The Monkey King (Katsuya Terada’s…)

    (Dark Horse, 2005)
™ and © 1995 Katsuya Terada

If your parents thought Dragon Ball Z was too titillating, then batten down the hatches before perusing this “adult” interpretation of the archetypal Chinese fable of the Monkey King. Going back five centuries to its religiously pagan roots (as opposed to the wild Western ones in Saiyuki Reloaded), this version jumps off with a Goku as a nasty gorilla who has gotten on the bad side of Buddha.

Imprisoned and tortured, this simian’s only salvation is to chaperone the all-powerful spirit of the Genju, the monk who rescued him, which now resides in a blinded, bound, and busty babe. Accompanied by his Porky-Pig second banana Tenjiku, Goku must “journey to the west” into India via the Silk Road to retrieve holy texts. Naturally, there are legions of sado-masochistic demons to slaughter along the way.

Highly graphic and sexualized, this manga pushes the age borders of even shrinkwrapped comics. Known for designing characters from the animation Blood: The Last Vampire, Terada apes Simon Bisley with this boldly colored and adults-only-rendered take on traditional comics content.

— Oliver Chin

From the Publisher:

Katsuya Terada’s lusty, savage take on the medieval Chinese legend of the Monkey King is presented here for your enlightenment! The impious ape Goku, holy nun Sanzo, hapless pig Hakkai, and severed head Sagojo are on an impossibly mission to reach Tenjiku, the fabled land of India. But do the four travelers truly serve the lord Buddha… or do they defy him?
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