King Kong in the Microcosmos issue 1

King Kong in the Microcosmos
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King Kong in the Microcosmos #1 Cover by Miguel F. Callejas

King Kong in the Microcosmos #1 is a comic book by Editorial América S.A. It was published circa 1979.

Plot

In the Congolian rainforests of Africa, a troop of gorillas forage for food. They are soon startled by gunshots from a group of hunters, who proceed to injure or kill several of them. One such casualty is a female gorilla caring for a baby; as the infant escapes, its father charges at the hunters enraged, managing to down one but being shot in the shoulder by another. The ape decides to flee into the jungle, escaping with his life. The scattered troop begins to reform over the coming days but the wounded male, stricken with grief over the loss of his mate and estranged from his child, resigns himself to solitude. The gorilla grows more ferocious by the day, eventually coming to blows with others of his kind and the area's native humans, the latter of whom nickname him the Murderous Vagabond.

One day, a ship from London arrives in the Congo River, and off of it steps big-game hunters Bob Martin, Tom James, and the latter's wife Julie. After checking into a hotel the trio discuss local legends, including that of the Vagabond, and decide that he will be their target. The next morning they depart on an expedition to find the ape, who Martin decides to call King Kong. Meanwhile, Kong moves through the jungle, stopping to kill a felid and drink from a stream while reflecting on his misfortunes. The hunters stop in a clearing to allow their native trackers to reorient themselves, and tune into the radio just in time to hear a perplexing news bulletin: an unidentified object broadcasting radio signals has been detected floating in orbit over the African continent. As the expedition resumes, Tom jokes that they'll be invaded by Martians and Julie writes the report off as nonsense; Martin opines that it should be taken seriously, however, and wonders if hunting Martians wouldn't be more interesting than pursuing a gorilla.

Unbeknownst to them, billions of light-years outside of the Solar System lies the Earth-like planet Rangor, which is inhabited by advanced humanoids whose existence long predates humanity. Split into two continents, Ran to the north and Gor to the south, the once-peaceful planet has been plunged into war, instigated by Ran in a bid to expand into Gorian territory. In response, the Gorian Professor Ram has devised a plan to send a team to Earth, in the hope that its people are even more advanced than them and can help solve their present conflict. However, Ran has gotten wind of Gor's intentions, and its Supreme Leader Mong has planted spies to sabotage the nation's efforts. Gor has nonetheless pressed on, selecting a man named Voltan to be the mission's captain and a woman named Fara as its navigator. Voltan and Fara arrive at the space center early one morning to receive their final instructions from Professor Ram, but are attacked by three assassins sent by Mong. The pair manage to subdue two of the assassins, who are subsequently arrested, and shoot the third dead. At Ram's lab, the professor briefs Voltan and Fara before gifting the former a Molecular Compactor: a laser handgun which can shrink down any person or object as well as return it to its original size. After seeing it demonstrated on a chair, Voltan asks whether the Compactor can also increase an object's size, but Ram responds that attempting to do so would cause the object to explode due to the expansion of its molecules.

The day of the mission's takeoff soon arrives. Voltan and Fara board a "teleship" which, upon launch, instantaneously teleports into Earth's orbit. Down on the surface, as the Jameses prepare to start their day after camping out for the night, Martin rushes into their tent to announce that gorilla tracks have been discovered nearby. The hunters move out in their jeeps, oblivious to a military convoy which is headed for the same destination. Upon arriving they set off toward a clearing where their tracker Kalimba believes Kong is likely sleeping. At the same time, an auxiliary spaceship materializes in the very same clearing, launched from the teleship which has now been orbiting Earth for two days. As the aliens step off of the ship, they are astonished by the rainforest around them, but confused by the lack of human presence. When the hunters arrive, they spot the ship in the distance, but are suddenly attacked by Kong.

Appearances

Monsters King Kong Kong's mate Kong's child Other gorillas Characters Bob Martin Tom James Julie James Kalimba Professor Ram Captain Voltan Fara Supreme Leader Mong Jarum Colonel Jensen

Weapons, vehicles, and races Rangorian Ranian Gorian Rangorian starships Voltan and Fara's hovercar Gorian teleship Auxiliary ship Molecular Compactor Tank Locations Earth Congolian rainforests, Africa Congo River London, England (mentioned) Rangor Ran Gor

Videos

Full comic Full comic (higher quality, part 1) Full comic (higher quality, part 2)

Trivia

• Despite what its cover art depicts, this issue does not involve Kong being in space or meeting Fara (or any other alien, for that matter).
• Though this issue establishes Voltan to be a captain, he is exclusively addressed as a commander in subsequent issues.

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