Chronicles Of Gorilla City!

[Cayman]

Are there any great Gorilla City stories I should look out for? I've known it existed for quite awhile but this week's JLA and playing Justice League Heroes has sparked a greater interest in the place for me.

[ultramandingo]

..........if it involves super evolved apes flinging their poop at stuff , im in !

[SKJAM!]

The stories involving Gorilla City in the Showcase Presents: Flash Volume One book are essential, since they're the earliest, and establish the characters of Solovar and Grodd. I wouldn't call them great Gorilla City stories though, as we barely see any of Gorilla City's customs or daily life.

[marshal99]

You can try Birds of Prey #22-25 involving Black Canary & Oracle forced to go to gorilla city in Africa to look for a donor heart for Blockbuster. Deathstroke also shows up wanting revenge on Gorilla Grodd.

There's also the JLApe event which involves several annuals where the members of the JLA got turned into apes. :D

http://members.fortunecity.com/mjstauffer/History/Events/JLApe.htm

[Hatut Zeraze]

While I'm the first to admit that Geoff Johns is overrated, I do feel that when he's on his game, he is a good writer.

With that said, I nominate Flash #194, "Dead or Alive," as the greatest Gorilla City story of all time.

It can be read as a standalone story, but it goes nicely with "Run Riot," a 2-part Gorilla Grodd story from Flash #s 192 and 193.

It is a pretty drastic revision of Gorilla City, but, for me, it works very, very well. The technology and culture of Gorilla City are portrayed in more of a tribal manner. This is not to say they are no longer advanced, technologically, but their advancements look more like what a Gorilla might make as opposed to a human who has read too many Flash Gordon comic strips. Now it bears some resemblance, design-wise, with Wakanda's techno-jungle aspects seen in various Black Panther stories over the years. Scott Kolins rendered a two-page spread that is worth the cover price alone, if you consider yourself a Gorilla City enthusiast.

Johns manages this revision without retconning. Nnamdi, the son of Solovar (killed during the JLApe story), is now the ruler. He has redesigned the city in what sounds like an intentional rejection of the human aesthetic. Johns also adds in some interesting cultural characteristics we'd not seen before, as well.

I suspect the best ideas from this story, though, have already been forgotten and rejected. People are probably going back to the traditional Silver Age Gorilla City idea. Too bad, it's a shame, because I thought this was a really good direction. I'll have to borrow a copy of my friend's JLA to see for sure.

[rick]

I for opne, happily recommend Alan Moore's take on Ape-City and the rest of the DC Monkey crew way back in Sage of Swamp Thing Annual #3.

It just a classic, with some great humor and a truly nasty version of Grodd in it. Plus some great takes on Congorilla, Angel & the Ape and Mallah.


http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9041/swampoe2.jpg

[Hatut Zeraze]

I for opne, happily recommend Alan Moore's take on Ape-City and the rest of the DC Monkey crew way back in Sage of Swamp Thing Annual #3.

It just a classic, with some great humor and a truly nasty version of Grodd in it. Plus some great takes on Congorilla, Angel & the Ape and Mallah.


http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9041/swampoe2.jpg

Are you 100% sure that Alan Moore wrote that one? I thought Rick Veitch wrote that one.

[rick]

Are you 100% sure that Alan Moore wrote that one? I thought Rick Veitch wrote that one.


I was 100% certain until you said otherwise, but I pulled out my copy and in fact you are quite correct, this was from the really wonderful Rick Veitch run on the book.

It's still a great story, like the rest of Vietch's run and I still highly recommend it.

[ultramandingo]

........plus bolland is the go to guy for ape art

[Hatut Zeraze]

........plus bolland is the go to guy for ape art

But, if my memory serves me right (It did already once on this thread), Bolland only does the cover. I believe the interiors are by Tom Yeats.

[Cayman]

I for opne, happily recommend Alan Moore's take on Ape-City and the rest of the DC Monkey crew way back in Sage of Swamp Thing Annual #3.

It just a classic, with some great humor and a truly nasty version of Grodd in it. Plus some great takes on Congorilla, Angel & the Ape and Mallah.


http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9041/swampoe2.jpg

That looks pretty cool. I still haven't read very much of the Veitch run.