Planet of the Apes from the beginning (reviews by shaxper)

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes (Boom!) #13

"The Half Man, Part 1"
writer: Daryl Gregory
art: Carlos Magno
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B

Back and forth, once more. While it's now painfully clear that Gregory could give a darn about providing any of his characters with rich characterization, we at least have more brewing in this issue than just action and advancement of the same old plot. Now we have the introduction of The Golden Khan, the mystery of "The Half Man," and the destiny of young Julian to concern ourselves with, as well as the continuing mystery of who Julian's father is, and another bone thrown our way in terms of long-term Apes chronology.

Regarding The Golden Khan and "The Half Man": I'm not intrigued yet. I need to see more to care. However, as we got our first good glimpse of the enormous ship of the Golden, I was half expecting an homage to Cathedraulus or the Hydromeda from Moench's Future History Chronicles stories in vol. 1, but no such luck.

The same is true with Julien. It's a new avenue to explore, but Gregory hasn't given me enough of a look down that road yet to care.

As for who his father is, some new possibilities are opening up. It seems to me at this point that Casimir has been hanging around in the background pretty consistently without ever drawing much attention to himself. So few of the humans are ever given names, but Casimir has been around since issue #1, never really so you'd notice; just lingering. Seems like a potential father, especially since the fact that he's married and has kids (mentioned in the first issue) would explain why Sully told no one who the father was. It's also possible that this "Half man" will be the father. I'm still truly hoping it's an ape, as this would really shake things up, but Julian looks 100% human to me.

Finally, probably the most worthwhile thing about this issue from my perspective is that it answers the question of why the technology utilized by the apes in the first film is so much more primitive than what we see in this series. Aleya is forcing industrialists to start giving up human technologies, presumably out of some sense of racial pride. So really, Gregory is making pretty much everything Aleya's fault -- the rift between apes and humans, the Lawmaker's words about humans, and now the loss of technology. One problem, though: It's outright said in this issue that the skilled ape laborers are all going to Ape City since the jobs no longer exist in Mak. So when does Ape City start losing its technology?


Continuity points:

- Aleya has begun forcing industrialists to stop using human technologies


Minor details:

- The City Tree is apparently rebuilt. I thought there wasn't one just last issue.


plot synopsis in one long sentence:

The human resistance captures Julian against his will, Aleya is forcing Mak to give up much of its human technologies, Sully, Casimir, and Hulss are presumably led into a trap by Kip and brought before the Golden Khan, Aleya discovers that some of her own military assisted in the human abduction of Julian, and someone (is that Breck? Or Backo back from the dead, maybe??) is interrogating Julian.

[shaxper]

Watching the Timelines

For what it's worth, it is still entirely possible for the main Boom! POTA storyline to align with the continuity of the first two Apes films, the final three apes films, and the new Rise of the Planet of the Apes films at this point. Wikipedia claims that it can only be aligned with the final three of the original Apes films because of the references to Caesar, but I think that's a pretty limited interpretation. There are truly only a few minor details that absolutely cannot align across all three timelines (most prominently being the explanation put fourth in the third film that "Aldo," not Caesar, instigated the Ape revolution in the timeline of the first two films). Caesar's revolution can still result in the society seen in the first two films (in fact, Gregory seems to be implying that it will with Aleya revising the Lawgiver's words and forcing Mak to technologically regress), history can be altered (intentionally or otherwise) to replace the name "Aldo" with the name "Caesar," and the new Rise of the POTA film can still result in the same future as well, only with a somewhat different past.

Essentially, I suspect that Gregory will play it safe and stay on the fence, never clearly indicating whether the Caesar referenced in his stories is the Caesar from the old films or the Caesar of the new one unless Fox forces him to draw clearer ties to the new films, and he seems to be connecting whichever Caesar continuity he's ambiguously begun with to the continuity of the first Apes film. Therefore, we have an all-inclusive continuity that allows itself to connect to any Apes film other than the Burton one.

