Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #6 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 6, June 2018

Reading more like an official comic book adaption of Ted Post’s 1970 American science fiction film “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes” than an innovative exploration of the untold story behind arguably the franchise’s most memorable ‘supporting character in POTA lore’, this final instalment to David F. Walker’s six-issue mini-series probably provided its 3,645 fans with a surprisingly poignant ending to the gorilla general’s life which, despite all the acting qualities of James Gregory, was never made clear on the ‘Silver Screen’.

Indeed, as the Simian soldiers invade the mutant humans’ partially ruined subterranean city and Méndez XXVI is subsequently shot before “the instrument of my God”, those within this publication’s audience who were already familiar with the (second) film’s plot were probably just waiting for the military leader to be slain by Brent so the twenty-two page periodical could end. However, rather than simply fall to the wayside dead as in the motion picture, the titular character instead momentarily considers the “kind of life” he perhaps could have lived had his beloved wife, Qama, not died in labour, or at least experienced if he hadn’t allowed Kananaios to fill his heart with hate.

This emotional, remarkably sentimental scene genuinely depicts a regretful side to the military commander which is movingly penned by this comic’s writer, and arguably makes Issue Six of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” worth its cover price alone. In fact, the narrative to this edition is so hauntingly melancholy, and yet strikingly self-contained, that it probably would have worked better if simply published as a stand-a-lone one shot, rather than the dramatic ending to a disappointing extended storyline which in no way depicts the gorilla learning “the truth of the talking human that fell from the sky” as “Boom! Studios” advertised in its pre-print marketing.

Similarly as underwhelming as the publisher's impotent boast is Walker’s decision to ‘kill off’ the then Chief Constable of Terminus’ wife (and baby) as a result of a difficult childbirth. It is clear how such a domestic tragedy could cause Ursus to lose all faith in both the teachings of his ‘father’ and the Lawgiver. But how this loss helps fuel the Ape City leader’s passionate loathing for humanity and strong belief that “the only thing that counts in the end is power. Naked, merciless force” is another matter entirely…

Written by: David F. Walker, Illustrated by: Lalit Kumar Sharma, and Colored by: Jason Wordie

Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #5 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 5, May 2018

Focusing far more upon its titular character’s younger years and his brutal battle against a barbaric horde of humans upon the very steps of the Lincoln Memorial, than it does the gorilla General’s ‘current’ exploits within Ape City, David F. Walker’s storyline for Issue Five of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” probably proved something of a choppy experience for its 3,732 readers. For whilst the filmmaker’s intermittent flashback sequences located on the partially destroyed National Mall in Washington are undeniably permeated with an invigorating sense of energy and action, the author’s much more sedentary scenes concerning Doctor Diersa, the increasingly troubled military commander and the “rambling incoherent nonsense” of a shattered Sergeant Moench, are debatably disappointingly lack-lustre and lifeless; “He has answered enough. Please doctor… Give him some relief from the pain.”

Mercifully for this mini-series’ long-suffering audience however, almost three-quarters of this twenty-two page periodical remains firmly fixed in the Simian official’s far more fascinating past and genuinely tells an intriguing tale as to just why perhaps this publication’s writer was “endlessly fascinated and horrified by General Ursus” when “I was a little kid”. Indeed, the gorilla’s incomprehensible dark dread as to why any of his fellow apes “would build a shrine to a human” is only surpassed during the hairless savages’ subsequent brutal assault and the bloody death of Kananaios, who falls beneath the sword of a gore-caked semi-naked African-American.

True, Walker does provide the ‘modern day’ warmonger with an alarming instant of anger when the infuriated ape is disconcertingly pencilled by illustrator Lalit Kumar Sharma taking out all his mounting frustrations with the Simian High Council, the Minister of Science and his soldier friend’s splintered mind, upon the stuffed corpse of Dodge in the Museum of Natural History. But this fleeting moment of violence pales in comparison with the ferocious, close combat witnessed by Qama as a number of her travelling companions are cold-bloodedly dispatched by “the Plague of Man” using spear or sword, and Doctor Zauis ably demonstrates both his physical strength of arms and his determined will to ensure “the truth is whatever we make it -- Whatever we need it to be.”

