"The Kong Crew" #4

”Teeth Avenue” is the fourth issue of The Kong Crew by Eric Herenguel. It was published by Caurette Editions in January 2022. 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

”Teeth Avenue”

Virgil Price awakens to find a former Retrochrone Unit medic looking over him while incarcerated by the Amazons. They are interrupted by the guards bringing in another man, Kurt Conrad. Conrad recognizes Price and blames him for his misfortune before expressing a desire to escape. The doctor explains that the Amazons are not their real jailers, but the Raptors and other fauna in Central Park spell certain death for anyone seeking to leave without the Amazons’ consent. Elsewhere, a Retrochrone unit carrying one of their injured men stops to rest. They debate leaving him in the jungle, and are soon approached by the angry dog Deimos. One soldier threatens to shoot the dog, but soon finds himself with a bullet ing through his head. The assassin Nergal, Deimos’ owner, urges has the remaining soldier drop his gun, and recognizes the downed man’s symptoms as coming from a venomous snake bite, and reveals that the hike through the jungle had only accelerated the venom’s spread through his body. At gunpoint, he has the Lieutenant tie up his friend and hang him upside down from a lamp post.

In an attempt to re-earn his flying privileges, Bradley Turner flies over Fort Hancock in a Grumman TBF Avenger to release posters soliciting Spit’s safe return over the base. On the ground, Andrew remarks with an associate that Turner is a good but reckless pilot. At the Tail Gun Diner, Betty Pearl sits with her friend Dorothy as soldiers bring in a parade of absurd animals, trying to them off as the missing Dachshund, Spit. One soldier then approaches with new intelligence. He claims that the pilots who had delivered the supply drop for Virgil Price into the Manhattan Jungle reported a “wet dog smell” in the plane. This combined with some conversations Dorothy had overheard while operating the communication switchboards all but confirms to them that Spit had been dropped into the forbidden zone. As they begin to plan a media campaign calling for his rescue, Spit the dog runs from a feathered dinosaur in the Manhattan Jungle, and narrowly escapes it only to fall into the maw of a carnivorous plant.

Elsewhere in the jungle, in an old drugstore Dr. Jonas Parker examines a dinosaur bone and concludes that the gradations therein display an altered evolutionary process, and shows that the dinosaurs in the jungle mature, die, and subsequently evolve ten times faster than usual, regressing in evolutionary phase with each generation. His hypothesis is that parasites came to New York on Kong, the parasites infected the local rats, and then the zoo animals were released in the 1943 exodus, they ate the rats, and thus allowed the parasite to spread to any animal in the food chain on the island. Irvin Stone its that the theory aligns with reality, but as a journalist he requires physical evidence to consider it factual. Parker then decides they must capture some pterodactyl eggs to try and prove his theory. Clavius is not keen on the idea, but knows some trails to the rooftops that he and Martha had used over the years, and offers his help.

Elsewhere, Nergal and the Retrochrone Lieutenant have tied up the poisoned soldier and suspended him by his ankles above an anthill. Nergal explains to his begrudging associate that the ant bites would counteract the snake venom in his system, and that his screams wouldn’t draw any raptors, as the beasts knew that they could not eat the ants, but could be eaten by them.

Virgil and Kurt are tied together and taken as prisoners to an arena made of piled up automobiles, where they are tied to a lamp post. the Amazon lieutenant Venturi, unsettled by the military’s evacuation, asks queen Damara if she can search the surrounding area once more. Damara is dismissive but permits it. Virgil and Kurt are given one knife, and are told to “survive.” Without hesitation Kurt takes the knife and tries to kill Virgil, who insists they don’t need to fight. Virgil quickly uses the rope to take the knife and bring Kurt to the ground. Damara is pleased with the show, but an elderly Amazon gives her a cryptic warning that Virgil Price would be her undoing. She brushes this off, and insists that he just needs taming. Kurt tries to reverse the situation, but ends up losing. Virgil cuts the rope from his neck and throws it into a wooden post near Damara’s head. She laughs and claims that had Venturi been there, she would have killed them both, but then insists that they had been given the knife not to kill one another with, but to protect them from Mongo. A heavy metal door opens up, allowing a strange quadrupedal dinosaur who had been blinded with spears emerges from behind it. The Amazons cheer on their beast, and it charges at the two men. Kurt pushes Virgil out of the way as Mongo swings a car at them. Both men survive, but Kurt finds himself pinned down by the rope around his neck pinned under the car. Virgil advises him not to panic, as the beast is blind, but can still hear him. He climbs to the top of a pile of cars and is able to send one toppling down on top of the beast. Thinking them both safe, Virgil rushes to help Kurt, but Mongo suddenly lashes out, throwing the car off of him. Not a fan of the situation, Damara leaps down into the arena with her sword drawn. She slashes at him, but is soon knocked to the ground. The Amazons’ gorilla guard leaps down after her, armed with his machine gun. Damara orders the ape to “kill him,” and the ape opens fire. Mongo falls dead with at least 13 bullet holes in his flank. Sensing conflict among her followers, Damara challenges any Amazon who disagrees with her actions, or now believes her unfit to rule. The Amazon onlookers remain silent.

On the mainland, Betty Pearl prepares to address the nation with her “Bring Spit Home” campaign. She gives a speech to a theater packed with journalists, pressing the importance of bringing the dog home. This reportedly earns from First lady Bess Truman, but it remains unclear if the President intends to take governmental action. In the jungle, high above the streets, Stone, Parker, and Clavius prepare to cross a log bridging two buildings. Halfway across, they hear a strange sound that Clavius recognizes as chimpanzees. They hurry to shelter in the building on the other side, and watch the apes cross the rooftop. Stone is fascinated that they are not affected at all by the retrograde parasites, and Clavius insists that they are organized and highly dangerous.

They then spot the reason for the chimps’ activity, as Kong comes to perch on a nearby rooftop, causing the smaller apes to celebrate. Betty is pleased with the success of her campaign, and all the while, Spit naps in the mouth of a carnivorous plant.

”Kurt the Jerk”

Sargent Kurt Conrad inspects his platoon, and is suspicious of their behavior. He threatens to kill any mutineers, and the group presents him a bazooka for his birthday. Kurt is overjoyed and expresses his excitement at the ability to finally kill a Diplodocus. He promptly blasts one, and celebrates. The platoon enjoy Conrad’s ability to embrace his “inner child.”

Trivia

This issue establishes that Spit is named after the Supermarine Spitfire, a British fighter plane popular in World War II. His silhouette is even compared to the plane‘s.

On page 13, Dr. Parker claims that the Manhattan exodus took place in 1943. This is inconsistent with all other material, and would disrupt the established chronology of the series. If the exodus took place in 1943 it could imply that Kong’s rampage lasted for ten years before the island was evacuated.

Source:

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