My Monkey's Name is Jennifer Volume 2 Review

Vital Specs:

Title: My Monkey’s Name Is Jennifer
Writer and Artist: Ken Knudtsen
Publisher: SLG Comics
Content: My Monkey’s Name Is Jennifer is for mature readers.
Price: $8.95

Introduction:

What do you get when you combine a crazy girl, a monkey in a dress, a mad scientist, a laser shooting t-rex, and time traveling cough syrup? You get My Monkey’s Name Is Jennifer Volume 2. This unusual OGN has that and more within its pages and it is nicely priced at just under nine bucks.

Story:

I never read the first volume of My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer, but the overall plot isn’t too difficult to follow. A crazy young girl named Kaitlyn has a pet monkey named Jennifer whom she adores and tortures all in one breath. Their archenemy is an evil doctor that seeks nothing else but to destroy the two and his opportunity comes when their father comes into his store seeking cough syrup as the two are bed ridden by a nasty cold. The doctor sees this as his opportunity to get revenge and concocts a cough syrup like none other. Every time the duo drinks the medicine, they are mystically transported to a dangerous realm. Kaitlyn and Jennifer must dodge countless dangers to make it back safe and sound to their cozy bed.

Review:

The first thing that drew me to this comic was the title. How could you go wrong with a savage monkey in a dress? I dived right in and was pleasantly surprised. The thing that caught and kept my attention was how offbeat it was. There was a randomness to it that I really enjoyed. The story jumped from one unusual scene to the next and I felt was very well executed.

I also enjoyed the pacing and layout of the book. Knudtsen's use of full page spreads like the evil doctors revelation and when Jennifer finds herself home worked very well. There was a dynamic sense to the storytelling that I found to be excellent. Mix this in with the great humor and I was very pleased with the product.

My one main complaint with this graphic novel was the artwork. It totally worked for the piece, but I found it to be a bit rough. It had a very sketchy feel to it and I was just hoping for a bit more.

Conclusion:

Despite my criticism of the art, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was very different from a lot of the comics I’ve been reading lately and came as a breath of fresh air. If you are into quirky humor, monkeys, or time travelling action than I think this will be right up your alley.