Written by Jamie Vayda
Coloring and riso printing by J.T. Yost
The story opens in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where Mustard, a chimpanzee boxer and fifth-generation chimp entertainer, crushes a much larger human opponent and is rewarded with a cigarette and a beer. Outside the ring, the Chimp Farm where Mustard performs is under protest, facing lawsuits, and a looming threat of closure. The narrative then shifts to Celaya, Mexico, where the operators of Lefty Cohen’s Wild West Show hope to save their struggling business by locating the legendary chimpanzee trick shooter known as Sugarman. After tracking down an elderly chimp sweeping a street market, Lefty Cohen’s crew is treated to a performance and the origin story of Sugarman, a bizarre, gory revenge tale grown into legend. The result feels like an alternate-universe Planet of the Apes written by Sergio Leone for MAD magazine.
The comic crackles with cartoon humor and violence. Vayda’s style is firmly rooted in the once underground comix, with visible echoes of R. Crumb’s unleashed id, Eric Drooker’s stark silhouettes, Peter Bagge and Johnny Ryan’s slithering, electric hostility, and a lineage of MAD illustrators, especially Sergio Aragonés, whose influence can be seen in the densely packed, textured pages. Vayda skillfully allows these influences to coexist, blending realism, surrealism, and quirky cartoonish exaggeration without any element feeling out of place.
J.T. Yost’s riso printing bathes the book in a vintage, sunburned palette. The colors are gorgeous, though I occasionally wished for a heavier contrast with darker browns and deeper shadows. The choice to separate dialogue and narration by color is smart, even if the light orange dialogue in some places can be tough on the eyes (my aging ones, at least).
Sugarman is crude, violent, funny, and strangely mythic, a revenge fable, a cartoon freak show, and a loving middle finger to good taste. It’s the kind of comic that feels dangerous in the best way.
Hand-numbered first printings are available from Jackhammer Music. Adults only.
