Eliot Rahal and Mattia Monaco are teaming up for a new buddy-crime comedy at Image Comics. The creators will launch Crimes Against Nature this September. The neo-noir series mixes secrets, sins, and simians in a story built around a desperate man, a famous gorilla, and a crime they did not commit.
Rahal is known for Bleed Them Dry and Cult Classic. Monaco is known for Eat Your Young and Knock ‘Em Dead.
A Buddy-Crime Comedy With a Wild Hook
Image describes Crimes Against Nature as Koko the gorilla meets The Usual Suspects.
The series follows famous Hollywood Animal Trainer Doctor Kermit Groedan and his only client and best friend, Amigo the Ape. Amigo is the first gorilla ever nominated for an Academy Award.
When Kermit and Amigo are framed for a crime they did not commit, they go on the run. To clear their names and stay alive, they must reveal their darkest secrets and face each other’s hidden past.
The question is whether their friendship can survive the truth.
Rahal Calls the Book “Something Special”
“This story is about two desperate fathers, one at the end of his rope, with nothing left to lose, shooting their shot—and I’m not talking about the characters in our book,” said Rahal. “I’m talking about Mattia and me. Honestly, working on this book has felt like him and me against the world, with help from the friends we’ve made along the way. It’s a feeling I haven’t had since I first started in comics. It feels like we’re committing a crime together. Like we’re doing something special. It’s exciting. Special. And it’s fitting for our first Image book. I’m just so grateful for Mattia. Every panel and page is lightning in a bottle. It’s one of the greatest partnerships of my life. And I think all of that joy and trust spills out into our book about a guy and his gorilla.”
Variant Covers Add to the Launch
The first issue will feature several variant covers.
Monaco will provide extra special variants. The launch will also include covers by fan-favorite artists Stipan Morianof 20th Century Men, Tyler Boss of You’ll Do Bad Things and What’s the Furthest Place from Here?, and a Witchblade Team-up variant by Gavin Smith.
Monaco Returns to Traditional Art
For Monaco, the project also marks a creative return.
After nearly six years of working digitally, Crimes Against Nature brought him back to pen and ink. It also reunited him with Rahal, the first writer he worked with in comics on Knock ‘Em Dead.
Monaco added: “For me, this book is about coming home. Coming back to traditional art. After nearly six years of working digitally, this was the first project that brought me back to pen and ink and gave me a renewed sense of freedom and experimentation on every page. It’s also a return to where my comics career began. Eliot was the first writer I ever collaborated with in comics on Knock ‘Em Dead. It feels like a lifetime ago, but I’ll never forget the trust he put in me then—or now. At its heart, Crimes Against Nature is a story about the friendship between a man and a gorilla. It’s a story about a friendship that survives against the odds. A friendship forged by fate and challenged by that same fate. In a strange way, it reminds me a lot of Eliot and me. We just haven’t figured out yet which one of us is the gorilla. This book is funny, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and occasionally terrifying. Because no matter how emotional things get, there’s still a six-hundred-pound gorilla in the room.”
Crimes Against Nature #1 will be available at comic book shops and on digital platforms on Wednesday, September 23.
