Captain America (1968 series) #135

Review: And now we move on to another inner city scourge for our heroes to address. Drug dealers, racketeers, and now a big white ape with lipstick. I’m sure Daredevil and Luke Cage run into these all the time as well. Unfortunately that’s just the cover; inside the comic the gorilla is the standard blue-black version with no additional makeup. So: part one has Cap introducing Falcon to SHIELD with a fight scene and Sharon giving Cap the brush-off. Part two: Disgruntled scientist plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde though Hyde is a gorilla who can control dogs for some offbeat twists on the much ripped-off classic. But for part three we have Cap fighting the gorilla and kudos to Marvel for coming up with a comic book in which Captain America fights a gorilla. And “Captain America Fights a Gorilla!” is one of the greatest selling points of all time. It’s a cool idea on a weird level and it plays out just how it sounds, with a lot of kinetic energy in Gene Colan’s pencils. But there’s a twist: It ends with a sudden segue to “Journey to the Center of the Earth” so why don’t we drop in there next time….

Comments: First of a two-part story. In Marvel Index, the gorilla is officially known as the Monster Ape; this is his first appearance; his second and last will be next issue. A background agent appears to be Jasper Sitwell but he’s just filling space. Tony Mortellaro contributed to the cover, according to GCD.