Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Comic Book Tie-In and Movie Review
By Roger Lee
The latest film in the Planet of the Apes franchise, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, is the latest in a long line of somewhat nihilistic films that delve into what it means to be human, or at least what it means to be civilized. The original inspiration for this franchise began with a novel, which was turned into several films in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as multiple comic book titles by various companies.
The original inspiration for the movies and of course, the comic books, was a novel written by French author Pierre Boulle in 1963 called La Planète des singes. The English translation of this title is Monkey Planet or Planet of the Apes. This in turn launched the first Planet of the Apes movie franchise, which began with a series of five Apes movies from 1968 to 1973. The first two films starred iconic actor Charlton Heston. A second attempt at a new franchise resulted in a largely forgettable film in 2001, starring Mark Wahlberg. The franchise rebooted again in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes with Andy Serkis in the role as the Ape leader Caesar.
Just as the film franchise has moved evolved over the decades, the love affair that the comic book industry has carried on with the Planet of the Apes has been on-again off-again. The first Planet of the Apes comic book (there was also prior manga Apes book) came from Gold Key, which published Beneath the Planet of the Apes in 1970 as a direct tie-in to the second of the Apes films.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes-Gold Key Comic
Marvel Comics got into the Apes business in 1974 with the publication of the Planet of the Apes Magazine under Marvel’s Curtis imprint. Marvel used the Curtis name to publish comics-related magazines so as to avoid the creative restrictions imposed by the Comics Code Authority. Marvel’s run of Planet of the Apes stories ran from 1974 to 1977.
Marvel Planet of the Apes Magazine
In the 1990s, Malibu Comics(which is now owned by Marvel) published a 47-issue Planet of the Apes title.
Dark Horse Comics released a comic book series that tied-in with the 2001 Planet of the Apes film.
Boom! Studios began publishing Apes prequel stories in 2011, and now, with the release of the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film in 2014, Boom! Studios is releasing a tie-in comic book during the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC 2014) as well as a six-issue Dawn of the Planet of the Apes title.
According to a press release from Boom! Studios:
"“Set directly after the events of 20th Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes film, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES: CONTAGION follows the story of Ellie (played by Keri Russell in the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film) as she struggles to find a cure for the pandemic before it claims her daughter forever. In this self-contained, one-shot issue, we see a slice of the descent of mankind as they succumb to the Simian Flu pandemic from the perspective of the CDC and various doctors and scientists trying to stop the outbreak.”"
Boom Studios Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Contagion
Just as the Planet of the Apes movie franchise continues to grow and evolve, so to we see the comic book adaptations move forward.
Oh, yes about the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film: It is set ten years after the last film, and shows how the ape society led by Caesar (Andy Serkis), has developed and grown. All is good in their forested world until the humans, who the apes had neither seen nor heard from in over two years, suddenly intrude upon their world. Without giving away major spoilers, the two societies clash and we see how very much like humans the apes can become, and we see how humans can react with animal fear and instinct when they feel threatened.
This film features very good acting by both the simian and the homo sapien actors. The audience knows the conflict is approaching, yet it is not easy to identify with one side or the other. There are tender, bittersweet moments in this film as well as action-packed human-ape battles and ape-on-ape physical action. This film is a must-see for any sci-fi fan or anyone who is going to follow the new Boom! Studios Planet of the Apes comic books. And be sure to stay for a post-credit scene that hints of apes to come.
With the ten-year gap between the events of these two most recent films, the Boom! Studios Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion comics will fill in the missing back-story of two of our main characters, Caesar and Ellie. More detail on this comic is set to be released at the San Diego Comic-Con.
UPDATE/CORRECTIONS: We would like to thank Rich Handley for catching a some errors in our original article. This update (as of 07/17/14) reflects Mr. Handley’s catch of our typ0 (we wrote Image Comics instead of Dark Horse), and a numerical error (we put 24 issues by Malibu rather than the correct 47). Visit Mr. Handley’s Facebook Page on Planet of the Apes Comics at https://www.facebook.com/