Welcome to Monster Island, but I must warn you, my friends, this is no petting zoo.

It is a beautiful island, holding true to all the promise of the tropics. I invite you to enjoy the white sand beaches. By all means, dip your toes into the clear blue waters. Or, if you prefer the lush, humid greenery of the jungle, take a tour. But be sure to stay to marked paths. Should you need a guide, and I am not able, I commend you to the gentle care of my friends Brother Whiteheart and Father Elk. Trust them, and any they vouch for. But be wary of all others.

There is a darkness here. It is the same darkness that haunted this island during my youth.

You have noticed, no doubt, the strange nature of my friends. Manimals, they are called. I, well I am merely a brilliant gorilla. But they are something neither fully animal nor fully human in form. They, just as I, are creations of the mad Dr. Moreau. And they, just as I, have rejected his criminal ways.

Monster Island is our birth place. Oh, indeed, I was born in the depths of Kenya, but Monster Island is where I became what I am now. Just as my friends became what they are now. This was the site of Moreau’s lab. Most of Moreau’s creations remain here. There is the town of New Gornyj, which is a peaceful place led by Father Elk. But there are other Manimals who have not embraced peace.

They live in the depths of the jungle, and to venture among them is to forfeit your life. They are brutal, and they have no love for mankind. They learned Moreau’s lessons of pain and torture far too well. This island is also a containment center for some of the more dangerous mysteries of the war with the Qularr. What Qularr technology we have is here. Dr. Takashi Toru is the guardian of these dangers, but even he does not know the full measure of their power.

There are other powers on the island as well. ARGENT maintains labs here, as well as a “wildlife preserve.” Rumors abound that in truth, their preserve is an elite hunting lodge, and that their labs create monstrous creatures for wealthy gamesmen to hunt. VIPER once had a nest on this island in my youth, and likely still does.

There are also unsettling rumors of an ancient underwater race showing an interest in the island. What they expect to find here, I certainly do not know.

I do know that these are interesting times on Monster Island.