THE HARTLEPOOL MONKEY by Wilfrid Lupano and Jérémie Moreau.

1814, off the Durham coast, near the little village of Hartlepool, a warship in the Napoleonic fleet founders during a storm and sinks. At daybreak, amid the wreckage and flotsam on the beach, fishermen discover a survivor: a monkey dressed in full military regalia, the mascot of the shipwrecked French vessel. Now, the good people of Hartlepool despise all Frenchmen, though they have never seen one in the flesh. Nor have they ever see a monkey. But this brutish, bestial castaway tallies with the vague impression they have of the enemy… this alone is enough for the ape to find himself court martialled. Inspired by the famous legend of the Hartlepool monkey, this is a tragi-comic fable of war and jingoism, of xenophobia and ignorance and of the glimmering of enlightenment…

So ends the legend of the Hartlepool monkey. How much truth is there in this oft-told fable?  Only a slender thread, we might hope… The fundamental facts are well know: the English borders were well fortified again the threat of invasion. Borders are important, without them it is difficult to know who to hate…Even today, the legend lives on in Britain, and Hartlepudlians are still known by the nickname ‘monkey hangers’; a nickname also applied to the supporters of Hartlepool United FC, whose mascot is “H'Angus the Monkey”.

A few words, then about the monkey…In 2002, the man then wearing the monkey costume, Stuart Drummond, stood for election to Mayor of the Borough of Hartlepool on a political platform that was clear and succinct: “free bananas for school children”. Though launched simply as a publicity stunt, Hartlepudlians, heartily sick of cronyism and party politics gave the traditional political parties a resounding slap in the face. H’Angus the Monkey stormed to victory. Mr Drummond was deeply touched by the trust placed in him and hung up his primate costume to devote himself to the task. He proved such a popular mayor that he was re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009, becoming the first English mayor to win three consecutive elections.

The monkey who was mistaken for a man was hanged.

The man who dressed as a monkey was elected.

And the human comedy carries on…

Here is a picture of the writer in his Hartlepool United strip.

http://geeksyndicate.co.uk/news/comic-review-hartlepool-monkey/

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/hanging-on-every-word-1-5563312

http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2013/directors-commentary-monkey-business-with-wilfrid-lupano/