The Stop Button

With the exception of the addle-brained storyline about the amnesiac chimp, I thought Marshall was back on track this issue. It really seemed like things were going well. He had the missing female chimp reunited with Ape City, he had the human fugitive deal with his gorilla captor… Things were moving along nicely.

Until the female chimp gets brainwashed with a watch.

And then it becomes infinitely clear why Marshall never feels like he’s told a complete issue. Because he’s dragging things out far beyond their expiration date. The problem with A, B and C plots is when a C plot never becomes anything else. It needs to either graduate or go away.

Clearly, Marshall has a longterm plan for Planet of the Apes but he’s completely unconcerned with that plan having a nice narrative flow.

The issue ends on a decent cliffhanger. Burles’s atrocious art ruins its impact.