And, by that logic, the main series' stories can still be on the same timeline as the Betrayal, Exile, and Cataclysm stories being written by Bechko and Hardman, which are clearly aligned with the continuity of the first two films, but are not clearly detached from the other two continuities in question.

[shaxper]

Exile on the Planet of the Apes #2

writers: Corrina Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
art: Marc Laming
colors: Darrin Moore
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: C

So here's my understanding of the plot of this story, thus far:

1. It's pretty much the same darned thing as what's going on in the main POTA title, only at a different point along the timeline
2. It's all doomed to fail since we've seen the first film and know the state of humans in that film

So why am I reading this?

Better yet, why does it take two people to write it?

Oh well.


Truly nothing remarkable about this issue. Dr. Milo (of the Escape from the Planet of the Apes film) is introduced here. That's about it.


plot synopsis in one long sentence:

The humans lead an assault on an Ape factory, it blows up, killing most inside and badly wounding Tern, Prisca meets Dr. Milo, he tells her where to find the human resistance, she finds Tern on the way there, Aleron asks her to join them, the apes mobilize their military in the wake of the factory disaster, and Timon exposes the humans' plan and location to the apes.

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes #14

"The Half Man, Part 2"
writer: Daryl Gregory
art: Carlos Magno
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B+

A lot going on in this issue, and while I'm still far from in love with the series, I was at least fully immersed in this particular installment. I think reading Exile in contrast is helping me to appreciate it a bit better -- especially Magno's art. His arrangements are odd, awkward, and unclear at times, but the man can draw, and Darrin Moore is an outstanding colorist.

I also really enjoyed the characterization of Nix in this issue, especially the frustration he feels in attempting to uphold what's right in a world of gray. And Aleya's vulnerability, which she masks in a facade of strength, was quite touching here. Magno captured it beautifully.

Gregory's sense of characterization is still woefully under-developed, but Magno is making up for it in spades in this issue.



Important details:

- The Half Man is Wynn, grown up and scarred from what happened to him during the razing of Skin Town 10 years earlier.

- Nerise is leading a coup against Aleya and may even be working with the humans. Perhaps my original theory, way back in issue #1, that a faction of apes (The Caesarists) worked with the humans to plot the assassination of the Lawgiver, was correct after all. Nerise even mentions the loss of her two sons during the Eastern Campaign, here. It would make sense that this loss fueled her continuing hatred towards the humans, and thus she and Brother Kale worked together to eliminate the one figure trying to bring their two races together so that they could resume the conflict they both wanted.


Minor details:

- It's subtle, but Magno shows us ape writing on a doctor's ledger at the beginning of this issue. It uses an alien alphabet, and yet also contains the name "Eduardo," who might be Magno's kid or something?

- Interesting nod to King Kong here, adopting his story as the story the Golden tell for how their race came to be.


Plot synopsis in one sentence:

A human assassination attempt on Nix fails, The Golden turn out not to be attempting to capture the humans after all, but rather are fanatics looking to have the humans spread their faith, the Half Man appears to be Wynn, and he takes Julian to the remains of the Happy Valley camp to try to show him the truth, Aleya calls upon Councilor Nerise to help investigate why her watchmen aided the abduction of Julian, and Nix pumps an old friend for information, only to discover Nerise is behind Julian's abduction.

[shaxper]

Exile on the Planet of the Apes #3

writers: Corrina Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
art: Marc Laming
colors: Darrin Moore
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: C+

The story progresses with all secrets revealed and the apes progressing towards the human encampment. The intensity is rising but, again, the story feels pretty repetitive of what we've watched happen for the bulk of the regular POTA series and, again, we know how it's all going to work out in the end. Also, Laming's panels are really random and unclear sometimes, especially Aleron climbing up towards the beginning of the issue. I really couldn't figure out what was happening at first.

Important details:

- Dr. Milo has been assisting the human resistance all along


plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Timon betrays Aleron to the apes, an advance platoon tries to take him out and fails, the ape army is approaching the human encampment, Prisca, Milo, and Aleron plan to blow up the ridge between the apes and the human encampment as a last resort (since this would likely decimate the encampment), the ape raid starts sooner than expected, and Milo appears to be wounded before he can place the explosive charge.

