The Stop Button

I hope Moench had fun with the original story in this issue of Planet of the Apes. While journeying through the Forbidden Zone, the heroes discover a settlement of mountain men apes. Moench uses them as a gag—and a plot device—and while the protagonists never know to ask how they learned about the lifestyle to adopt it… the reader does.

Of course, ignoring logic is part of the Apes franchise, so the magazine fits right in.

Chiaramonte’s back, sharpening Ploog’s lines (the human hero’s nose is a constant reminder of how fluid it used to be).

It’s not a bad installment, just silly. It’s filler; it doesn’t do anything to progress the overall story.

As for the adaptation, Tuska goes crazy with differing body sizes. Moench’s hit the “meat” of the film and can’t do much original. It’s the weakest of the scripts, but it’s not Moench’s fault.

CREDITS

Terror On the Planet of the Apes; writer, Doug Moench; penciller, Mike Ploog; inker, Frank Chiaramonte. Planet of the Apes, Part Four: Trial; writer, Moench; penciller, George Tuska; inker, Mike Esposito. Editors, Moench, David Kraft and Don McGregor; publisher, Marvel Comics.