Category: Planet of the Apes
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The only particular thing in this issue is someone writing an Apes comic finally got around to an orangutan called King Louie. Otherwise, the issue’s pretty drab. Marshall does a Western with apes and it’s impossible not to compare it to Doug Moench’s work back on the Marvel series. Only, Marshall just does a Western.…
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Marshall’s author’s note at the beginning of the issue mentions Conquest of the Planet of the Apes is his favorite in the series. Oddly, it’s one of the ones he ignored when mentioning history in a lot of issues. But his one shot here, it’s pretty great. It’s Conquest from the perspective of some average…
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The first page made me think Wyman and Pallot were back to doing good work. Unfortunately, they are not. It’s this detailed, beautiful piece of black and white comic art. The rest of the issue is their new low standard. Marshall returns to his original cast, either starting a new storyline or wrapping up unresolved…
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Interesting. Very, very interesting. Marshall’s either a terrible writer or he just never really wrote the comic and editors did. This issue ties directly to the first Planet of the Apes movie. It does so in a neat way. The neat connection almost makes up for the fact Marshall has his protagonist recount events, until…
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Wow. Reading the issue, I kept wondering how the comic could get worse. First, Wyman and Pallot have completely gone to pot. If I’d picked up this issue first, I would have never believed this art team could do the work they did on their first couple issues. It’s not as horrific as the original…
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I think Marshall’s trying to combine Ripley from Aliens with Charlton Heston for his female protagonist. But he does get one big point of originality in this issue of Apes. He has his humans on the run and they’re traveling cross country. And none of the apes speak. So it becomes akin to a cross…
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I’m once again convinced Marshall didn’t see all the Apes movies. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even read the comic books he’s written. This issue features some astronauts going through time and ending up on the Planet of the Apes. Sounds familiar, right? It is. Marshall rips off the arguments between the astronauts from the…
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Marshall changes things up for this issue, eschewing an actual story and treating it as a combination of a preview for other Adventure Apes comics and a joke. He constantly breaks the fourth wall in narration, talking directly to the reader, and most of the issue is annoying and trite. But it has good art.…
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Can orangutans even breed with chimps? New artists M.C. Wyman and Terry Pallot take over the art chores this issue (I really hope to stay) and Wyman can actually draw, so one can tell the difference between chimps, orangutans and gorillas. Well, there’s a little trouble with the gorillas and chimps, but it’s usually clear.…
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Planet of the Apes finishes without fanfare. Sutton is back on he and Moench’s story of the seafaring humans and apes and I guess Moench gets to resolve some of the outstanding issues in the series. Moench has a familiar pattern though. He works up a bunch of interpersonal hostilities and calms them all down—returning…
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Moench’s conclusion to his Battle adaptation isn’t exactly strong, but it’s better than I expected. The shooting script apparently had some ambiguity and Moench embraces it. As for Virgil Redondo’s artwork, it continues to be serviceable. What’s most impressive about this installment is how Moench paces the action and the expository sections. He does fast…
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There’s a letter from the editor this issue explaining all the improvements Moench is making in the Battle adaptation are actually from the shooting script and not Moench’s invention. I guess it’s fitting this chapter of the adaptation is the worst. There’s nothing Moench can do… it’s just a bad script and movie. But Virgil…
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All of the art is bad. takes over the original story. His apes are slightly better than his humans. His many-eyed alien might be the best. There’s a scene where it appears a Viking ship (this story introduces apes living like Vikings) is floating on air, because Trimpe doesn’t work the perspective on the scenery…
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This issue has some insurmountable problems. First, Sonny Trinidad takes over the pencils. He’s really, really bad. Planet of the Apes, thanks to him doing both the chapters in the issue, now becomes an ugly comic. It had some rough issues… but nothing compared to Trinidad. His reference for everything ape related seems to be…
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Moench breaks with the Battle movie story and finally makes the details work better in the adaptation. I suppose his bridging story foreshadowed the approach, but I wish he’d used it for all the adaptations. Instead, it’s just going to be for the finale. Alcala takes over the art chores and he does a fine…
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And Moench is nicely back on track. It helps he’s got Sutton back for their human and ape fugitives original story. Moench lays off the sci-fi elements and goes with the action instead. He’s made a fantastic villain out of the gorilla general—there’s a call back to the first issue in the series and it’s…
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I wish I could say Moench arrests Planet of the Apes plummet… and I suppose he does a little. This issue features a bridging story between Conquest and Battle, the final film. Oddly, Moench’s bridge is a sequel to Conquest, the movie, not the adaptation he finished the previous issue. It also makes no sense…
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This issue isn’t just easily the worst one, so far, of Planet of the Apes, it’s bad. Moench runs into two big problems. I won’t even bother mentioning how Herb Trimpe is not of the artistic caliber the series usually has illustrating. No, Moench instead finds a big old issue with each of his stories,…
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Sutton’s second page on he and Moench’s original story chapter (Ploog doesn’t return this issue) is one of the busiest I’ve ever seen in a comic book. It’s not scenery, it’s action and a lot of it. Sutton goes wild. And burns out. For the rest of the story, he’s clearly rushed. It actually looks…
The Stop Button 