Undiscovered Gems 2 Day 4

Another entry for the Undiscovered Gems 2 Contest:

Paul Abbamondi writes:

Actually, I don't read that many comics, and so I'm not too sure of what is technically discovered or undiscovered, but my recommendation has to go to Grease Monkey by Tim Eldred. The story revolves around Robin Plotnik, a young assistant mechanic who has just arrived on the Fist of Earth for duty. In this era, over half the human population has been killed. To fill the void, a race of aliens offer intelligence first to the dolphins (they turn them down, bunch of bottle-nosed snobs!) and then next to gorillas (who gleefully accept). Robin quickly learns that he'll be working under Mac, a sentient gorilla. Action isn't the name of the game here, with the focus being more on the budding relationship between Robin and Mac, human and accelerated animals, and together these two will share some sometimes silly adventures and some sometimes downright serious ones. Regardless, I found both the writing and artwork to be top-notch. The hint of war never really blossoms into anything other than background drama, but with Mac looking for love and Robin yearning to find his place a battle in space is the last thing on their minds. A really fun read, one that I always tell people should check out. The entire series of comics has been published by Tor Books as a graphic novel.

Thanks to Paul for his recommendation; he's been entered into the drawing for The Best American Comics 2006, which will be awarded next Wednesday. There's still time for you to enter!