The Kong Crew #3

The Kong Crew
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"The Kong Crew" #3 Written by Eric Herenguel Cover by Eric Herenguel (front), Alan Firestone (back) Pencils by Eric Herenguel Edits by Jean-Christophe Caurette

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"Hudson Megalodon" is the second issue of The Kong Crew by Eric Herenguel. It was published by Caurette Editions in January 2021. 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

Hudson Megalodon

In his dreams, Colonel Pearl relives his first encounter with Kong. In 1937, he and two other two-seat biplanes try to contain Kong as he heads toward Central Park along the rooftops of the Manhattan Jungle. Kong spots the planes, and Captain Pearl orders his gunner Alvin to fire a volley to try and corral the beast. Unfortunately, he managed to strike Kong's face. They begin circling back for another try, but Kong glowers up at them before letting out a roar that stirred up a nearby flock of pterosaurs. The beasts tear at the planes, and one grabs at Pearl's head, costing him his left eye. Another manages to yank Alvin free from the gunner's seat and begims to fly away with him. Pearl rams the pterosaur with his propeller, which causes it to drop Alvin, who activates his parachute just in time to fall into the mouth of an inexplicable megalodon in the Hudson river.

Pearl awakes in his bed at Fort Hancock, certain that no one will believe him. He draws the gun from under his pillow as his daughter Betty enters to check on him. She recognizes his recurring nightmare, and assures him that if there was a megalodon in the Hudson, the pollution would have killed it in the ten intervening years. She encourages him to get some rest, and before she leaves, he promises to find Virgil Price.

The next day, Pearl gives a briefing to the staff at Fort Hancock, revealing that a team of rangers had spotted Virgil's distress signal, and found footprints leading towards Central Park, where Kong is known to make his nest. He then hands the floor to Colonel DeWight of the "Retrochrone Battalion," tasked with eliminating so-called "deviant species" within the jungle. He expresses that he and his men will get Virgil back, even if it means destroying the jungle and everything in it. In the jungle, four of the Retrochrone Battallion led by Sargent Kurt locate tracks of a few people carrying a heavy object like a body. The team moves forward while Kurt lights a cigarette, leaving him the only one to see a Dachsund run by. He lingers to investigate, and is spotted by a pack of Raptors, who had been chasing the dog. The team runs into a nearby department store where their radio operator is killed and eaten by one of the three dinosaurs. They manage to kill one, while Bob the flamethrower operator blasts them. Bob is then killed by the remaining Raptor, and Kurt dispatches it in turn. Spying movement, Kurt ducks down to discover the dog he had seen earlier, and as he does so, his last teammate is killed by an arrow.

The archer laments her shot, as she had intended to spare that man and kill Kurt instead. The woman and one of her comoanions bicker about her aim, and their commander Venturi steps forward to ask where Kurt is from. On learning that he is from Texas, they spare him to bring to their queen to deliver news about the United States. Spit is then left alone in the department store.

Elsewhere, Virgil dreams that Spit is talking to him, and telling him to get up. He awakes to see one of his captors and their gorilla associate. They take him from his cell to their queen. She reveals that they are in the ruins of the Metropolitan Museum, where she and the rest of the girls from her orphanage took shelter during the exodus after their caretaker was killed.

He is then brought before Queen Damara, who is not impressed by his appearance, but sees promise in his ability to tell her about the outside world she is unable to explore. But before she can accept him, she decrees that he prove himself in trial by combat.

After eight hours with no radio contact from the Retrochrone unit in the jungle, the radio operators at Base Gamble radio Fort Hancock, and relay that their last message before silence was "The Dacschund attracted some Raptors," and it is sent to codebreakers for analysis.

Elsewhere, Betty and her friend Dorothy chat while leaving the movie theater. Dorothy reveals that she has become the new switch operator at Fort Hancock, and teases Betty, claiming her distress about losing Spit is really about losing Virgil, which Betty denies. However their conversation gives her the idea to put up posters for Spit on the airbase.

In the jungle, Spit is chased by two small pterosaurs. One is then snatched from the sky by a passing theropod, who is then lunged for by a long-necked creature who bursts out of nearby cellar doors. Spit runs away in the confusion. Elsewhere Irvin Stone enters a drugstore, and finds a pistol under the counter. A strange man then appears and advises him not to point the gun at him, and reveals that he has unloaded it because Martha does not care for the sound of gunfire. He then points to the ceiling to introduce Martha, revealing that she is a gargantuan spider. The man, whose name is Clavius reveals that he has seen another man rooting through dinosaur droppings, and Stone soon outs together that he is referring to Jonas Parker, and asks for help locating him. Clavius agrees in exchange for Stone's wristwatch. But it begins to rain, and Clavius notes that when it rains, the snakes come out, which is known to attract Kong.

On the base, Bradley Turner finishes cleaning up a Grumman Avenger and checks in with Andrew the mechanic. Betty and Dorothy then arrive in Virgil's car to ask them to help put up posters. Dorothy reveals to him that he is being allowed to fly again, and he reacts with glee.

All the Retrochrone units are then recalled from the jungle, as the operation has been taken over by a special services officer named Nergal.

Stone and Clavius continue down the street with Martha, and soon spy Kong doing battle with a gigantic snake. As they run from the fray, they see Dr. Parker, and the four of them start running away together as Kong tears the snake's head from its body.

At the tailgun diner, Betty offers a kiss as a reward to anyone able to provide intel that leads to the safe return of Spit the dog.

Kurt the Jerk

In the jungle, Kurt demonstrates to his unit how grenades can be used to kill dinosaurs on a passing Triceratops. Kurt failed to account for the rest of the dinosaur's herd, causing a stampede.

Appearances

Monsters

• King Kong
• Pterosaurs
• The Hudson Megalodon
• Raptors
• Unnamed crested theropod
• Martha
• Snakes

Weapons, vehicles, and races

• Curtiss F8C Helldiver
• North American P-51 Mustang (mentioned)
• Grumman Avenger
• Boeing P-26 Peashooter (mentioned)
• Douglas DC-3

Characters

• Dr. Jonas Parker
• Irvin Stone
• Virgil Price
• Spit
• Betty Pearl
• Colonel Pearl
• Bradley Turner
• Andrew
• Venturi
• Damara
• Colonel DeWight
• Kurt Conrad
• Geronimo
• Bob
• Alvin
• Damara
• Clavius
• Dorothy
• Nergal

Locations

• New York
  • New York City
    • Manhattan Jungle
      • Hudson River
      • Central Park
      • Metropolitan Museum of Art
• New Jersey
  • Sandy Hook
    • Fort Hancock
    • Tail Gun Diner

Gallery

Covers

• 

  Cover by Eric Herenguel

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