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes #15

"The Half Man, Part 3"
writer: Daryl Gregory
art: Carlos Magno
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: C

I stopped paying attention to the titles of these story arcs after "The Long War," as it was a title that really didn't make much sense, but I'm enjoying the double meaning of "The Half Man." It's really not about Wynn at all, but rather about Julian, the human raised by apes.

Beyond that, while it's interesting to watch the plot advance, with Aleya inevitably ensnared by Nerise, the writing isn't all that outstanding (especially the badly written long awaited first discussion between Sully and Julian), and the characterizations feel...borrowed.

Julian, for example, the super smart, super stubborn/snotty brat that refuses to see that the good guys are the good guys feels like a blatant rip-off of Damian Wayne, arguably the hottest comic book character of the decade who is selling books by the droves over at DC. Damian...Julian...they even sound alike and are drawn alike.

Then there's Wynn, the former child we had such hopes for now turned into a morally questionable free agent who could as easily turn out to be a hero as a villain. He feels like a rip off of both DC's Jason Todd (yet another highly popular character over at DC at the time) and Simon from the Adventure Comics POTA volume (who I even called the Jason Todd of the POTA universe at one point).

That kind of characterization theft really disappointed me in this issue.


Important Details:

- Mak is once again referenced as the city "MacDonald had found." I'd completely forgotten that MacDonald had been referenced in this series, more clearly tying it to the final three original Apes films than the continuity of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. While it's still possible that there will be a MacDonald in the future of the "Rise" Apes continuity, I think it's now likely that Gregory is consciously setting this story a generation or two after the events of Battle of the Planet of the Apes. All that remains to be seen is whether Gregory still feels the events of the first two Apes films are in the future (thus, the timeline of the original Apes films is cyclical), or whether he views Escape from the Planet of the Apes as having triggered an alternate timeline that will never culminate in the events of the first two films (Did I lose anyone, there?).


Minor Details:

- Casimir, who has been standing around in the background throughout this entire series, finally gets some attention in this issue. I found his composing a heroic ballad about himself while unwittingly mirroring Paul Revere quite endearing.


Plot synopsis in one sentence:

Nix tries to get the White Troop to believe his story about the coup, Sully is preparing for the final assault against Mak and has Casimir go out to round up all humans in the area, Aleya is taken into hiding by troops apparently sent by Nix who prove to be working for Nerise, Wynn and Julian are abducted by apes who don't believe the boy is Julian, Sully frees them, Aleya is delivered to Nerise, Sully and Julian's first meeting does not go well, and Sully instructs the troops that they will attack tomorrow.

[shaxper]

Exile on the Planet of the Apes #4

writers: Corrina Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
art: Marc Laming
colors: Darrin Moore
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: C-

Meh. Predictable outcome, poorly paced, adequate writing, and often substandard art and layouts that are alternately anti-dramatic and entirely unclear. This chapter in Bechko and Hardman's saga was certainly a sub par one.

I suppose I should be intrigued by the human child who can talk, or that the humans pass the statue of liberty, but we know we'll never see them again by the time the first Apes film rolls around, so why care? It occurs to me that the follow-up series, Cataclysm, which seems to deal with the world's destruction at the end of the second film, may still attempt to provide a fate for these humans parallel to the main action of the series, but unless they're going to travel back in time with Zira, Cornelius, and Milo and create their own alternate future where humans thrive, their series is a doomed one. That could be an interesting dramatic idea if the writing acknowledged the futility of their quest with the lens of dramatic irony, but it doesn't. Bechko and Hardman are still trying to sell us on the idea that hope remains for these humans, and that's just stupid.

Important Details:

- The humans escape by sea.
- A young non-mute human is found and rescued by Prisca
- Aleron dies. Prisca takes charge of the resistance.

