From 2001: The first issue of Titan Magazine's brief PLANET OF THE APES comic, based on the Tum Burton movie.
The series, edited by John Freeman, marked the first time that the POTA saga had enjoyed a regular slot in British comics since the strip was dropped from the pages of THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL in June 1977.
This series ran for only a few issues before being dropped. The film, although successful, failed to really spark the imagination and didn't encourage fans to rush out and grab the merchandise.
The bulk of each issue reprinted strips from the US Dark Horse comics.
The terms of the license meant that neither the strips nor the accompanying text features could feature the original five films/ TV show/ animation/ comics saga.
Across the Atlantic, the movie tie-in comics proved equally short-lived although the Apes saga has subsequently returned, from different publishers, several times. None of those strips have been reprinted in the UK.
The recent (excellent) revival of the film franchise has seen Titan return to the saga, albeit not with comics. They've published the hardback book EVOLUTION OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and a traditional done-in-one officially licensed magazine based on last year's film.
The back cover above shows some of the POTA merchandise that accompanied the film.
When I first saw these I thought they were "Marvel" comics with the corner box. There were 5 issues and there was also a soft-back accompanying "annual" - " LEO'S LOGBOOK ".
ReplyDeletePlanel of the apes...?
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I had this one until a few years back when I foolishly threw it out...wish I hadnt now
None of the recent versions can hold a candle to the original bunch of movies.
Although its been a hoot to see Shatner and Heston interact in the trek / apes crossover comic...imagine that happening in a movie.....the prequel / sequel comic from BOOM ! aint bad either.
I'd agree that the 1968 POTA film is a classic despite its' flaws (it's rather hard to swallow that Taylor never once suspects he's on Earth) but the rest of the films got increasingly stupid and illogical and were clearly being churned out to make money without any real thought (how exactly do the apes take over the world in "Conquest" and how have they all learned to speak in "Battle" which is set about ten years later). The ending of the 2001 POTA film is actually much more in keeping with Pierre Boulle's original novel.
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