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Apes

Apes Not Want War

While we’re waiting for the new Planet of the Apes movie in 2024, Marvel Comics has one of the first tie-in comic series for the latest version of the famous movie franchise. Planet of the Apes (imaginative title) recently hit the shelves, written by David F. Walker (Luke Cage) and illustrated by Dave Wachter (Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon). “The ALZ-113 virus has rampaged across planet Earth, and humanity is crumbling. While well-meaning researchers hunt for a cure, a fanatical group of humans has their own solution: Kill all apes. Peacekeeper Juliana Tobon is one of the few willing to stand against them, but the crisis is spreading, and soon apes will witness the true depths of human cruelty.” Ook.

image c. 2023 Marvel Comics

On the Throne in the Palace of the Kingdom of the…

20th Century Studios just dropped the first trailer for The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in the “new arc” of ape science fiction movies. (For what looks to be an interesting film, they sure saddled it with a clunky-sounding title. Come on, people! What’s wrong with Kingdom of the Apes?) The official synopsis goes like this: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.” It’s directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner), who meanwhile is now getting to work on an adaptation of The Mouse Guard! Kingdom is set to be released in theaters on Memorial Day (May 24th) in 2024.

image c. 2023 20th Century Studios

Submitted for Your Approval: A Planet of Apes

Bit of trivia you might not be aware of: In the late 1960’s Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone) was the first person picked to adapt a screenplay from Pierre Boulle’s science fiction novel Planet of the Apes. Which he did — unfortunately his version (closer to Boulle’s book, featuring apes in a modern high-tech world) was considered un-filmable at the time, and a new adaptation by Michael Wilson was used instead for the famous 1968 film starring Charlton Heston. Well now, Boom! Studios have created Planet of the Apes: Visionaries, a new full-color graphic novel of Serling’s original script. Put into comic book form by Dana Gould and illustrated by Chad Lewis, it arrives in stores this August. Previews has an interview with the Boom! Studios folk all about it.

image c. 2018 Boom! Studios

Black Ink and Big Creatures

A recent discovery from the Long Beach Comic Expo. Seung Woo Cha currently works as a director at Dreamworks TV… but he is also a fine artist, known for his imaginative depictions of wild life from around the world — especially gorillas and other apes. Often working in black ink, he paints in broad artistic strokes that nonetheless capture the essence and power of his subjects. Recently he collected several of his works together into a hardcover portfolio book, appropriately enough entitled The Art of Wild Life. You can purchase the book over at his web site, and see examples of his work as well.

image c. 2018 Draw 4 Life Studios

Return to Where the Planet Began

Titan Books have released a new science fiction anthology called Planet of the Apes: Tales from the Forbidden Zone. It features an impressive roster of authors presenting stories set in the world of the original five-movie Planet of the Apes series, or in the world of the 1974 live-action TV series (which is not exactly the same world, but close). “The 1968 film Planet of the Apes was a seminal work of science fiction that inspired generations of filmmakers and authors. Now a who’s who of modern writers — including Kevin J. Anderson, Nancy Collins, Jonathan Maberry, and John Jackson Miller [and many more] — produces sixteen brand-new, exclusive stories… Each writer will explore a different drama within the post-apocalyptic world, treating readers to their unique visions and non-stop adventure.” Edited by Rich Handley and Jim Beard, it’s available now in paperback at Amazon.

image c. 2017 Titan Books

Son of Man

Dark Horse Press have been on a universe-crossover kick lately. And frankly you have to notice one of their latest titles: Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes. One of those “so obvious, but so awesome” things… Here’s the idea: What if Cornelius and Zira, the chimpanzee scientists, had escaped via their time-slip… to the turn of the 20th Century? Where, it seems, they found an orphaned human baby and raised him to be their own. See where this is going? Here’s the official word from Dark Horse: “Raised as brothers but separated by slave traders, Tarzan and his ape brother Caesar reunite when the war between man and ape takes them from the jungles of Africa to the center of the earth.” This new comic miniseries is written by Tim Seeley and David Walker, with full-color art by Fernando Dagnino and Sandra Molina. IGN has a detailed review.

image c. 2016 Dark Horse Press

image c. 2016 Dark Horse Press

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More Monkeys in Spandex!

(Hmm, lots of exclamation points this week. Must be more stuff from Comic Con!) Loter Studios is the creation of John Loter and his wife Shelley Loter, both of whom worked for years as Creative Directors at Disney Consumer Products. They continue to consult for Disney (and assorted animation companies) on t-shirts and other merchandising, but since 2005 they have also been creating their own line of original products based on original characters. Just this year, that expanded to include their very first full-color comic book: Supa-Rillas, created with the help of John’s brother, animation director Steve Loter (Kim Possible, American Dragon: Jake Long). Simian superheroes out to save the world — all for bananas. Check out the web site to see more of what they’ve worked on.

image c. 2016 Loter Studios

image c. 2016 Loter Studios

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Monsters at Play. Literally.

It’s time we checked in again with the artist Chet Phillips. Known for his fanciful anthro-primates (he even did a whole collector-card game based on evil monkeys!), now cats and even kaiju are turning up more and more in his works.  (Kaiju are giant monsters stomping all over Japan, in case you forgot!) Recently he created a collectible card set based on kaiju baseball players, as well as the usual prints and other artistic stuff. Go visit his Etsy store to see what we’re talking about, and hopefully this will all make a lot more sense!

image c. 2015 by Chet Phillips

image c. 2015 by Chet Phillips

The Apes Shall Rise

Boom! Studios, which have had several Planet of the Apes tie-in titles over the years, now turn their sights toward this summer’s hit movie — with a new full-color comic book miniseries titled, appropriately enough, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. “Bridging the 10-year gap between the Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes films, fans will bear witness to the fall of humanity and the rise of Caesar’s civilization. While the apes of the world have yet to advance as a species, Caesar must find a way to unify in them to one cause. On the other side of the country, Malcolm must venture into the decaying Americas with his family to find a cure for the plague slowly killing his wife, Rita. World powers will shift as civilizations collapse and rise.” Written by Michael Moreci (Curse, Hoax Hunters) and illustrated by Dan McDaid (Mind the Gap),  issue #1 of the the new Dawn is available now.

image c. 2014 Boom! Studios

image c. 2014 Boom! Studios