Minor Details:

- Page 4, panel 2. Tern signs "Follow me!" to his fellow humans while holding a gun with both hands. Oops. I don't suppose Bechko and Hardman are trying to subtly hint that these humans are telepathic like their underground mutant brethren.


plot synopsis in one long sentence:

- The human soldiers are captured, Aleron has a heart attack and is dying, he surrenders and then walks over to manually detonate the explosive, causing an avalanche that kills him and drives the apes away, allowing Prisca to free the captured humans, Prisca finds a human baby in the wreckage that can make auditory noises, and the humans find the Statue of Liberty while escaping on rafts along the coast.

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes #16

"The Half Man, Part 4"
writer: Daryl Gregory
art: Carlos Magno
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B-

So Gregory's explanation is less satisfying than my own. Brother Kale had been using his mutant telepathy (we saw the mutants could do this in the second apes film) to control or cloud the thoughts of Nerise. Thus, there was never a secret alliance between Kale's order and certain Ape factions. Rather, he was just mind-controlling one ape. Disappointing.

So the issue throws it in our face, again and again, that what the humans is doing is wrong, but it's right, but it's wrong, but it's right. And humans are no better than apes, but they are, but they aren't, but they are. One issue left in the entire damn series and Gregory is back to his pseudo-philosophical musings which are nothing more than uncomplicated flip-floppings of opinions.

Still, love the art of Magno and Moore.

Oh, and Julian turns sides waaaaay easily in this issue. It's not like there weren't Nazi children who looked upon emaciated Jews in the concentration camps without instantly deciding Hitler was evil. It's not that simple, Gregory, especially when Julian has been explicitly bred all his life to believe humans deserved and even needed this treatment. Make this final turn for Julian more dramatic and earned -- not convenient and punctual.


Important details:

- Nerise assumes control of the city and turns everyone against one another, writes a suicide note coerced by Brother Kale, and kills herself.


plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Kale is controlling Nerise and making her tear the city apart on a political level, the humans liberate 5 of the 7 prison camps, Nix prepares the imprisoned Aleya for the fact that the city is about to destroy itself, Wynn forces Julian to see the "truth" about apes and humans, reinforcement ships from the Golden prepare to attack all ape cities (beginning with Mak), some new icon for the human church arrives and is not shown (dramatic effect at the end of the final issue?), and Nerise is persuaded by Kale to write a final confession/suicide note/manifesto before killing herself.

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes (Boom!) Annual #1

On a few rare occasions, I've gotten the feeling that the folks behind the Boom! POTA franchise were aware of, and making nods to, the truly awful Adventure Comics volume. This annual marks one such occasion. I had assumed that this issue would be the finale to the Gregory/Magno series since the ending of issue #16 didn't feel like much of an ending, but no. That was it aside from a reasonably strong epilogue/prequel, and the rest of the volume follows the path of the old Adventure Comics annual in providing a variety of short stories featuring different protagonists.

Fortunately, it's better than its predecessor.


"First and Last Days"
writer: Daryl Gregory
art: Carlos Magno
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Ed Dukeshire
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B

This brief story answers a few more questions about the Gregory/Magno series and provides an interesting finale that continues to pose the question of whether the struggle for equality on the Planet of the Apes (and, perhaps, in our time as well) is meaningless. The parallel between their world and ours works in the sense that this story, in which the Lawgiver has Nix escort a young Aleya and Sully to school, clearly parallels Brown vs. the Board of Education, but the parallel really stops there. No black people tried to stone those black kids trying to get into a segregated school, and there's no ironic sense that whites and blacks will resort to being at war again (though equality certainly hasn't been fully achieved in our time).

It makes a somewhat touching, somewhat thought provoking bookmark to the series, but I can't help judging it for what it's not: a proper ending to the 16 part storyline we've been following for all this time. There was no true ending, and some basic questions still remain, such as who Julian's father was or even what Sully's first name is. Is Boom! eventually planning to continue this storyline? It's my understanding that it's over and Gregory wasn't planning to return.

