Tuesday, 27 June 2017

1999: APESFAN PLANET OF THE APES RODDY McDOWALL SPECIAL EDITION

From 1999: A special 'Farewell to Roddy McDowall' edition of the American PLANET OF THE APES fanzine APESFAN.

This title - other than this issue - didn't seem to have much - if any - distribution here in the UK.  This was the only issue I ever spotted, in London's Forbidden Planet on New Oxford Street.  I don't think I ever saw it plugged in PREVIEWS so I assume it wasn't carried by Diamond.

McDowall, of course, appeared in all the original POTA movies (he sneaks into BENEATH - which he otherwise skipped - thanks to footage from the first film) and the live-action TV series.  He also hosted the excellent (find it on the DVD or BR boxsets) feature-length documentary BEHIND THE PLANET OF THE APES.  His other STARLOGGED-centric work included FANTASTIC JOURNEY and the weekly series (not the pilot) of TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY.  He could also be relied upon to spice up any TV Movie or guest spot that he was booked for.

The next in the modern cycle of POTA films is out this summer and - across the year - there are several paperbacks and - finally - reprints of the old Marvel strips planned or already published.

fans of the original cycle should also look for the several, mostly unofficial, retrospectives that appeared alongside the 2001 reboot.  The quality can be patchy but - across the board - they are a good little nostalgia hit.




3 comments:

  1. Both issues of APESFAN, as well as all of the issues of SIMIAN SCROLLS and APES CHRONICLES, can be found on my PLANET OF THE APES archive:

    http://pota.goatley.com/

    Hunter

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  2. Hi Hunter. Thanks for the link. That looks like it is going to be a great vault of Apes stuff to hunt around in.

    I was a regular reader of SIMIAN SCROLLS but hadn't realised that it was still going. I will have to catch up on the recent issues that I have missed. Thank you.

    I'm looking forward to the new film: I think it is the highlight of my summer cinema season. Let's hope it's a good 'un.

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  3. There's a lot of great stuff on my site, graciously contributed by APES fans around the world! I hope you enjoy it all. The latest issues of SIMIAN SCROLLS are particularly good.

    While I still prefer the original prosthetic makeup to the CGI of the new films, they have been great films, and I'm looking forward to WAR, too. A friend of mine saw an early screening and said it was great. I've been avoiding all the trailers and articles because I want to be completely surprised.

    Hunter

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