Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Art: Alvaro Lopez
Colors: Alex Guimaraes
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 3rd, 2024
Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 begins a four-issue miniseries set before the original 1968 “Planet of the Apes” film. Yep, it’s a prequel, and all the characters are here: Cornelius, Zira, Dr. Zaius, and Nova. Everyone except Charlton Heston’s Taylor, of course, and you won’t even notice he’s missing, because the book has the perfect mixture of action, horror and humor that made the original film a classic.
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The Story
Let’s face it, Cornelius and Zira are rock stars and the REAL heroes of the “Planet of the Apes” films. Sure, Taylor fought against the ape slavers, punching, kicking, shooting and spitting at them in all his sweaty grimy glory. But without Cornelius and Zira helping him, the other apes would have easily taken him out permanently. Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 puts Cornelius and Zira front and center, as Zira’s nephew Lucius (who I always called the “hippie ape” due to his youth and pacifism) goes missing for more than a day. Fearing he may have been killed or had an accident outside the city, they try to get permission to enter the Forbidden Zone to search for him, setting them off on an adventure they’ll never forget.
I loved this book so much! The writing and art were impeccable, perfectly recreating Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter’s movements and speech from the original films. Even Dr. Zaius’s way of talking is reminiscent of Maurice Evans’ Shakespearean tones. And yes, every time Dr. Zaius popped up in the book, I kept thinking about that song “Rock me, Dr. Zaius!” from “The Simpsons”. Matt Groening, what have you done?
At its core, the original “Planet of the Apes” film was about the eternal war between religious dogma and science. Between those who want the status quo maintained and those that want progress. Cornelius and Zira still have to contend with the brutishness of most of the other apes, who haven’t had a complete day if they haven’t killed, beaten or tortured a human. And if they could get away with it, giving a few ape scientists a thrashing too.
There’s a wonderful paranoia throughout the issue as Cornelius and Zira secretly go in search of Lucius, never knowing when General Ursus or one of his battalion of fierce ape soldiers will catch them in wandering about in forbidden areas. Nova, the beautiful human slave who Taylor meets in the film, shows up in the issue, making the situation even more precarious for them. There’s a map of the world at the beginning of the issue, much like a map you’d see at the beginning of “The Fellowship of the Ring” or many other high fantasies, showing various important locations. It gives the book an epic feel. I hope through the course of this miniseries the map will be filled in a bit more and we’ll see locations we never saw in any of the films. A great cliffhanger ending rounds out the issue, raising a lot of questions and making me impatient to see what happens next.
The Art
As mentioned above, Alvaro Lopez’s art on Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 is fantastic in the way all the characters look so much like their counterparts in the films. In some panels, I can almost see Roddy McDowall doing his trademark nose twitch as Cornelius. The harsh desert landscapes of the world, as well as the rotting underground structures built by humans in the past, make the world of the book live and breathe and despite the apes having evolved, it still feels like the savage world it felt like in the original “Planet of the Apes” film.
Final Thoughts
Beware the Planet of the Apes #1 is a terrific beginning to the miniseries, taking us back to the setting of the original film from 1968 (which I personally prefer over the modern CGI-infested Ape films). All the characters come to life through the writing and art and it really feels like another “Apes” film that never got released. I look forward to seeing what happens next in it. Highly recommended.