16.5cm x 24cm,
32 colour pages, colour cover.
£3.50
p&p
One
of the great things about zines is that they can be about absolutely anything.
Having said that, I was rather taken aback recently when a guy approached my
stall at Leeds Zine Fair and handed me what appeared to be a zine geared
towards children.
Cheeky Monkey follows its
eponymous character and his raccoon sidekick on their bizarre, occasionally
psychedelic quest to uncover the truth about unseen character Ali-Ra-Ra, and
why he’s pestering the entire jungle community for avocados. The story manages
to be zany enough for kids to enjoy, whilst remaining sufficiently wholesome to
keep their parents happy.
The
creators (Fred Morris and Dominic Linton of King Louie's Lab) have clearly done
their homework with Cheeky Monkey.
They’ve borrowed devices from kids’ television programmes and made them work on
the page. The narrative voice is reminiscent of the speaking style from
currently popular cartoons such as Peppa
Pig or We Bare Bears, and the
main characters pose on the back cover like they’re in the opening credits of a
kids’ TV show.
It’s
a good effort from the South London zine-makers, especially considering that
they’re treading new ground in marketing their zines to children. With luck, Cheeky Monkey could be a gateway for
younger readers discovering the world of zines.
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