The Mystery Continues...
Set 1200 years before the original movie, the groundwork is being set to show us how man- and ape-kind got to where they were in the movies. After the assassination of the ape Lawgiver by a human, the hunt is on for answers before a war explodes.
The Good
The first issue had me curious and now that we're in the second issue, you can see we're starting to get somewhere. Essentially we don't start at the beginning of the story. We already know what happens way before and way after the events occurring here. As we are introduced to different characters, you get a great sense that this is a world that has existed before the comic started showing it to us. The characters have a history with each other and we're starting to see little bits of that. Both apes and humans want to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the assassination.
The introduction of the ape, Nix, is a great addition. He has the obligatory mysterious past but we quickly see how formidable he is plus he isn't as narrow minded as the apes we usually see in the movies.
The story is moving on and things are heating up.
The Bad
For some reason, even though I'm enjoying this series, I have this skeptical feeling at the back of my mind. It might (unfairly) be because I've read some mediocre Planet of the Apes comics before and I have a strong fondness for the original movies. So far, I am deeply curious about what is going to happen. The action is building up but I don't know if I can say I'm crazy about the direction it appears to be headed. The clash between man and apes is inevitable. But what I'm enjoying is seeing all the bits in the background, finding out more about the men and apes in this time period between the present and future from the movies. I'm hopeful that this clash that is approaching will only serve to bring about an even more exciting story afterwards.
The Verdict
This is pretty much uncharted territory in the Planet of the Apes mythos. We know there is a lot of time between the present and the time of the original movies. The great thing is this series drops us right in. You get the sense that the world has been moving on and everything hasn't just been fabricated for the sake of a comic book. Daryl Gregory is setting the story up for a big clash between men and apes. There is a mystery behind the assassination of the leader of the apes. Seeing both sides try to solve that mystery has been intriguing these past two issues. Carlos Magno does a great job in giving us the visuals of this time period. The apes sometimes look a little off but otherwise, you can almost say they look better than the original make up designs from the original movies. Planet of the Apes is great for fans of the original movies and new readers can dive right in to explore this new world. The way this issue ends, a bunch of ape and man poop is about to hit the fan.
