Sock Monkey

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Cover of Sock Monkey comic book, Volume 1, Number 1 SockMonkeyVol1No1.jpg
Cover of Sock Monkey comic book, Volume 1, Number 1

Sock Monkey is a series of comics and illustrated books written and drawn by the American cartoonist Tony Millionaire.

Comic book publication of comics art

A comic book or comicbook, also called comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comic art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by brief descriptive prose and written narrative, usually dialog contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form. Although comics has some origins in 18th century Japan, comic books were first popularized in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1930s. The first modern comic book, Famous Funnies, was released in the U.S. in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips, which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of a humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone.

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Cartoonist visual artist who makes cartoons

A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is often created for entertainment, political commentary, or advertising. Cartoonists may work in many formats, such as booklets, comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons, graphic novels, manuals, gag cartoons, graphic design, illustrations, storyboards, posters, shirts, books, advertisements, greeting cards, magazines, newspapers, and video game packaging.

Contents

Description

Sock Monkey relates the adventures of the titular sock monkey, named Uncle Gabby, and a plush crow named Mr. Crow. Despite being toys, they are able to move, think, talk, and eat, as are most of the other toys in the series. The books are notable for their intricate artwork, dark humor, and quaint, vaulted dialogue. The inspiration for books' detailed settings come from Millionaire's childhood memories of his grandparents' Victorian house. In contrast to the scabrous humor of his weekly comic strip Maakies , Millionaire has said that "Sock Monkey is me trying to rise above all that bullshit, to be more poetic, looking at the bright side, remembering the things that used to delight me as a child." At the same time, "the main theme to all the Sock Monkey books is the crashing of innocent fantasy into bone-crushing reality." [1]

Sock monkey

A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. These stuffed animals are a mixture of folk art and kitsch in the cultures of the United States and Canada. The typical sock monkey is grey and white with extra long limbs, a long tail and bright red lips. The animal may be adorned with additional ornamentation on its head or around its neck. The character has become part of popular culture and can be found in comic books and art.

Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or something rich and full.

Crow index of animals with the same common name

A crow is a bird of the genus Corvus, or more broadly a synonym for all of Corvus. The term "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. Species with the word "crow" in their common name include:

Books

Four volumes of black-and-white Sock Monkey comics have been published; each volume consists of two issues. Volume 3 won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication. Volume 4 featured one issue drawn in charcoal, as opposed to the ink of the other issues, and another issue in which the character designs were changed dramatically. These comics have also been collected in two trade paperbacks, each containing two volumes: The Adventures of Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey (2000) and The Collected Works of Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey (2004). As of late 2006 a four-issue Sock Monkey miniseries featuring an extended story titled "The Inches Incident" is being released one issue at a time.

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner, who was a regular participant in the award ceremony until his death in 2005. The Eisner Awards include the Comic Industry's Hall of Fame.

Charcoal lightweight, black residue, consisting of carbon and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances

Charcoal is the lightweight black carbon and ash residue hydrocarbon produced by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis — the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen. This process is called charcoal burning. The finished charcoal consists largely of carbon.

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme, or an earlier mini-series.

In addition to the Sock Monkey comics, Millionaire has also produced five other Sock Monkey books. Sock Monkey: A Children's Book (2001) and Sock Monkey: The Glass Doorknob (2002) mix comics with illustrated prose. Sock Monkey: Uncle Gabby (2004), That Darn Yarn (2005), and Little and Large (2005) are full-color, hardcover comic books. That Darn Yarn and Little and Large are both 36 pages and read much more like children's storybooks than Millionaire's other Sock Monkey comics.

The 8 issues ("Heaven", "Borneo", "Dollhouse", "The Trumbernick", "The Hunters", "A Baby Bird", "The Oceanic Society", and "Heartbreak"), "The Inches Incident", Sock Monkey: The Glass Doorknob, and Sock Monkey: Uncle Gabby have been published together by Fantagraphics Books, Inc. in a volume known as Sock Monkey Treasury (2014). [2]

Millionaire also published an 80-page illustrated story with co-author Matt Danner under Fantagraphics Books, Inc. called Sock Monkey Into The Deep Woods (2014). This book re-tells the story of Uncle Gabby's origins (previously seen in Sock Monkey: A Children's Book), along with an adventure shared by Uncle Gabby, Mr. Crow, and Inches. Sock Monkey: A Children's Book and Sock Monkey Into The Deep Woods are both illustrated literature, as opposed to Millionaire's usual comics. While Sock Monkey: A Children's Book alternates between a page of text and illustration, Sock Monkey Into The Deep Woods has small illustrations interspersed throughout the prose.

All the Sock Monkey books are published by Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse also sells a variety of Sock Monkey merchandise including stationery, t-shirts and figurines.

Dark Horse Comics American comic book and manga publisher

Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book and manga publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Stationery writing materials

Stationery is a mass noun referring to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand or by equipment such as computer printers.

T-shirt piece of clothing with short sleeves, a round or V-shaped neckline, without collars, pockets or buttons

A T-shirt is a style of unisex fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a crew neck, which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generally made of a stretchy, light and inexpensive fabric and are easy to clean.

Audience

Though the titles, format, and general ambience of the Sock Monkey books are strongly reminiscent of classic children's literature and picture books, Millionaire has emphasized that "some of the Sock Monkey books I do are for kids, and some are definitely not." [3] He describes them as being "based on kids' books. They're for adults who remember and love great old kids' books." [4]

Childrens literature stories, books, and poems that are enjoyed by and targeted primarily towards children

Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are enjoyed by children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.

Recurring characters

Uncle Gabby: A sock monkey with a hat and a penchant for poetry. He is curious and eager to help others. Together with his friend Mr. Crow he cooks up various schemes, such as going on a salamander hunt or match-making for a widowed mouse, which tend to lead to unforeseen calamity. He is loosely connected to the character of the same name in Maakies.

Mr. Crow: A plush crow with buttons for eyes. He has a fondness for alcohol, and is generally more brash and excitable than Uncle Gabby. Unaware that he is not a real bird, he occasionally attempts (and fails) to fly, and does not understand why other crows are not friendly toward him. Though ostensibly an alternate version of Drinky Crow from Maakies, in the Sock Monkey stories he is referred to as "Mr. Crow" or simply "Crow," never "Drinky."

Ann-Louise: The young girl whose home is the starting point of most of the stories (although the house itself is drawn differently each time). She owns Uncle Gabby, whom she treats very dearly, as well as most of the other toys. It is unclear whether or not she owns Mr. Crow; in the first issue he is depicted as living in the house next door, but in others he seems to live with Ann-Louise.

Inches: A small doll with an egotistic, inconsiderate, and bellicose personality.

Adaptation

In 2014, Millionaire and animator Matt Danner created an proof-of-concept short to promote an upcoming live-action/animated feature. The film, to be written and directed by Danner, would be based on the storybook Sock Monkey Into the Deep Woods. As of April 2017, they are currently shopping around Hollywood to find investors that are interested in the film. [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Flak Magazine Interview Archived November 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ Fantagraphics Books | Comics and Graphic Novels - Sock Monkey Treasury: A "Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey" Collection Archived 2014-12-05 at the Wayback Machine .
  3. ↑ "G4 – Feature – Ten Minutes with Tony Millionaire". G4tv.com. 2005-02-16. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
  4. ↑ LA Weekly – News – Give Me a Tall Ship and a Monkey to Steer Her By – Bill Smith – The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ Amid Amidi (November 13, 2014). "Tony Millionaire's 'Sock Monkey' in Development as Animated Feature". Cartoon Brew . Retrieved April 11, 2017.
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