The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book

Set in sun-drenched Cape Town, South Africa, this book features two full-length stories, “The Leaking Cello Case” and the 2010 Ignatz Award-nominated Outstanding Story “John Wesley Harding,” rife with mystery, suspense, action, adventure, conspiracy theories, cool cars and excellent weed. Dave and his freeloading pal Paul, well-meaning stoners in the tradition of Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar, thwart criminal malfeasance even as they ponder the larger questions, such as, “What steps can I personally take to help protect the Earth and the species that inhabit it?” (though most people’s answers to these questions don’t involve sword fights and hovercrafts). Joe Daly brings a refreshingly original—and utterly hilarious—voice to the comics medium, a dry, deadpan wit anchored in everyday reality combined with unnervingly deranged plots, rendered with a hyper-detailed, half-realistic and half-cartoony Tintin-style crispness.