The first issue of Kid Monkey dealt with the origin story of Abe, a seven-foot kung fu primate created by a black ops bioengineering project, and was a wild and gory ride that ticked all the right boxes of its mix of action and humour.

Now with the multi-part Unarmed and Dangerous launching into the series proper, the main change aside from Abe’s unexplained acquisition of a colourful superhero suit and sapphire dye-job, is the addition of Deadpool-esque caption boxes relating his thoughts. His mute expressions in the debut issue were straightforward enough to infer his general emotions, but the rapid-fire internal monologue adds a great deal more comedy to the setup, including a running joke of “Yeah, I heard it” in reaction to his rambling landing on unintentional innuendos. Abe’s scattered thoughts are so focused on his heroic appearance and looking badass, he pauses only periodically to check in with reality, usually leaving him a bit confused as he realises he hasn’t been paying attention to what everyone else was talking about.

The stylised artwork is a perfect match for the over-the-top histrionics that perfectly mimic the feel of the action movies from which the comic takes its inspiration. Numerous self-aware references come as direct as Abe declaring “You’re mine, Eighties Street Punk Guy” to a nameless mook, or a sound effect of ‘DACASCOSED’ accompanying a roundhouse kick.

The story is the slightest aspect of the issue, briefly featuring what appears to be some kind of undead biomechanical homunculus brutally murdering people, but who or what it relates to is something to be dealt with later, and when it does it will doubtless be something just as demented as the rest of the comic.

A violent, hilarious and utterly engrossing slice of insanity, Kid Monkey might be only two issues into the series, but it’s quickly shaping up to be a lot of fun.

KID MONKEY #2: UNARMED AND DANGEROUS (PART 1) / AUTHOR: JAMES MCCULLOCH / ARTIST: PAUL JOHNSON / PUBLISHER: COMICHAUS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW