Comic Info
Comic Name: Planet of the Apes
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Writer: Daryl Gregory
Artist: Carlos Magno
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2011
Planet of the Apes #1 Variant
Reprints Planet of the Apes #1-4 (April 2011-July 2011). A tentative peace has been drawn between the apes and humans after years of battle. Sully helps guide the humans while her “sister” Alaya guides the apes under the Lawgiver who raised them. When the Lawgiver is assassinated by a human, the threat of war looms over the two groups and finding the assassin before war breaks out could be the only hope.
Written by Daryl Gregory, Planet of the Apes Volume 1: The Long War is a comic book sequel to the original Planet of the Apes series of films which ran from Planet of the Apes (1968) to Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973). The collection features art by Carlos Magno and the issues in this volume were also collected as part of Planet of the Apes Omnibus.
I grew up on the Planet of the Apes films. It seemed like they were always on and it was just a matter of what movie you were going to find when you turned on the TV on a Saturday afternoon. The timeline for the Planet of the Apes film was a little wonky due to the last two films, but overall, a sequel to those films is an entertaining concept.
The story is kind of typical of Planet of the Apes and kind of feels like a similar story to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) which was released after it. Humans are scraping by while apes essentially rule and the lower-class humans are in a place to rebel. Like the original concept, it is the idea of a role reversals…the humans are essentially terrorists, but you are rooting for them since they are being repressed.
Planet of the Apes #4
The problem with the series is typical of series without costumed characters. Magno’s art is fine and relatively solid, but it is hard to grasp the characters. They do a decent job giving characters scars, different color fur, making them mute, or in the case of Sully having her pregnant, but it takes a bit to get the characters as the series kicks off.
Like other Boom! collections, this collection is a short four issues. The series does feel like it reaches a crescendo for the cliffhanger so that is better than some of Boom!’s other collections which just feel forced into the four issue format for selling purposes. With a bigger omnibus collection, it might be worth just seeking it out.
Planet of the Apes has potential and if you are a fan of the films, you definitely should check out the comic book. I hope that as I continue on, it is a solid and thoughtful series which explores issues (a great aspect of the original film which moves it from fantasy to true science-fiction), and isn’t just a “men fight apes” comic. Planet of the Apes 1: The Long War is followed by Planet of the Apes 2: The Devil’s Pawn.
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