Written by: David F. Walker, Illustrated by: Lalit Kumar Sharma, and Colored by: Jason Wordie

Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #4 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 4, April 2018

The three hundred and third best-selling title in April 2019, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, David F. Walker’s narrative for Issue Four of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” must surely have disenchanted many of its 3,774 fans with his peculiar plot involving the psychically powered human mutants living beneath the remains of New York City seemingly permitting a petrified Sergeant Moench to escape his captivity having first been driven half-insane with mental pain. Indeed, the “brave gorillas” exploration of the utterly destitute Big Apple appears to have been manufactured by this book’s writer solely to provide East Coast Ape City’s general with irrefutable proof that the destroyed metropolis is inhabited by ‘telepathic beasts’, who can simply immobilise a unit of Ursus’ finest soldiers from a distance just by thinking about it.

This bizarre narrative, which runs alongside a somewhat bloody flashback sequence depicting how truly powerful a fighter Kananaios’ son was in his youth following the town of Terminus falling “into the hands of the Humans”, arguably makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially when it’s clear from the dwellers living within St. Patrick's Cathedral, that they believe Moench will probably both inform his fellow apes about their ‘civilisation’ and resultantly return “with more of its kind.” Just why the mutants therefore permit their prisoner to flee from their control is utterly nonsensical and genuinely would appear to simply have been lazily engineered in order to provide Ursus with some semblance of rationale so as to “destroy the enemy with or without the approval of the Simian High Council.” 

Disappointingly, the military commander’s behaviour towards his fellow primates would also suggest that something is badly amiss with Walker’s penmanship of the titular character. There is undoubtedly an increasing darkness found within the young, yet-to-be General’s demeanour towards humans during his disconcerting discovery that “the unsimian evil of these beasts” has caused the destruction of several ape settlements. But such hostility towards mankind later suddenly sees Ursus angrily slap Zaius before their city’s Chancellor in a disrespectful move which many upon the High Council will see as a treasonous attack upon the good doctor, rather than a loyal soldier’s earnest determination to desperately do what he thinks best for his settlement; “Stop wasting time and endangering ape lives! Give the order. Let me do what must be done to protect Ape City.”

The regular cover art of "PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS" No. 4 by Paolo Rivera & Joe Rivera

Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #3 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 3, March 2018

Supposedly featuring a gorilla general who is “feeling betrayed by Zaius [for] taking control over the investigation” into a suspected tribe of talking humans, at least according to the pre-publication publicity of publisher “Boom! Studios”, David F. Walker’s storyline for Issue Three of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” arguably promised its audience a great deal upon its release with both the comic’s exciting inclusion of actor Charlton Heston’s 1968 motion picture character, Taylor, as well as its enthralling depiction of Sergeant Moench’s exploration of the Forbidden Zone. But despite the agitated apes’ discovery of New York City’s shattered remains, and nervous passage to the entrance of its Queensboro Plaza subway station, the vast majority of this twenty two page periodical’s plot instead disappointingly focuses upon Ursus desperately trying to drink away his problems with “too much berry wine” and some incredibly long-winded, flashback scenes…

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine many of this book’s dwindling 3,987 readers were impressed with its American author staggeringly squandering a quarter of this magazine’s length depicting Ape City’s befuddled military commander drunkenly getting out of bed and the resentful cell guard Julius simply making his way to Doctor Zaius’ office, rather than further fleshing out Moench’s impressive ability to overcome his fear of the strange phenomenon he witnesses whilst traversing humanity’s radiation-disfigured land. Certainly, it is arguably difficult to understand just why this comic’s creative team wastes three pages portraying a decidedly grim Ursus sat talking to a vacant-eyed, lobotomised Landon only to straight afterwards cram into a single splash panel Kananaios’ son savagely defeating a party of mean-spirited men; “In his youth, Ursus secretly wished humans could talk because if they could talk, they would tremble in fear whenever they spoke his name.”

Mercifully, Chris Mooneyham’s dynamic drawings of Moench leading his “group of frightened female orangutans” through the fiery illusions of the Forbidden Zone does at least imbue this poorly paced comic with a modicum of entertainment. Yet as much as it is enjoyable watching the artist’s well-pencilled gorilla soldiers carefully pick their way through the Big Apple’s deserted streets, especially when it’s clear their progress is being monitored by the destroyed city’s mutated inhabitants, it is difficult not to wish that Ursus was “ten years younger” and leading the expedition himself.

Written by: David F. Walker, Illustrated by: Chris Mooneyham, and Colored by: Jason Wordie

Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #2 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 2, February 2018

Considering that this limited series so closely courts the events of Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 American science fiction film, David F. Walker’s narrative for Issue Two of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” must surely have made its 4,453 readers in February 2018 feel that he had missed a major opportunity with which to significantly expand upon Robert Gunner’s ‘Silver Screen’ alter-ego John Landon. For whilst this twenty-two page periodical based upon “the franchise’s most notorious villain” undoubtedly provides a savagely brutal explanation as to why the troubled astronaut’s frontal lobes were removed from his brain by the chimpanzee Doctor Galen, it disappointingly does so within mere moments of the terrified talking human being discovered by Zaius and the orangutan’s former friend; “You call this an interrogation? You’ve fractured its skull.”

