Bob
Most post-apocalyptic stories begin with a ruined city, a desperate survivor, and an extremely serious speech about humanity’s final days.
Lino the Gorilla and Friends Volume 1: All the Humans Are Dead begins with something much stranger:
The humans are gone.
The animals remain.
And apparently, it is time to throw a party.
Written by Zev Simcha, this 38-page comic collection follows four animal friends as they explore the everyday objects humanity left behind. They joke, celebrate, misunderstand things, and try to make sense of a world that suddenly belongs to them.
The result feels like a Sunday newspaper comic wandered into the apocalypse, found a gorilla, and decided everything might still be funny.
Here are 13 reasons this odd, cheerful, and slightly unsettling comic may deserve a place on your reading list.
1. It is a post-apocalyptic story without the usual misery
The title is not subtle.
All the humans are dead.
Normally, that sentence would lead directly into a bleak survival story involving scarce food, collapsing governments, and somebody wearing a very dirty coat.
Instead, Lino the Gorilla and Friends focuses on a small group of animals joking about the world humans left behind.
The apocalypse happened.
The comic would now like to discuss parties.
2. Lino is a gorilla, which is already a strong argument
There are many possible comic-book protagonists.
Detectives. Superheroes. Wizards. Sad men standing in the rain.
This book chooses a gorilla.
Lino brings the kind of immediate visual appeal that only a large, expressive primate can provide. For readers who already believe gorillas improve nearly every form of entertainment, the decision makes perfect sense.
Some books require a complicated sales pitch.
This one has a gorilla.
3. It has the rhythm of a Sunday newspaper comic
The book is designed in the style of classic Sunday cartoons.
That means short jokes, visual setups, quick punchlines, and characters whose personalities become clear through small everyday moments.
You can read several strips at once or enjoy them individually.
It is ideal for anyone who misses opening a newspaper and immediately skipping to the comics section before pretending to care about the rest.
4. The animals explore human objects like confused archaeologists
One of the comic’s central ideas is that the animals encounter everyday objects left behind by humans.
To us, these objects are ordinary.
To them, they are strange artifacts from a vanished civilization.
That creates plenty of room for jokes about human behavior, technology, habits, and possessions.
It is basically archaeology, except the archaeologists are animals and the civilization they are studying thought office printers were acceptable.
5. It makes ordinary objects look ridiculous again
Humans are surrounded by objects we rarely question.
Why does this thing exist?
Why did people use it this way?
Why did anyone design it like that?
By letting animals encounter familiar items without human assumptions, the comic can expose how strange everyday life actually is.
A normal household object becomes a mystery.
A piece of technology becomes evidence that humans may not have been doing especially well.
6. The world ended, but friendship survived
The comic follows four animal friends rather than one lonely survivor.
That changes the entire tone.
They are not simply enduring an empty world. They are exploring it together, joking with one another, and finding reasons to celebrate.
The apocalypse is significantly less intimidating when your friends are present and somebody remembered snacks.
7. They throw parties
This may be the most emotionally healthy response to the end of civilization ever presented in fiction.
The animals do not spend every page grieving among the ruins.
Sometimes they celebrate.
There is something strangely comforting about characters choosing fun even after the world has changed completely.
Humanity may be gone, but apparently nobody canceled the party.
8. It is funny without using profanity
The book contains no swearing.
That makes it accessible to readers who prefer comedy without profanity, although that does not necessarily mean the material is designed for very young children.
The comic can still be strange, dark, and adult in its subject matter.
It simply does not rely on characters yelling increasingly creative curse words every time something goes wrong.
9. There are drug jokes, but they have an old-school anti-drug tone
The book includes jokes involving drugs, with a tone compared to a 2000s-era DARE campaign.
That means the humor may reference drugs without celebrating or glamorizing them.
It is worth knowing before reading, especially for parents or readers selecting material for younger audiences.
Think less “drug-fueled adventure” and more “an awkward anti-drug presentation somehow survived the apocalypse.”
10. It is for people who are anxious about the future
The book directly speaks to readers who feel worried about what comes next.
