Beware The Planet Of The Apes #1 - Marvel Comics

BEWARE THE PLANET OF THE APES No. 1, March 2024

Whilst attempting to take “readers back to the ground-breaking original film saga” certainly appears to have been a dream job for writer Marc Guggenheim, who has “been entertained and intrigued by Planet of the Apes ever since I got a Mego Doctor Zaius doll as a birthday present”, it does arguably cause this four-part mini-series’ opening instalment to be rather dialogue driven. Indeed, apart from a brief flurry of activity at its very start when General Ursus launches a raid against Nova’s tribe, the thirty-page periodical doesn’t contain much in the way of adrenalin-fuelled action.

Happily however, that matters not a jot, as the Television Producer pens both a fascinating insight into the lives of Cornelius and Zira in the East Coast Ape City just before astronaut George Taylor’s spaceship catastrophically crash-lands in the Forbidden Zone, as well as an intriguing mystery concerning the disappearance of their young nephew Lucius. These ‘hooks’ do a nice job of allowing the audience to ‘bump into’ the likes of Doctor Zaius and the aforementioned ape military commander, in addition to exploring the surrounding countryside for archaeological artefacts – such as a Twentieth Century underground sanitation outflow system.

In fact, debatably one of the highlights of this publication is how the American author introduces various remnants of our current civilisation into novelist Pierre Boulle’s post-apocalyptic world. Much of this groundwork is probably established with a stunning double-splash map of the Earth as the science-fiction franchise’s fans know it. Yet this story soon begins to add to it as well, courtesy of New York City’s (luckily) empty drainage tunnels and a glimpse at the derelict, Bronx-based Yankee Stadium.

Equally as enticing though is the inclusion of Doug Moench, George Tuska, and Alfredo Alcala’s original artwork on the Seventies “Marvel Comics” title “Adventures On The Planet Of The Apes”. These classic layouts do admittedly jar somewhat in style with the much more detailed panels of artists Alvaro Lopez and Alex Guimaraes. But the ‘flashbacks into the future’ also help pull any perusing bibliophile right back to the source of Guggenheim’s latest escapade, and serve as a welcome reminder as to just what lies around the corner for all this comic’s considerable cast members; “Yeah,,, Me Tarzan, you Jane.”

The regular cover art of "BEWARE THE PLANET OF THE APES" #1 by Taurin Clarke