Dark Town

Dark Town
File:DT cover 72.jpg The cover of the first edition of Dark Town.
Date	January 1995
Main characters	Stu Miley, Mr. Chimp
Publisher	Mad Monkey Press
Creative team
Writers	Kaja Blackley
Artists	Vanessa Chong
Creators	Kaja Blackley

Dark Town is a famous comic book and graphic novel by Armenian-American cartoonist Kaja Blackley. It was illustrated by Vanessa Chong and published by Mad Monkey Press.

Plot

A cartoonist, Stu Miley, is in a coma after being hit by a car bumper. He is famous for creating an ape-like cartoon character named Mr. Chimp and, meanwhile, in his mind, discovers a mysterious carnival-like town known as Dark Town, where the land is dominated by strange living, breathing puppets and marionettes with button eyes that come to life.

Stu is stuck in his coma and tries to escape but he needs to survive his popular character Mr. Chimp who in Dark Town is a real live living button eyed marionette chimpanzee who is trying to kill Stu in order to get revenge for not making him real.

Eventually friendly puppets help him escape and Stu is no longer in a coma, but Mr. Chimp ends up escaping to the real world and ends up causing Mayhem and chaos. While fighting with Stu in a construction site, Mr. Chimp ends up stepping on TNT and the evil primate marionette catches on fire and explodes into pieces of wood.

Stu is no longer in a coma and is free to live in peace.

Film adaptation

The graphic novel was the basis for the film Monkeybone.

Cover art reference

The cover art showing Stu rushing through the streets of Dark Town is a reference and parody of Italian author Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Dark Town is also considered a dark,satirical,gothic spoof of Disneyland.

The illustrations are also a reference to M.t Piscasso's Guernica painting in the front cover such as the scenes showing dead marionettes being hung on wooden sticks which can be seen in the cover art.

There is also on both front and back covers a reference to The Beatles album "Yesterday and Today" The back cover shows puppets in a warehouse with their heads severed. similar to the severed baby doll parts seen on the cover of The Beatles album Yesterday and Today.

The Cover Art also had a controversy since it showed decapitated marionettes it was considered violent. it can still be seen on the first edition. In special editions a new cover replaces it. Showing Stu and Mr Chimp fighting in the Construction site.

References

• Dark Town at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)