Admittedly, the timing to this publication’s plot is somewhat tight, as “the most powerful gorilla in Ape City” has to arrange for Sergeant Moench to assemble and deploy a loyal hunting party to the Forbidden Zone before the Chief Defender of the Faith rather cynically covers up Taylor’s writing in the dirt just outside the voiceless captive’s external exercise pen. Yet even so, it seems a shame that the six-foot-four, 200-pound ‘Liberty 1’ explorer wasn’t given something more ‘meaty’ to do than simply whimper in his cage that “the oxygen levels in my hypersleep chamber are off balance” and plead to “see my wife -- my family” before being beaten half to death by an enraged Ursus.

Mercifully however, the “award-winning journalist” does seem to find the time to depict the titular character’s first meeting with his beloved wife, Qama, when she was a servant of Zaius’ mentor, Doctor Cephina. This tender flashback scene, set against the backdrop of a violent human attack upon an easily overrun Ape City, not only provides the military commander with an opportunity to demonstrate his courageous bravery when he was a young primate, but also continues to reveal just why he “has always hated and feared mankind.”

Easily this comic’s greatest asset though, are Chris Mooneyham’s excellent illustrations. The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art graduate really does imbue “the primary antagonist of Beneath the Planet of the Apes” with a formidable presence and it is genuinely a major anti-climax when a disillusioned Ursus is pencilled riding away from his hand-picked “most trusted gorillas” rather than sketched leading them into the Forbidden Zone in search of “a new breed of human [who] has migrated to our land…”

The regular cover art of "PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS" No. 2 by Paolo Rivera & Joe Rivera

Planet Of The Apes: Ursus #1 - BOOM! Studios

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS No. 1, January 2018

Excitedly announced by both “BOOM! Studios” and “Twentieth Century Consumer Products” in October 2017, David F. Walker’s somewhat sedentary and dialogue-heavy script for Issue One of “Planet Of The Apes: Ursus” probably still provided plenty of entertainment to its 5,788 readers upon the mini-series initial release courtesy of the “award-winning journalist” closely mirroring the opening twenty minutes of Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 American science fiction film. Indeed, the publication’s first four pages so closely follow the motion picture’s plot and dialogue that many within the book’s audience perhaps momentarily feared that they had mistakenly picked up an official comic adaption of the Charlton Heston flick, rather than a title which promised to “follow the rise through the ranks of the ape who has hated (and feared) mankind the most, including what first brought him to the Forbidden Zone.”

Of course, once astronauts Taylor, Landon and Dodge have either been captured, injured or killed, this twenty-two page periodical firmly focuses its attention upon gorilla General Ursus, and immediately starts showing a side to the titular character never before touched upon on the ‘Silver Screen’. Sentimental towards two photographs of his apparently dead wife Qama, and angrily agitated that his “morning will be spent among politicians… The enemy of every true soldier”, these scenes show Walker’s genuine desire to explore ‘what actually makes the villain tick’ rather than simply present the army’s veteran leader as a stereotypical warmonger solely interested “in his own dreams of conquest, glory and power.”

Indeed, Ursus’ subsequent discovery of Dodge’s corpse initiates a truly troubling flashback scene set within an ape coliseum called Terminus “many years ago”, where humans are trained to slaughter one another in brutal unarmed combat simply for the amusement of their Simian onlookers. Gorily graphic as its subject matter is disturbingly distasteful, this memory shows an adolescent Ursus hauntingly looking into the eyes of a grim-faced imprisoned black slave, who perhaps understandably, has nothing but hatred for Kananaios’ shocked son; “I have seen humans like this before. These dark-skinned beasts, they are the most vicious -- The most cunning.”   

Admittedly, so much ponderously slow background development to the General could so easily have turned this comic’s storyline into a dreadfully dire experience which contains little action despite its aforementioned reimaging of “The Hunt.” But whilst this particular instalment certainly does contain plenty of pedestrian-paced talk, particularly when Ursus confronts Zaius in the orangutan’s office, it is fortunately all wonderfully illustrated by Chris Mooneyham, whose pencilling imbues a good deal of emotion to his figure’s furry faces which definitely isn’t generated by this book’s penmanship.

Written by: David F. Walker, Illustrated by: Chris Mooneyham, and Colored by: Jason Wordie