Kong is King of Comic Books at Simian Saturdays

giant-classic-kongOver at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of Simian Saturdays, a series of reviews I’ve been doing that examine the movies (and other media) that focused on King Kong, the giant monkey who’s captured generations of monster fans’ hearts. It’s part of SWC’s celebration of King Kong, the latest addition to its Illustrated Classics library that’s now on sale.

Today’s focus is on Giant Classic King Kong, a comic book adaptation of the original story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper. Drawn by the super-talented Alberto Giolitti (Star Trek, The Twilight Zone), it was first published in 1968 by Gold Key Comics and then reissued by Whitman Publishing in 1976 as an oversize “treasury” edition. It’s the ’76 version I’m reviewing, because that’s the one I picked up back in the day and have read the hell out of. Go check it out!

King-Kong-Final-FrontCvrKing Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

King Kong is on sale right now, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.