Ink to Table #3: Space Monkey Knights Go!
Saturday morning fun with Dave Lentz
Table of Contents
Introduction
Written by Curtis Clow
Welcome to December 2024’s Ink to Table, a monthly magazine all about indie comics on Kickstarter. We started this magazine to promote other creators’ work and elevate Kickstarters that we think deserve it. This month we’re kind of breaking that rule, by promoting a Kickstarter that Caleb is running and a comic he wrote. To be fair, this was my idea! We hadn’t booked anyone for December yet and Caleb happens to have a comic live that I think is well underperforming. It’s a comic that he helped co-create with Dave Lentz. Space Monkey Knights Go! is one of those books that I think deserves more love. It’s full of creativity and has that fun Saturday morning cartoon vibe. It’s the kinda comic I’d love to read, and as an IP it just has that special sauce where I could see this series being translated into other media. We started Ink to Table to promote comics like this, so I think it’s fair we break the rule this time and show Caleb and Dave’s book some love.
Space Monkey Knights Go!
Introduction and Preview
This month’s featured comic is Space Monkey Knights Go! by Dave Lentz, Caleb Palmquist, and Nicolas Touris. Here’s a link to the campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enkidu/space-monkey-knights-go-1-2?ref=bh3xc3
Here’s a preview of the book:
An Interview with Dave Lentz
by Curtis Clow
Dave Lentz is not only the mastermind behind Space Monkey Knights Go!, he’s also the letterer of dozens of comic book projects including Unicorn: Vampire Hunter, Good Boy, Final Girl Next Door, and so many more. He was gracious enough to sit down with us and answer some questions. I threw one question in there for Caleb too.
CURTIS: Space Monkey Knight’s Go! Is such a fun, Saturday morning cartoon vibe that you guys have even marketed that way. Dave, how long have you had this idea for? Was it born from those child-like pure fun properties?
DAVE: Thanks so much! Yeah…it’s totally a love letter to all the super fun shows that I grew up watching.
CURTIS: Dave, did you ever try to write the series yourself? Or was that plan to always bring in a writer after you had the base idea? (for those that don’t know Dave is primarily a letterer).
DAVE: I had zero plans to write it myself. Haha. I’m not that confident as a writer. I can come up with a decent idea and sprinkle in some jokes, but that’s the extent of my writing prowess. Aside from working with Caleb before on a bunch of stuff, his specialty is Arthurian lore so I figured if anyone could help me write about monkey knights in space it would be him.
CURTIS: Caleb, what was it like writing the issues for these series, being that the original idea wasn’t yours? How has the collaboration process been for you two? Does Dave still add in changes to the story or dialogue? Or is he hands off?
CALEB: It’s super fun to write for someone else, especially when that collaborator believes in your skill and vision. Of course, Dave changes all sorts of stuff during the lettering process - everything from dialogue to sound effects. He usually makes his own little edits during the projects I hire him for (and they usually make the project better), but on this book he’s really bold about it. After all, this project is his baby. If there’s an exceptionally funny moment or joke in an issue of Space Monkey Knights Go!, you can bet it was because of Dave, not me.
CURTIS: I know Caleb is a big fan of the Arthurian Legends. Was that always a part of the story, or did Caleb add that in? Why not just have the monkeys listen to some general fantasy, what's the specific reason for choosing that the monkeys listened to stories of King Arthur during their slumber?
DAVE: It would be pretty silly to call them “Space Monkey Knights” and have them not do that. Haha. But the idea behind that was they are some of the most adventurous stories in literature so what better way to learn to be heroes than that?
CURTIS: I love how this series sticks to the fun of Saturday morning cartoons with a new villain every issue. Is that the plan for the full series? Is there an overarching story? How many issues would you want this series to go on for ideally?
DAVE: Thanks! Yeah…the Saturday morning aspect was always cool to me as a kid. Every week was a new character and a new challenge. Would they end up being friends or depart as enemies? But there is an overarching story involving the wasp queen across the first volume. She’s the continuing problem the SMK continually have to deal with.
And it would go on forever if we had our way! Haha. I regularly get ideas for ridiculous characters that we can introduce in the book and they all have that Saturday morning cartoon flavor to them. It’s a lot of fun!
