If you ever wondered where General Ursus was during the first Planet of the Apes movie, well, now you know. This issue begins by telling us that the most trusted Gorilla by General Ursus was an ape named Moench (an homage to Doug?). He’s leading the apes on a little trip to the forbidden zone. An expedition that would have been led by the General himself, had he been a younger ape. The apes see the wall of fire as projected by the mutants that lay Beneath the Planet of the Apes. However Moench rationalizes that the flames aren’t real based on the fact that they give off no heat. Back in Ape city Ursus is yelling at a lobotomized Landon. Of course he doesn’t hear, but it’s not really Landon that he’s yelling at and deep down he knows it. He’s using Landon as a springboard to rationalize his actions.
The Creative Team:
David F. Walker brings us the tale of an Ursus we’ve never seen before as our megalomaniac General becomes obsessed with the forbidden city and we see what happened that lead to his obsession that we see in the second movie. We’re also given a peek into Julius past and motivation. We learn why the good Dr. Zaius suspected that Taylor was not from another planet but from a tribe on this world, he knows Taylor better than Taylor knows himself. Great stuff includes A drunken Ursus taking out his hangover on one of his subordinates, and Zaius pouring over his maps and notes, taking in the spots where some humans are more organized and intelligent than others. I’m a huge Planet of the Apes fan and this title does not disappoint. I even like Beneath the Planet of the Apes better than most people I know. I mean , how can you not love mutated humans worshiping the atomic bomb to the tune of a catholic mass? Brilliant!
Chris Mooneyham captures the spirit of the original Apes film quite well. His pictures definitely do Walker’s words justice and his characterizations are spot on. It may have been difficult for the actors to express emotion through all that makeup, but they were such thespians that they pulled it off excellently. And Mooneyham brings us that same level of emotion and tone that the movie cameras captured so brilliantly from these characters. Highlights include the splash where the gorillas ride into the forbidden city. And a drunken Ursus yelling at a blank faced lobotomized Landon. I love this comic.
In Conclusion:
The struggle between apes and humans just got more real as we learn that Zaius knew all along that there were pockets of humans that were better organized and more intelligent than those seen in Ape city. Ursus obsession with discovering the secrets of the forbidden city doesn’t go unnoticed by the mutants who reside there and we are led to a clever cliff hanger for this issue, it’s from the first movie, but not the Statue of Liberty scene. Even though we’ve seen it in the first movie it’s still a shocking moment as presented here given the build up to it. It’s clever and keeps the reader involved and those clamoring for more of the original Apes, your appetite will be satisfied with the Ursus story. **** (8.8 rating)
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer – David F. Walker
Art – Chris Mooneyham
Colors – Jason Wordie
Letters – Ed Dukeshire
Publisher – boom! Studios
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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