I Was A Gorilla Newshound

Investigative journalism is not without its risks. Aside from the low pay and dwindling ad rates it is not uncommon for a reporter to switch consciousness with a gorilla.

I have "typing with gorilla fingers" on my resume under "special skills."

I have “typing with gorilla fingers” on my resume under “special skills.”

I know what you’re thinking: “But Jimmy, switching consciousness with a gorilla sounds like a very unusual occurrence.” Oh, yeah? Then why has it happened to me not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES???

Sometimes I can talk when I'm a gorilla, other times not so much. There's no internal logic to my life.

Sometimes I can talk when I’m a gorilla, other times not so much. There’s no internal logic to my life.

The first time I switched bodies with a gorilla I was doing a fluff piece on a crackpot inventor. I do these a lot and never take the crackpots seriously despite the fact that I always let them experiment on me and ALWAYS end up with some kind of super power or life threatening condition for a day or two.

Case in point…

This is totally how science works.

This is totally how science works.

And wouldn’t you know it…

You don't want to know what that gorilla did to my suit while he was in my body.

No amount of dry cleaning would fix what that gorilla did to my suit while he was in my body.

So what did I do? Well, naturally I consulted all the genius super-scientists I’ve met over the years to find a solution to the problem.

Nah. Just kidding. I put on some ill-fitting clothes and went to work. A gorilla’s gotta eat (a lot) and I can’t afford to take a day off (unlike definitely not off on the planet Apokolips fighting Darkseid “Clark”).

"Nice monkey suit." - Something no one had the balls to say to me for fear of having their arms ripped off

“Nice monkey suit.” – Something no one had the balls to say to me for fear of having their arms ripped off

Yes, my coworkers did freak out at first but it took a surprisingly short amount of time to convince them not to have me shot and killed as a public menace.

I guess my name is "Bonzo" now.

I guess my name is “Bonzo” now even though I’m still the same person on the inside.

Science isn’t the only way you can “Vice Versa” with a gorilla. Magic rings will do the trick too! Like the time I switched bodies with Congorilla!

Getting punched by a kangaroo is optional.

Getting punched by a kangaroo is optional.

Or like that other time I switched bodies with Congorilla!

I hope those bad guys don't hear me pooping!

I hope those bad guys don’t hear me pooping!

There are probably other ways to switch bodies with a gorilla (i.e. brain transplant) but so far I’ve only had to deal with crackpot science and magic rings.

It always seems to work out in the end though and I’ve been able to return to my human form.

Sadly, "Bonzo" did not kill my boss.

Sadly, “Bonzo” did not kill my boss.

But every reporter knows it’s only a matter of time before they get stuck in an ape’s body forever and somewhere out there is a gorilla’s brain with their name on it.

That's me on the left. Also, on the right.

That’s me on the left. Also, on the right.

 

 

The Elastic Truth About “Supergirl”

I’ve been engaged to and/or married to many women in many different alternate timelines/universes over the years: Lois Lane, Lucy Lane, Allura the giantess from a distant planet, Ilona of the Sunev Galaxy, Rona from another dimension, and…um…a gorilla (to name a few).

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Worst part about my inter-species wedding: Superman’s cultural insensitivity.

But my favorite of all my almost wives will always be Kara Zor-El, commonly known to the world as “Supergirl.” I’ll never forget our imaginary wedding that never happened!

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Sweet never memories.

Naturally, when I heard about the long overdue television show based on her life and adventures and looked forward to live tweeting the premiere with the rest of the world. Sadly, I discovered five minutes before the show was going to start that my live TV feed was broken and I don’t have cable so I wasn’t able to watch with the rest of the world. Super bummer.

The show was a critical and ratings hit. Also, Black Twitter liked it (check out the #Supergurl hashtag when you get a chance)! I got a chance to catch up with the pilot last night and it was super-duper fun, humorous, and emotional (I cried four times). Congratulations to the cast and crew on a job well done.

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That’s my girl! Sort of…not really. I mean she’s her own woman and everything…never mind.

However…

THAT’S NOT THE REAL STORY.

This is Hollywood and as with all media adaptations of real life events liberties have been taken, time compressed, and certain facts thrown out the window. For example:

The opening on Krypton. Superbaby being put in a tiny rocket has been done many times over the years and same as always they left something out: I WAS THERE. Allegedly. My mind was wiped afterwards so I can’t be sure. I’m saving the details for a separate post but the quick version is: Time travel. I became Superbaby’s babysitter. I saved the little a-hole’s life. I don’t know if they filmed my scenes and cut them for time but it would nice to see it on screen one day.

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It was nice that they got Superbaby’s spit curl right though. Does it naturally do that or did Jor-El and Kara put product in his hair? If so, he’s maintained the same hair style since birth??? Total square.

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One of the other points that veers far from reality is Kara’s and my “meet cute.” It wasn’t quite as adorkable in real life. You see, I was a Wolf-man at the time after having willfully chugged down a bottle of magic potion clearly labeled “Ye Wolfman Potion” from an ancient crypt. Did I mention I used to be a complete idiot?

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I was young.

“Ye” antidote for the Wolf-man curse was the good old-fashioned sexist trope of “the willing kiss of a beautiful maiden.” What does beautiful mean? What if I don’t like maidens? What if it’s a woman who drank the potion and she doesn’t like maidens? WTF does a kiss have to do with anything? Not even love’s true kiss, just a meaningless peck from an objectively attractive woman.

If I were a cosplayer I'd be furious she thought it was just a mask.

If I were a cosplayer I’d be furious she thought it was just a mask.

Luckily, I happened to transform at both a costume party and a movie studio where everyone just took it for granted that I was wearing a mask but I knew it would be SUPER EMBARRASSING if anyone found out so I made a plan to get the curse lifted: I take all my savings out of the bank, go to the park in the middle of the night, and ask the first attractive woman I see (a complete stranger) to kiss me in exchange for the money.

What could possibly go wrong?

What could possibly go wrong?

SPOILER ALERT: It didn’t work.

Thankfully, she wasn't an undercover cop.

Thankfully, she wasn’t an undercover cop.

So Superman (who feels a need to solve all my problems) took me back to my apartment where he had a strange woman waiting for me in a darkened room who had agreed to kiss me.

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You have what now?

That’s right. That woman was Supergirl.

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I can understand why the producers of the show decided to change how we met, seeing as how there’s a lot to set up in a pilot and having Mehcad Brooks running around in full Wolf-man makeup might have distracted from the other plot elements of the show, not to mention the creepy/pimp-like quality to Superman’s behavior. So I’m okay with it.

Supercreep! Supercreep! He's super creeepy!

Supercreep! Supercreep! He’s super creeepy!

And while we’re on the subject of Mehcad… nailed it. He may not look exactly like me (though his abs are spot on) but he definitely captured my essence (or at least how I see myself): sexy, mature, charming, sexy.

Me.

Me.

Mehcad.

Mehcad.

Too many of these Superman movies and shows have me running around like a dorky, reckless moron who needs to be saved from Superman. I mean, that’s accurate too but I’m more than just a dorky, reckless moron. Did I mention how many almost wives I’ve had???

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There are other inaccuracies (like Cyborg Superman being Kara’s sister’s boss) but I loved it all the same and am looking forward to the next episode. Let me know what you thought in the comments below. Or, you know, don’t.