The Kong Crew #1

The Kong Crew
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"The Kong Crew" #1 Written by Eric Herenguel Cover by Eric Herenguel Pencils by Eric Herenguel Edits by Jean-Christophe Caurette

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"Manhattan Jungle" is the first issue of The Kong Crew by Eric Herenguel. It was published by Caurette Editions in January 2018. While the comic is written in French, its issues are published in English after having been translated from Herenguel's text by Miceal Beausaung-O'Griafa.

Plot

When a sea-plane enters the no-fly zone over the Manhattan jungle, the radio station at Montauk, Long Island reports it to the Hancock air base in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, home of the "Kong Crew," a squadron of fighter pilots tasked with keeping tabs on the jungle, and its legendary inhabitant: King Kong. The plane lands on the water, and its pilot and passenger, Mister Irvin Stone and Doctor Jonas Parker row ashore, where Irvin gives the old doctor a gun, insisting that he learn to use it quickly, because now the are on "his" turf. At Sandy Hook, a young pilot named Virgil Price speeds back to the base to avoid being late after having spent the night at the vet with his pet Dachshund Spit, only to find people protesting a bomber that was seen flying over Manhattan in front of the entrance. He attempts to flirt with some of the protestors, who quickly disband and reveal that they had been admiring his dog, not him. The soldiers on the base tease him for this. At a briefing with their commanding officer Colonel Pearl, they learn Stone and Parker's identities, and that they are a reporter and a researcher. They are ordered to survey the island while remaining on the periphery, and to shoot anything they have questions about. One of Virgil's bullies, a transfer from the Pacific Theater named Bradley Turner, is ignorant of Kong and the threat he presents to fighter pilots. The Colonel informs him of Kong's victory in 1933 against the U.S. military, which led to the Great Exodus of Manhattan. Kong is a thinking creature, and while he is wary of the military, he uses the terrain to his advantage against pilots that venture into the Manhattan Jungle. Turner suggests that they nuke the creature, but given protests against killing Kong, his having the favor of President Truman's wife, and 1947 being an election year, and countless men having tried and failed before him, Pearl insists that he follow his orders. A nurse, who had been one of the protesters outside that morning, enters to give the colonel his analgesic for phantom pains. Virgil and Bradley attempt to woo her, and the colonel, her father, assigns them to fly the mission together, insisting that they not fly over the jungle to ensure that his planes and their pilots return safely to the base.

In the Manhattan jungle, Doctor Parker marvels at a plant he sees, which he claims is an archaeopteris from the Devonian period. He tries to take samples, as Stone urges him forward. Parker asks the journalist about his history with the city, and Irvin reveals that he was a child in Brooklyn when the exodus occurred. The military sent tanks and artillery into the city to try and stop Kong, but were evidently unsuccessful. Wealthy families boarded with suburbanites like Irvin and his family. As the two men remark on the amount of derelict cars left behind when most bridges to the island were destroyed, but see three other men on the island where no one else is meant to be. Irvin and Jonas retreat while the mysterious men locate something in a trolley car, and using their flamethrowers, set the thing ablaze.

Virgil and Spit walk to the airstrip, expecting to find his P-51 mustang, only to discover that it is still being serviced, which forces him to instead fly an antique P-26 Peashooter. Betty Pearl admires the old plane, wishing that she had the opportunity to fly it. The two bond over their appreciation of aircraft, and Virgin entrusts her to look after Spit while he is away. With the squadron approaching the Manhattan jungle, Bradley opts to change the flight plan in direct opposition to the colonel's orders, and decides to fly over 5th avenue to see the Empire State Building. The crew flies into the remains of the city, but soon find themselves pursued by a massive Pteranodon. They try to outrun it, but Virgil's Peashooter is not powerful enough to keep pace. He opts to try and lose it around the Flatiron building. Unbeknownst to him, the king of the Manhattan jungle is nearby, and his interest is piqued. He takes a swat, either at Virgil or the pterosaur, and clips the pilot's tail and sends him spinning into the streets below. Back at the base, Betty counts only two planes returning, and assures the concerned Spit that Virgil is most likely alright.

Appearances

Monsters

• King Kong
• Pteranodon

Weapons, vehicles, and races

• Catalina seaplane
• North American P-51 Mustang
• Boeing P-26 Peashooter

Characters

• Dr. Jonas Parker
• Irvin Stone
• Virgil Price
• Spit
• Betty Pearl
• Colonel Pearl
• Bradley Turner
• Andrew
• Harry S. Truman (mentioned)
• Bess Truman (mentioned)

Locations

• New York
  • New York City
    • Manhattan Jungle
      • Empire State Building
      • Flatiron building
  • Montauk
    • Montauk Radio Station
• New Jersey
  • Sandy Hook
    • Fort Hancock

Gallery

Covers

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  Cover by Eric Herenguel

Pages

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