Important details:

Nix was imprisoned for killing Sully's human attacker as she attempted to go to school that first day. His killing a human, and the Lawgiver counting that as the same as ape killing ape, was an important moment in Mak history for cementing human and ape equality.

Plot synopsis: Pretty much that, plus we're given the ironic reminder at the end that Mak would fall in a few short years just as Red Creek had.


"A Boy and His Human"
writer: Corinna Bechko
artist: John Lucas
colors: Studio Parlapa
letters: Ed Dukeshire
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: D+

It's interesting seeing Bechko and Hardman take on different stories in this issue. I guess I'm surprised to see just how much Bechko's sucked when compared to Hardman's. This is a simple and not particularly well done story in which an ape boy befriends a young human girl as the humans are being purged from the city. There's no real depth, no true theme beyond "killing humans = not good", and even the writing and characterization are just thoroughly average.

plot synopsis: ape boy finds human girl, ape tries to bring human home, mom tells police, ape and human run, human gets caught, ape decides he's going to go back to try to break her out.


"Old New World"
writer: Jeff Parker
art: Benjamin Dewey
colors: Nolan Woodard
letters: Ed Dukeshire
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: A-

This is a great concept that easily could have made for a satisfying mini series, in which two ape officials travel to Port Simian, an ape establishment that is officially not on the map. Gradually, we learn that these apes, having access to a port on the West Coast, are in contact with continents and civilizations that are outside of ape society's insular concept of the world. The real surprise comes when the officials are introduced to imported gorillas who are not evolved, but rather resemble their modern day counterparts. The apes try to reason with their ancestors and are murdered by them.

I'd note the important details, such as the statement that there are no [i]known[i] ape settlements west of Washington (DC?), but this annual is very unclear as to which ape stories take place in which continuities -- a problem exaggerated by the very last panel of the very last story in this volume.

plot synopsis: pretty much covered above.


"The Scroll"
writer and artist: Gabriel Hardman
colors: Matthew Wilson
letters: Ed Dukeshire
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B+

The true driving force behind the Bechko/Hardman writing team becomes evident here. "The Scroll" serves as a prologue to their entire saga, set 40 years before Taylor, and therefore 20 years prior to the first issue of Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes, and also 5 years before the Hollow Creek incident in which Aleron ends up owing his life to a human.

In this story, Aleron is a young private who is ordered to go to an old temple to rescue a priest trapped there, but the priest seems to have lost his mind after killing a human and then translating a key scroll of the Lawgiver. While nothing of particular importance happens to Aleron here (beyond his eye randomly being picked out by a raven -- I'm not even sure how to interpret this symbolically), the true key here is in the last panel, in which we see the scroll of the Lawgiver, indicating that:

"Ape and Man shall live together in friendship and share dominance over the world in peace."

This raises a big question: does this mean that Bechko and Hardman's series exists in a different continuity than Gregory's?

If not, then...
1. Aleya must not have gone back and revised the Lawgiver's older scrolls, or Brother Kale and his people later added such lines.
2. The Apes continuity is an endlessly repeating timeline, with the events of the third through fifth films leading to Gregory's series, leading to Bechko and Hardman's series, leading to the first two films, leading back to the third through fifth films, and so on.

If so, then...
1. The events of the third through fifth films generated an alternate timeline that Gregory's series is a part of, while this series remains in the timeline of the first two films.


I assume the latter was intended, though it's still possible to interpret the ending both ways.


plot synopsis: pretty much stated above.

[shaxper]

So I did some investigating, and it appears the Gregory/Magno Apes storyline isn't finished, after all.

To quote Gregory from an August 21st interview with CBN:

"We're finishing up my run with three giant-sized issues [which Daryl will write at a later date; his regular title ends with #16], which will bring the story to a close. I've been aiming for this ending for a long time -- every plot line paid off!

http://comics.cosmicbooknews.com/con...-apes-pota-run


Still, that was 5.5 months ago, and none of these giant-sized issues is even mentioned on the Boom! website upcoming titles list yet.

