Marshall finally takes a complete misstep. It’s well-intentioned and I see what he’s trying to do, but it’s a pointless waste of half the issue. It’s nice to see him falter, putting Apes on shaky ground for something other than Kent Burles’s terrible art.
This issue, Marshall juxtaposes a fight scene—which takes up most of the issue’s length—against the goings-on of the cast. The fight scene’s not interesting for two reasons. First, the town ruffian who starts it is a new character. Second, the art. How’s anybody going to get excited about a Burles fight scene?
The rest of the issue is fine; it covers the political machinations of the secretly villainous religious leader. Marshall’s in danger of putting the series back to zero (with the good apes against the bad for political control), but he’s also introduces some troublesome nomadic apes.
Shame about the rest.