Banana Sunday

by Paul Tobin, Colleen Coover (Illustrator), Rian Sygh (Illustrator)

Overview

Banana Sunday, the classic story by Eisner Award-winning Bandette co-creators Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, is now presented in full color, with a brand-new introduction and bonus materials!

Kirby Steinberg is having a bit of trouble fitting into her new school. Sure, there's the usual problems associated with being from "somewhere else," but this time the new kid also happens to be the guardian for three talking primates. Chuck, the professorial orangutan. Knobby, the love-stricken spider monkey. Go-Go, the befuddled golden gorilla. These primates have learned to speak, thanks to the scientific processes of Kirby's father. Or have they? What's their real story? That's what Nickels—Kirby's new best friend and unfortunately dedicated school reporter—would like to discover. Can Kirby find time to develop a relationship with Martin, the dashing nerd? Steer clear of Skye, the high school's #1 pillar of arrogance? Keep Knobby, Chuck and Go-Go from causing untold catastrophes? And, above all, will Kirby be able to hide the real origin of these three simians from Nickels? Oh, probably not.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620105412
Publisher:	Oni Press
Publication date:	10/23/2018
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	749,816
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Paul Tobin is the author of the multi-Eisner-award-winning Bandette, the Eisner nominated horror series Colder, and the Eisner nominated I Was the Cat, which is (spoiler) about a cat. His first novel, Prepare To Die!, was starred by Publisher's Weekly, and he is currently working on a series of middle grade novels, the Genius Factor series. He is the New York Times best-selling author of the Plants vs Zombies graphic novels, and writes many many more things while sitting in cafes, silently judging all those around him.

Rian Sygh is a freelance comic artist and living enigma working out of Charlotte, NC with his partner and two cats. He's done both illustration and sequential work with Boom! Studios, Diamond, HarperCollins, Oni Press, Valiant, and Z2 Publishing. He is the artist and co-creator of the Prism Award-winning comic The Backstagers. Which is pretty good, honestly.

Colleen Coover is an Eisner Award-winning comic book artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her comics include the adult title Small Favors and the all-ages Banana Sunday. She has been published by Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Marvel, and many others. She works with her husband, writer Paul Tobin, on the Eisner-winning series Bandette.

Editorial Reviews

"I hope you like mysteries and teen antics and simians and being charmed off your feet, because Tobin and Coover deliver all that in Banana Sunday, their breakthrough graphic novel. It’s nothing short of dazzling."

Jeff Parker

"Banana Sunday is the kind of imaginative work that's perfect for comics. It's got a creative premise — a girl named Kirby starts at a new school while taking care of three apes — that would be too expensive or ludicrous to do anywhere else, yet it emphasizes internal conflict with sympathetic characters. The emotions are universal, such as young love on a first date or a reporter's conflict between loyalty and seeking the truth or the debate over how to stand up to a bully."

Comics Worth Reading

"Coover's style is pure fun on the page, with sweet looking girls and silly little monkeys. A perfect combination, if you ask me."

Ain't It Cool News

2018-07-16
Kirby is about to start a new school with three talking primates in tow.Unlike other students, Kirby Steinberg begins her time at Forest Edge school with a speech to the entire student body introducing her unusual entourage that's composed of three talking simians: eggheaded orangutan Chuck; Go-Go the gorilla, who is hungry and tired in equal measure; and spider monkey Knobby, who has a fondness for romance. Although Kirby claims the simians were secret experiments of her scientist father, school reporter Nickels smells something deeper to this story and decides to investigate. Meanwhile, Kirby's new school is filled with human drama, including mean girl Skye's relentless bullying and gentle romantic tension with lovably goofy Martin. Will Kirby be able to navigate all these pitfalls and look after her rascally primate posse? Originally published in 2006, this reissue both brings the story back to print and adds lively color from Sygh to its tidy and bright panels. While the new hues add a layer of diversity, the characters (including most of those in the periphery) are all uniformly thin with aspirationally long legs complementing their svelte physiques. However, with its adorably mischievous monkeys, this stand-alone offering should appeal to those who can appreciate reality with a healthy dash of simian silliness. Kirby, love interest Martin, and mean girl Skye are all white; best friend Nickels is a Japanese immigrant.A lot of monkey business. (Graphic fantasy. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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