[shaxper]

Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm #1

writers: Corrinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
art: Damian Couceiro
colors: Darrin Moore
letters: Ed Dukeshire
editor: Dafna Pleban

grade: B-

If Exile on the Planet of the Apes felt too much like the next issue of Betrayal on the Planet of the Apes, then Cataclysm flies hard in the opposite direction; so much so, in fact that it's difficult to find the thread connecting the two series. Sure, Prisca shows up partway through (in a way that is seemingly entirely unimportant to the plot at this point), but what happened to all those humans who were seeking their destiny in the pages of the previous volumes? What happened to Aleron's dream for human independence? Were they the humans that got nuked off panel by chunks of the moon in this issue, or are Bechko and Hardman still planning to go somewhere with them?

No chronological reference is offered for this issue but, considering both that we have a young Cornelius still trying to complete his thesis and seemingly lacking the wisdom he gained from the first Apes film, as well as the facts that Betrayal took place 20 years prior to the first film, Exile took place 10 years prior, and the little Aleron prequel story in the POTA annual took place 40 years prior, I'm guessing Bechko and Hardman are going to be mathematically consistent and will make this series occur 5 years prior to the first Apes film. Amazing how all the big events on the Planet of the Apes occur in intervals of mathematical multiples from each other!

As for the story, itself, while it's full of action, there's a lot I don't like about it:

1. Zaius as a family man with a wife on the council and a pregnant daughter. Whenever you are adding to an already established lore, you can carefully adhere to what was originally there, make your own unique additions that are faithful to what was originally there, or just mess with it for your own gratification. I feel they've chosen the latter here. Though it was never explicitly stated that Zaius lived alone, he's characterized in the apes film as a cold, detached, cranky, and aloof leader who is very old, very set in his ways, and full of dark secrets he guards -- hardly the kind of character that would have a family. And it certainly wasn't implied in the films that any of the members of the council were his wife. Perhaps she died in this issue or will soon after?

2. A religious zealot committing an act of terrorism to serve his own agenda. Once again, this series feels like too much of a replay of the main POTA series.

3. The random explanation for what happened to the Earth. It seems like it's provided just for the sake of providing an explanation, but (unless they're planning on going somewhere with this), it feels random. Even Charles Marshall's explanation from the God-forsaken Adventure Comics volume was better considered than this appears to be.


Important Details:

- CONTINUITY CONUNDRUM: If the Alpha Omega bomb is launched prior to the events of the first film (and Cornelius still working on his thesis definitely seems to imply as much, as well as the fact that he's seeking help from someone at the human clinic other than Zira), then it doesn't align with the events of the second Apes film. Perhaps Bechko and Hardman meant to suggest this storyline is then in the timeline of the final three original Apes films (suggesting that Caesar's alterations to the timeline still result in a similar future, and even the ultimate arrive of a Taylor), but the location of the AO bomb, with all the consoles around it in a modern day looking launch site, doesn't resemble where it was in the fifth Apes film either.

I suppose it's possible that there are two Alpha Omega bombs, but I find that unlikely. Perhaps this series is within the timeline of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the Taylor that keeps getting referenced will be a somewhat different one? Maybe Bechkno and Hardman are building towards the next film in the Rise of the Planet of the Apes series, which will feature a new Taylor? Of course, the general throwback look of apes in this series, as well as the presence of Cornelius (who does not travel back in time to father Caesar in this continuity) would seem to suggest otherwise. What in heck is going on here???

- Though probably an unintended coincidence, Ty Templeton's unfinished Revolution on the Planet of the Apes series included a prophecy in issue #4 that apes would destroy the moon.

- The Chinese are responsible for the nuclear destruction of the Earth. ("Putonghua" is a Chinese dialect), launching missiles from a moon base for some unexplained reason.

- The American government attempts to launch the Alpha Omega bomb in response, but an EM pulse prevents them from doing so.

- A young Cornelius, attempting to complete his thesis, is present in this issue.

