Angel & the Ape

Angel and the Ape
Angel and the Ape's first appearance in Showcase #77 (December 1968). Pencils by Bob Oksner, inks by Tex Blaisdell
Publication information
Publisher	(vol. 1-2) DC Comics (vol. 3) Vertigo Comics
Schedule	Bi-monthly
Format	(vol. 1) Ongoing series (vol. 2-3) Limited series
Publication date	(vol. 1) November 1968-September 1969 (vol. 2) March–June 1991 (vol. 3) October 2001-January 2002
No. of issues	(vol. 1): 7 (vol. 2-3): 4 each
Main character(s)	Angel O'Day Sam Simeon
Creative team
Created by	E. Nelson Bridwell
Written by	(vol. 1) E. Nelson Bridwell (vol. 2) Phil Foglio (vol. 3) Howard Chaykin and David Tischman
Artist(s)	(vol. 1) Bob Oksner (vol. 2) Phil Foglio (vol. 3) Philip Bond
Inker(s)	(vol. 1) Wally Wood
Colorist(s)	(vol. 2) Tom Ziuko

Angel and the Ape was a humor comic book created by E. Nelson Bridwell published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in 1968 in Showcase #77 then graduated to their own title, with art by comic artist Bob Oksner, most often inked by Wally Wood. The title lasted for seven issues, changing its name to Meet Angel for its final appearance.

Angel O'Day is a private investigator who manages the O'Day and Simeon Detective Agency with her partner, Sam Simeon. Sam differs from many stereotypical detectives; besides helping Angel, Sam is both a comic book artist and a talking gorilla. Sam's last name is a play on the word "simian" ("of or pertaining to an ape or monkey").

The series has been revived twice. The first was by Phil Foglio in the 1990s, where Angel and the Ape stuck true to its zany roots. In Phil Foglio's 1991 mini-series, Angel is revealed to be the half sister of Dumb Bunny, a member of the super-heroic group the Inferior Five, also created by Bridwell. Sam is changed, too; he is not only employed by "DZ Comics" as an artist, but is also the grandson of Gorilla Grodd, a nemesis of The Flash. As such, Sam has mental powers that he can use to make a limited number of people see him as a human being. However, a break in his concentration allows people to see him in his true form. This is in contrast to the original series, wherein people see Sam's true form but convince themselves he is simply an unusually ape-like human male, since it is "impossible" for there to be such a thing as a talking gorilla.