Sock Monkey - Fantagraphics

Sock Monkey
A Tony Millionaire’s Sock Monkey Book
By Matt Danner
and Tony Millionaire
Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
For Anna and Catherine
Editor and Associate Publisher: Eric Reynolds
Book Design: Tony Ong
Production: Paul Baresh
Publisher: Gary Groth
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS, INC.
Seattle, Washington, USA
www.fantagraphics.com
Sock Monkey: Into the Deep Woods is copyright © 2014 Tony Millionaire
and Matt Danner. “Tony Millionaire’s Sock Monkey” is copyright ©
2014 Tony Millionaire. This edition is copyright © 2014 Fantagraphics
Books, Inc. Permission to reproduce content must be obtained from the
author or publisher.
ISBN 978-1-60699-746-8
First printing: October, 2014
Printed in China
Fantagraphics Books would like to thank: Randall Bethune, Big
Planet Comics, Black Hook Press of Japan, Nick Capetillo, Kevin
Czapiewski, John DiBello, Juan Manuel Domínguez, Mathieu Doublet,
Dan Evans III, Thomas Eykemans, Scott Fritsch-Hammes, Coco
and Eddie Gorodetsky, Karen Green, Ted Haycraft, Eduardo Takeo
“Lizarkeo” Igarashi, Nevdon Jamgochian, Andy Koopmans, Philip
Nel, Vanessa Palacios, Kurt Sayenga, Anne Lise Rostgaard Schmidt,
Christian Schremser, Secret Headquarters, Paul van Dijken, Mungo
van Krimpen-Hall, Jason Aaron Wong, and Thomas Zimmermann
A NOTE FROM THE CO-AUTHOR
I met Matt Danner in 2006 while he was directing The Drinky
Crow Show for Adult Swim. We became very close, making decisions about the show for hours every day. Matt is able to adapt
to any project he works on, to really understand what makes it
work. So I asked him if he’d like to collaborate on a project involving the Sock Monkey. He agreed and we proceeded to work
realized just how talented Matt is at writing long-form stories. I
have learned quite a lot from him. We soon realized that the idea
most of the writing, as I sat with him, suggesting ideas, developing characters and making sure it all stayed true to my original
Sock Monkey books. It wasn’t hard because Matt really understood the work. I went to the drawing table and cranked out lots
of illustrations, mostly ink, some in pencil, and even one or two
old images I borrowed from previous projects. The result is in
your hands: a captivating long-form story with all the charm of
the Sock Monkey and his friends Mr. Crow, Inches, and their
beloved Ann-Louise.
— Tony Millionaire,
June 2014
P.S. The below link contains an animated preview which Matt
and I have been working on. Matt is an animator and was obsessed with the thought of the Sock Monkey coming to life in
Ann-Louise’s house. “I like the Glass Doorknob story,” he said,
“with all its crystal prisms and tiny rainbow effects.”
www.tonymillionairesockmonkey.com
Keep your eyes peeled for future work.
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O
dd. I’m having that dream again. I think it’s
a dream. It has to be. There I am, in the jungle, scampering on a vine through the rubcolored mango hanging like an ornament. I pluck the
fruit from its branch and hungrily sink my teeth into
it. Like electricity, a searing pain shoots through my
body to the core of me.
A wild monkey stares back at me. I pull my lips back
to inspect the pain. A tooth screams to be released
from my gums.
Riding on the back of a wildebeest, I clutch its
bristly mane. Combing through its long coarse hairs,
I swiftly pluck just the right one.
Later, in a shady glade, I carefully tie the wiry
hair to my throbbing tooth and pull as hard as I can.
Now I am a tooth falling from a monkey’s jaw.
Falling through the jungle. Falling into the moist
earth beneath a delicate orchid. The ground shakes
and a large boot stomps the earth beside me. Large
hands scoop me up with the prize orchid and drop
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named Professor Rimperton, gently carries me to a
ship, which carries me to a city and into an old house.
There, I sit on a shelf in a lush greenhouse and
and the lights go dark. I am alone.
curls softly bounce as she sneaks toward my pot. She
stares right at me, but doesn’t recognize me yet.
“What is it, Mr. Crow?” she says to an old plush
“It appears to be an orchid for your birthday,” he
replies. “But, I’m sure you’re not supposed to see it
until tomorrow.”
“It looks like a bug!” says a little ceramic baby
doll, climbing onto the edge of the pot.
“It certainly does!” Ann-Louise smiles. “Be careful, Inches. Don’t break it.”
“I won’t break it!” Inches proclaims as she
proudly stands on the edge of the pot. It tips over.
I am falling again, tumbling through the air,
around and around. I smash into stone tiles.
“You clumsy bruiser! Let’s get out of here!”
shouts Crow.
They scamper away, leaving me alone in the
cold dark.
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In his nightgown, the professor
storms in and steps on me with redheeled socks, and I get stuck
Flames!” he yells. “It’s
all ruined! And what’s
more, I’ve soiled my
new socks!” The
Professor crouches
down and grievously scrapes up
the broken fragand
orchid.“Give
me your socks,” says his glowing wife from the door.
“I’ll take care of it. Just go to bed.”
the sock and places me on a nearby dresser. From
there, I sit and watch her work. She carefully sews
monkey! It’s me! My body! It feels odd to see myself
from the outside.
me into a hidden breast pocket on my cotton body.
Suddenly I can feel my arms and twitch my ear. I am
a monkey again. The old woman gently lays my new
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