- Zaius has a wife on the council and a pregnant daughter

- Prisca is still around and has now established the Anti-Vivisection Society, both a real world organization and (I believe) a group briefly mentioned in the first film.

- The Alpha Omega Bomb gets launched at the moon and destroys it.


Minor Details:

- The segregation of chimps is still pronounced in this issue, contradicting what Zaius promised to end at the conclusion of Betrayal, and emphasizing something that was only marginally hinted at in the first film. I think they're overplaying this.

- Dang. I've never seen someone get a movie ape face as accurate as Couciero gets Cornelius'.

- Okay, this is probably a way off guess, but I wonder if the title of this series wasn't chosen because "Cataclysm" sounds a lot like "Catechism," and we've got a religious figure causing the destruction. Again, probably a way off guess.


Plot synopsis in one long sentence:

The Chinese nuke the Earth from a moon base, the Alpha Omega bomb fails to be fired in retaliation due to an EM pulse, we fast forward to (presumably)5 years prior to Taylor, an Ape priest breaks into the launch chamber of the Alpha Omega bomb and fires it at the moon, Cornelius goes to Prisca at the Anti-Vivisection Society to find out why he can't get his hands on a dead human for his thesis, Zaius has a wife and pregnant daughter, the AO bomb nukes the moon, fallout begins hitting the planet, many die, and Zaius' daughter begins to give birth.

[shaxper]

A Theory...or is it wishful thinking?


Okay, so the AO bomb launch site in Catacylsm doesn't match the one shown in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (the fifth and final film of the original series), but I neglected to consider until now that the AO bomb launch site was only shown in previously deleted scenes that weren't made available to the public until the second DVD release a few years back. It's therefore possible the creative team means to align Cataclysm with the timeline created in the final three films and just isn't aware of this discrepancy.

Furthermore, as stated in the review to Cataclysm, the Mr. Comics Revolution on the Planet of the Apes volume, which takes place immediately after the events of the fourth film, includes a prophecy in the fourth issue that apes will destroy the moon. That series also clearly established the idea that the far future of that timeline would resemble, but be different from, the events of the first and second Apes films.

It's a longshot, but the facts would suggest the possibility that the Bechko and Hardman saga is aligned with the continuity of Revolution on the Planet of the Apes.

Now, in that continuity, most governments of the Earth nuked their own cities to put down the Ape menace. It's therefore unlikely that the Chinese would be nuking American territories, but such a thing can always be explained away.

For those who haven't been following this thread from that far back, Revolution was a series that impressed the heck out of me. I would love for this to be true, though I admit it's unlikely. Revolution had such a low print run and readership that it's entirely possible Bechko and Hardman aren't even aware of it.


Want to read up on Revolution of the Planet of the Apes? You can jump to those reviews here.

[benday-dot]

So I did some investigating, and it appears the Gregory/Magno Apes storyline isn't finished, after all.

To quote Gregory from an August 21st interview with CBN:

"We're finishing up my run with three giant-sized issues [which Daryl will write at a later date; his regular title ends with #16], which will bring the story to a close. I've been aiming for this ending for a long time -- every plot line paid off!

http://comics.cosmicbooknews.com/con...-apes-pota-run


Still, that was 5.5 months ago, and none of these giant-sized issues is even mentioned on the Boom! website upcoming titles list yet.

The first of the "giant-size" specials is in Diamonds shipping list for next week.

[shaxper]

The first of the "giant-size" specials is in Diamonds shipping list for next week.

That's great news. Thanks much!

I'm therefore setting a goal to get the remaining four Boom! POTA comics in my stack read before next Wednesday so that, for once, I can review an issue as it hits the stands.

[Deason]

Minor correction: I've been saying APJAK when, in fact, it's APJAC.

Arthur P. Jacobs And Company?

I believe one of the articles in one of the issues of the original Marvel volume explains it's from Arthur P. Jacobs

Very interesting thread. I got most of the first volume at the time. Mark Evanier had a letter in an early issue.