That may sound surprising for a comic literally titled All the Humans Are Dead.
But the premise creates distance from real-world anxiety. Instead of asking readers to stare directly at fears about collapse, it turns those fears into absurd jokes involving animals and abandoned human objects.
Sometimes comedy does not eliminate fear.
It simply makes the fear small enough to sit beside for a while.
11. It has something in common with Smiling Friends
Fans of Adult Swim’s Smiling Friends may recognize a similar willingness to combine bright, cartoonish visuals with weird, uncomfortable, or unexpectedly dark ideas.
Both works can move quickly between cheerful silliness and existential absurdity.
The characters may be colorful.
The situation may be horrifying.
The joke continues anyway.
That contrast is part of the appeal.
12. It may also appeal to fans of Wild Life
Syfy’s animated sitcom Wild Life follows zoo animals trying to survive and spend time together after the end of the world.
That premise makes it a natural comparison.
Both stories feature animal characters navigating a post-human world, with humor and friendship taking priority over grim survival realism.
If the idea of animals casually occupying the remains of civilization sounds appealing, these two works belong in the same strange corner of your watch-and-read list.
13. It is short enough to read without reorganizing your life
The Kindle edition is 38 pages long.
That makes it an easy read for a lunch break, quiet evening, short trip, or moment when you want something funny without committing to an 800-page fantasy series and its fourteen-page glossary.
You can enter the post-apocalyptic animal world, meet the characters, enjoy the jokes, and return to ordinary life before your coffee gets cold.
So what is the book actually about?
Lino the Gorilla and Friends Volume 1: All the Humans Are Dead takes place after humanity has disappeared.
Four animal friends explore the world humans left behind. Their adventures involve everyday objects, jokes, celebrations, and the strange remains of ordinary human life.
Rather than telling a continuous, dramatic survival story, the book uses short comic-strip-style situations. The emphasis is on character humor, visual jokes, friendship, and absurd observations about human civilization.
The apocalypse is the setting.
The animals are the point.
Who is this book for?
This comic may be a good fit for:
- Fans of Sunday newspaper comics
- Readers who like gorillas
- People who enjoy absurdist humor
- Anyone anxious about the future
- Fans of post-apocalyptic stories with a lighter tone
- Readers who enjoy animal characters
- People looking for a short comic collection
- Fans of Smiling Friends
- Viewers who liked the premise of Wild Life
- Anyone who believes the end of humanity should involve more parties
It may be less suitable for readers seeking a serious, realistic survival narrative or a completely child-focused animal story.
Is it appropriate for children?
The book does not contain swearing, but it does include drug-related jokes and a premise involving the death of all humans.
That does not automatically make it unsuitable for younger readers, but parents and guardians may want to review it first.
The humor appears closer to an adult or older-teen animated comedy than a traditional children’s picture book.
Its colorful animal characters may look family-friendly, but the subject matter is intentionally strange and post-apocalyptic.
In other words, this is probably not Curious George.
Where can you find it?
Lino the Gorilla and Friends Volume 1: All the Humans Are Dead is available as a Kindle Edition through Amazon and print.
Search for the complete title or the author’s name:
Title: Lino the Gorilla and Friends Volume 1: All the Humans Are Dead
Author: Zev Simcha
Format: Kindle Edition
Publication date: May 25, 2022
Language: English
Length: 38 pages
The book is part of the Lino the Gorilla series, so readers can also search Amazon for the series page to find related editions or future volumes.
At the time of the information provided, the book held a 5.0-out-of-5-star rating based on three reviews.
Ratings and availability may change over time.
Final verdict
Lino the Gorilla and Friends Volume 1: All the Humans Are Dead takes an extremely dark premise and turns it into something light, odd, and strangely comfortable.
The humans are gone.
Their objects remain.
Four animal friends are trying to understand what happened, what all this stuff was for, and whether the situation calls for another party.
For readers anxious about the future, that may be the most reassuring part.
The world can change completely.
The people—or gorillas—you care about can still make you laugh.
