Apes 'N' Capes 4

It’s called evolution for a reason. We haven’t stopped evolving. In fact, it’s increasing exponentially. I could write a million words about this comic, and the implications it presents.

Instead, I’m going to post some song lyrics I like. It’s from an Norwegian indie band named Team Me. They came out of nowhere. Their first album won a Grammy last year.

The bubble burst and I'm so sorry

Couldn't play out my part

Too scared to follow my heart

So here i am by the flood gates

So much easier to leave than being left all alone

I spent days in a fever

Can we collide

Give me a ruthless feeling

So here I am by the flood gates

So much easier to leave than being left all alone

Knock me to my knees now I'm on the floor

With a pack of wolves outside my door

Sleepless nights left me begging

For you to come back

For you to give me comfort

I'll kick & curse

For what its worth

I'll even admit that i was wrong to let you go

Knock me to my knees now I'm on the floor

With a pack of wolves outside my door

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

- Charles Darwin. The ultimate ape in a cape.

Apes 'N' Capes 3

The circumstances of our main characters are still unfolding. Living moment to moment, one breath at a time, unaware of the future that lies before them, only the danger that surrounds them right now. They act on impulse, on instinct and instinct serves us animals well. We should learn to trust it more. It is there to protect us.

This chapter unearths the weaknesses that compel us to seek each other out. It won’t be obvious at first, but loneliness and isolation are the forces that bring our 3 main protagonists together. To what end? Well, even I don’t know that yet and I’m certainly not going to make anything up!

I won’t give it away, but the implications of this comic are literally Earth shattering. Nothing in this book is made up, and it shakes everything we know to the core and spits it back out. This is huge.

All we have is our DNA. What we create and leave behind. Negativity is just another obstacle for humans to overcome.

Transcendence is upon us, and it’s way closer than you think.

“I am asking you trust me long enough to prove you wrong. We need to leave. Remain here, and you will die…”

- An Ape in a Cape    

“How long can this fight go on? Who we are, what we are? I’LL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE!”

Devin Townsend, “Life”. Another ape in a cape. 

Apes 'N' Capes 2

“Who is the mysterious black-clad figure that steals into George Tremayne’s treehouse in the dead of night? What of the origins of Primer, the Bonnet Macaque lab assistant? And as for our caped ape, what’s his story?

Enter the pages of Episode 2 for the answers to some of these questions!”

Grainne McEntee and Matt Rooke are a dream team. These secret titans of industry are using the comic book medium to explore the very concept of what it means to be alive.

Humanity is just another animal, striving to evolve and improve. For the first time though, we consciously realize this and it’s scary. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go when we die?

An orangutan doesn’t ask these questions. He just quietly keeps the ecosystem pumping along with a smile on his face. That’s why he’s the hero of this story.

I could praise this comic for days. You could read each page for an hour, taking in the amazing combination of images and words. But I don’t wanna spoil it for you.

<Don’t forget to turn on the lights before you leave.>

- Primer, the Bonnet Macaque lab assistant 

Apes 'N' Capes 1

“There is a hairy hero in all of us. Like it or not, our DNA is hardwired that way.

Like the air we breathe, we share that DNA with our closest primate relatives. Somewhere along that path, we lost the essence. Apes ‘n’ Capes is a story that brings us together again.”

            I didn’t think that a comic called “Apes ’n’ Capes” would make me cry. About a month ago, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Every day is a struggle between crippling lows and ambitious highs. And that, my friends, is what Apes ’n’ Capes is all about.

            You aren’t a dumb fat monkey in a tree, lying down and waiting to die. You evolved from a complicated line of organic life that started before even MEMORY existed. You know silver-back gorillas? Those aggressive punch machines that break zoo glass for fun? You have 95 percent of their DNA in you.

            Scientists and other egg-heads always say “mankind is at a turning point” this and “this is a critical time” that. But the truth is, every second you are alive is a turning point. As far as we know, nothing else in this universe is alive. Billions of stars with billions of planets, but so far this is the only one with life on it.

            I’m bipolar, and you know what else is? Planet Earth. Being bipolar doesn’t mean I’ll go whacko over a sandwich or something (not anymore at least), it means I have a need to sort things into good or bad. North and South. The North Pole, and the South Pole.

            Bipolar disorder can be harnessed to do amazing things, but only if an orangutan in a cape kicks my ass and helps me.

            You can learn a lot just from stepping back and appreciating nature. You can learn even more from appreciating everything. Don’t let bears in board rooms take away your soul.

PS: The art is just as fantastic as the concept and writing. At first I thought “duh black and white, cheapo comic alert”, but there is color when there needs to be. Matt Rooke possess tremendous talent, each panel helping to carry Grainne McEntee’s effortlessly fantastic words.

Read this comic book!