Monsieur Mallah

Comics and gorillas have gone hand in furry hand since the earliest days of the medium, and this statement goes beyond simply superhero comics. While these great apes have certainly flourished within the superhero genre, they can also be found in numerous jungle action, science fiction, and horror stories in every era of comics. With the release of a new King Kong movie in theaters this week, it's a perfect time to take a survey of the history of gorillas in comics.

Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. This week we’re imagining a movie I'd really like to see: an adaptation of the Doom Patrol, specifically the classic Silver Age team created by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. This week we're taking a look at our primate brethren, who were once so popular as a topic in comics that putting a gorilla on a cover could guarantee an increase in sales. Gorillas have worn many hats in comics, both figurative and literal, from hero to villain to valet to secretary. Here are a few of the very best.