The Adventures of Wu Kong vol.1 by Cun Ren

The Journey to the West tells the story of Sun Wu Kong's spiritual journey to find the Buddhist scripture, but it is also the story of his many adventures along the way. It is populated with the colorful characters whose complexity and sometimes comedic adventures keep the story moving with light-heartedness and whimsy. By mixing elements of the familiar and the fantastic, and populating the story with endearing characters and spectacular scenes filled with fighting, singing, dancing, and flying, The Journey to the West tells a story as old as the earth in a way that feels entirely modern. It is, in a word, timeless.

Volume 01 follows the adventures of Sun Wu Kong, born from a stone on Spring Mountain and given the title of the Handsome Monkey King, who seeks to learn the secret of eternal life. Under the tutelage of the Buddhist Master Puti, Sun Wu Kong becomes incredibly powerful, but his hubris grows until he has run afoul of the gods, who dispatch an army to Spring Mountain to subdue the Monkey King, who has declared himself the "Emperor of Heaven."