Graphic Novel Review: PLANET of the APES: THE LONG WAR

BOOM! Studios has wisely decided to resurrect the Planet of the Apes franchise to comic book form after a very long hiatus (which I'm sure is due in part to the release of the newest film Rise of the Planet of the Apes). The first four issues of the series have now been collected into graphic novel form and titled Planet of the Apes: The Long War and depicts a political war between the human and the apes in a pre original Planet of the Apes (1968) world.

This series wisely decides to make both apes and humans intelligent (unlike the original film) and depict the two species as being in the middle of a truce that is suddenly disrupted when a human supposedly assassinates the ape's Lawgiver forcing the resurrection of a long thought dead group of military apes who set out to discover the humans responsible. This sets up what could be a very interesting and political story (or revolution) in the series. Written by Daryl Gregory with art by Carlos Magno this is an excellent new series both for diehard fans of the franchise and newer fans curious about the property in comic book form.

BOOM! Studios has resurrected many great film franchises to comic book form (their 28 Days Later and Clive Barker's Hellraiser, to name a few) and this is a testament to how well they do their job. Gregory crafts a unique and interesting story with a huge cast of characters whose stories will be the driving force behind the ongoing series (and political turmoil that this volume only hints at). This is definitely one of the series to pick up and is worth your time stick with.