Something happened to Rival between this issue and the last one. I think he decided it wasn’t worth the effort. His art was a lot better—far more finished—the previous issue. Here he’s not just loose, he sometimes plays for comedy.
Moench introduces a settlement of apes and people who pretend they live in Camelot. They found the books and based their civilization on it. It sort of sounds like they’re living on Long Island, but it’s never clear. Also unclear is how it fits into the Apes continuity—maybe the time traveler miscalculating. Moench doesn’t explain.
It’s a decent enough story. No real surprises, but Moench comes up with an appealing protagonist and drama for him to go through.
Alcala’s art is more sublime on the adaptation part, though Moench again has nothing to do. It’s all action scenes. Alcala makes it worthwhile, but it should be better.
CREDITS
Kingdom On an Island of the Apes, Part Two; writer, Doug Moench; artists, Rico Rival and Walt Simonson. Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Part Five: The Children of the Bomb; writer, Moench; artist, Alfredo Alcala. Editor, Archie Goodwin; publisher, Marvel Comics.