‘Night Lights’ in the deep dark woods… The animal anarchy might have ended for now, but there’s more secrets to share thanks to detailed instructions on ‘How to Draw Metal Steve’ and ‘How to Draw Metal E.V.E.’ to wind down from all that angsty furore… Jamie Smart’s latest book, Bunny Vs Monkey: Machine Mayhem, is out this week in all good bookshops – and Waterstones has special signed copies in offer, limited to three thousand copies.

Monkey, however, isn’t alone. He teams up with his own friends, including Skunky, an evil genius creating huge, monstrous inventions. As the animals go to war, it’s good vs evil, nature vs science, and these quiet woods are about to get considerably noisier. Pausing for Weenie, Pig, Ai and Bunny to share some ‘Scary Stories’ around a nighttime campfire, the constant crisis enters a new phase when the ghost of local legend Fantastic Le Fox manifests, even as our ape oaf is transformed into E.V.E.’s ‘Metal Monkey’… Problems are exacerbated by other unconventional Crinkle creatures, particularly a skunk called Skunky who has a mad scientist’s attitude to life and a gift for building robots and super-weapons… When a Monkey is sent into space but crash lands in the nearby woods, he thinks he has discovered a brave new world. What he has actually discovered is a group of misfit animals, many of whom aren’t that keen on Monkey’s plans for becoming their new ruler. It’s down to Bunny, and his simple and silly friends, to put halt to Monkey’s maniacal schemes! Once that menace vanishes into vapour, the mostly organic animals unite and formulate ‘Some Kind of Plan’ to fight E.V.E. – except ‘Nurse Monkey’ who’s keen to explore other lifestyles – until reenlisting in ‘Roll Up! Roll Up!’ with a barmy spinning machine which has no chance of easing their plight but will probably end their lives before she does…

The animal anarchy might have ended for now there’s more secrets to share thanks to detailed instructions on ‘How to Draw Metal Steve’ and ‘How to Draw Metal E.V.E.’ to wind down from all that angsty furore… The crusade pauses for Weenie’s birthday and the hunt for ‘The Best Present in the World’ but starts again when E.V.E. crashes the party with ‘Something to Say’ about the “rise of the machines” and end of all flesh… Bunny vs. Monkey has been a staple of The Phoenix since the very first issue in 2012: recounting a madcap vendetta gripping animal arch-enemies set amidst an idyllic arcadia masquerading as more-or-less mundane but critically endangered English woodlands.