Damn Dirty Apes

Root Nibot and Colleen Coover's Banana Sunday, published by Oni Press, sounds like a fun comic I need to pick up. But even more fun than a new comic is a crazy thread on Newsarama about the difference between monkeys and apes.

It started with a press release for Banana Sunday:

"Many of the ideas for Banana Sunday came about one day while I was at a zoo, watching an orangutan," Nibot commented. "I started thinking about how monkeys and humans would interact, if only monkeys could voice their ideas in ways we could understand. Boom, I wanted talking monkeys. And I wanted THREE monkeys because I needed an orangutan, as one was the catalyst for a lot of my thoughts. But I love gorillas, so I needed a gorilla. Also, I've had a bit of a fascination for spider-monkeys ever since one stole a pair of my sunglasses when I was a child. So, Chuck the Orangutan, Go-Go the gorilla, and Knobby, the spider-monkey. All of whom are monkeys, but represent different types of humanity."

Then poster BBayliss does a little educating: DAMMIT!!!!! First Bill Willingham's Detective Chimp, now this! Gorillas, Chimps, Bonobos and Orantutans ARE NOT MONKEYS. REPEAT AFTER ME: APES ARE NOT MONKEYS. MONKEYS HAVE TAILS. APES DO NOT!!!! Jeezus. Just because we love comic books doesn't mean we have to look stupid to the "outside world."

As the debate begins, he adds: I know some primatologists that might be interested in picking up this book for their kids. It looks fun. I can guarantee that they'll put it right back on the shelf when they see apes referred to as monkeys.

Randy Oni adds: I know some astronauts that might be interested in taking their kids to see the new Star Wars movie. It looks fun. I cguaranteetee that they'll walk out of the theater when they hear all the loud noises in space.

Although... I have to say we here at the World Headquarters of Oni Press (WHOOPs!) have endeavoured to capture the desirable "children of primatoligists" market.

It gets even more interesting on page 2, when Steve Lieber posts a transcript of a conversation between Dr. Penny Patterson and Koko, the signing gorilla, on the book.

For more information:

• Banana Sunday preview (.pdf) at the Oni site
• The Gorilla Foundation