CURTIS: How did you go about choosing the four monkey species for your main characters? Was it about having different silhouettes to make them more recognizable? Or more about matching their personalities with their character design? It also seems like a gorilla could’ve been easily used instead of a baboon. Did you purposely try to go with something more original and visually interesting?
DAVE: The rule of 4 is basically based on TMNT and my undying love of it. Focusing on four centralized characters is always the limit in my mind. Voltron had 5 and it always seemed like just one too many. Haha. As far as character designs and species goes it was definitely predicated on their personalities and their designs are a reflection of that. But making them distinct was a big part of it too. That’s a big part of character design in animation is making recognizable silhouettes (which you clearly already knew). And a gorilla isn’t a monkey, Curtis. We couldn’t use one. Did you do any research before you asked these questions? Why did we agree to do this in the first – wait … Caleb just told me that Sir Kay is an ape. How did I not know that? Okay … he also just said that I lettered the words in the story that explains this very fact. Hmmm … well the simplest answer is that I don’t read what I letter.
CURTIS: Nic Touris seems to have a perfect art style for this fun all ages story. Was he your first pick for the artist position on this book? How carefully did you go about choosing an artist for the series? It seems the art style plays an important role in the vibe of the book. How much has Nic added to the story/art himself?
DAVE: The choice has literally always been Nic. We shelved SMKG until Nic was available. I may have said it’s Nic or bust, but I could just be romanticizing the memory of it. His art just has that slick animation vibe that was perfect for what we were trying to accomplish with the story, and Nic has been integral to the look of the characters and the entire world. We just let him loose and he came back with all these amazing designs. Outside of minor character design tweaks here and there I don’t believe much was changed in terms of what Nic sends us. It’s been a pretty seamless process.
CURTIS: Anything you want to let our readers know about the future of Space Monkey Knights Go!? What are the future plans for the series?
DAVE: We plan on creating as many volumes as we can until we run out of ideas. We’re hopeful to expand SMKG to beyond just comics, and we’d love to gain as wide of an audience as we can for it, not because of the money (although money is always nice), but because we truly love and have tons of fun making the book.
SMKG: A Reflection
by Andrew Maxwell
Reading the first issues of this series instantly transported me back to childhood. Those carefree weekend mornings, where parents were still asleep, but a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch was waiting for me. An arsenal of cartoons ready to be watched. Not a care in the world. Space Monkey Knights Go! is slice of that nostalgic pie in comic book form.
I remember the early days of Cartoon Network with shows like Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and Johnny Bravo. It was such an exciting time to be watching. These weren’t our parents’ rehashed leftovers from the 60s and 70s that we watched because there was nothing else on. These shows were for us. Nic’s art perfectly inhabits that kinetic style, while totally making it their own. The colors are gorgeous as well, and really make the panels and action pop. Writers Dave and Caleb do a great job of simultaneously setting up the universe, our heroes origin story, and what’s to come in a zippy action packed “first ep”. There’s a breezy simplicity that’s refreshing and fun, and I couldn’t wait for the next issue.
Our story stars four anthropomorphic monkeys programmed with the heroic tales of King Arthur and his court and empowered with high tech battle armor. They combine to form a fighting force for justice. Each primate is expertly designed by Nic (and desperately need to be made into action figures). As a guy at the tail end of his 30s and raising a toddler, this series truly checks the boxes of an all-ages comic. There’s something for everyone without pandering or speaking down to you.
As a fellow Kickstarter creator, this book is the perfect example of why I love indie comics. It’s a recipe made of all my favorite ingredients, that feels especially crafted for me personally. I’m sure I’m not the only one either. If this sounds like your cup of tea, stop reading now, and go give this book a whirl. You won’t be disappointed.
Signing Off
by Curtis Clow and Caleb Palmquist
Thanks for checking out the third issue of Ink to Table. If you have a suggestion for an amazing comic book coming up, or you have a comic you’d like featured, please feel free to contact us and let us know!
This month’s comic was Space Monkey Knights Go!. It runs on Kickstarter until Friday, December 20th. If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enkidu/space-monkey-knights-go-1-2?ref=bh3xc3
Until next time,
Curtis & Caleb
Go space monkey knights go!