Reviews- PRODIGY. VOL. 1: THE EVIL EARTH, PLANET OF THE APES ARCHIVE VOL. 2: BEAST ON THE PLANET OF THE APES, THE IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 1: OR IS HE BOTH?, and THE IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 2: THE GREEN DOOR

PRODIGY. VOL. 1: THE EVIL EARTH (Image, First Printing, 2019; Softcover)

Collects Prodigy. #1-6 (cover dates December, 2018- June, 2019)

I like Mark Millar. His stuff doesn't always fry my mind but there is usually enough of a hook to intrigue me enough to keep going. I'm not sure if I'm in for the next volume or not. This is close to his Nemesis series, and I enjoyed that one a lot more than I did this one.

PLANET OF THE APES ARCHIVE VOL. 2: BEAST ON THE PLANET OF THE APES (Boom, First Printing, 2017; Hardcover)

Collects material from the Planet of the Apes Magazine #1-11, 21 (cover dates August, 1974- June, 1976)

I am hoping that Disney buying Fox means that Marvel will eventually get the Planet Of The Apes license back and we can get proper, comprehensive reprints instead of Boom's arranged by storyline method of collecting. While these are nicely done books I prefer material to be collected in publication order. I'm glad that these were finally reprinted. They have since been falling out of print and are now commanding some money on eBay. I'm keeping mine.

THE IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 1: OR IS HE BOTH? (Marvel, First Printing, 2018; Softcover)

Collects Avengers #684 and Immortal Hulk #1-5 (cover dates May-November, 2018)

THE IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 2: THE GREEN DOOR (Marvel, First Printing, 2019; Softcover)

Collects Immortal Hulk #6-10 (cover dates November, 2018- February, 2019)

I had heard endless great things about this title, so when I saw them at the library I had to give them a spin. Wow! This is very similar in tone to the first six issues of The Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, only infused with modern sensibilities. The original take on The Hulk was Horror/monster-tinged, Cold War paranoia. This take is similar, replacing The Cold War paranoia with the horror of humanity and conspiracies involving our own Government, who seek to weaponize the methods which made Bruce Banner turn into The Hulk.

The Absorbing Man appears in the second book, and he is one of those villains that never ceases to make me smile when he shows up to fight someone. They have reissued both of these trades in one hardcover. I will pick this series up at some point in some format. Time and money are both in shorter supply these days for me when it comes to comic books, but this is a series that I would like to reread.

Review- PLANET OF THE APES: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

PLANET OF THE APES: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE (Boom, First Printing, 2019; Softcover)

Collects Planet of the Apes: The Time Of Man #1 and Planet of the Apes: The Simian Age #1 (cover dates October- December, 2018)

Writers: Jeff Jensen, David F. Walker, Ryan Ferrier, Dan Abnett, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Matt Kindt

Artists: Jared Cullum, George Schall, Lalit Kumar Sharma, Carlos Magno, Morgan Beem, and Matt Smith

Colorists: Jared Cullum, George Schall, Gabriel Cassata, Gabriel Cassata, Morgan Beem, and Joana Lafuente

This book compiles two giant-sized one-shots which were both anthologies of various points in Apes history. One was set in the original quadrilogy (sic?) continuity, the other in the more recent trilogy continuity. It's a fairly mediocre bunch of stories, perhaps the laziest Apes offering that Boom has done yet. It's like they are trying to kill the brand with these uninspired rehashes. The only ones that seemed worthwhile were the nod to the original Marvel black and white Apes magazines storyline Terror On The Planet Of The Apes and the Cloud And Rain story which showed Koba's subversion in action.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Dustjacket and Hardback Cardstock cover notes: Thick cardstock with a matte finish.

Review- PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS

PLANET OF THE APES: URSUS (Boom, First Printing, 2018; Softcover)

Collects Planet of the Apes: Ursus #1-6 (cover dates January- June, 2018)

Writer: David F. Walker

Artists: Chris Mooneyham (#1-3) and Lalit Kumar Sharma (#4-6)

Colorist: Jason Wordie

General Ursus is featured prominently in the original Planet Of The Apes movie as well as the sequel, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes. Identified by his bulbous helmet, he is the leader of the gorilla army and always at odds with the orangutans. This is his story, with the events of the first two films as seen through his lens. The all too familiar proceedings wind up being little more than a backdrop to his motivations as a character.

The biggest problem with the story of General Ursus is the same problem you have when you go into the backstory of any iconic character. Be it Michael Myers, Freddie Kreuger, etc, once you have to fill in some blanks you ultimately have to somehow humanize them in order to make them relatable to the reader. This robs the villain of his or her ability to scare the reader (or viewer). Ursus is the gorilla who famously said “The only good human...is a dead human!” and “The only thing that counts in the end is power! Naked, merciless force!” Do those sound like the words of a gorilla who misses his late wife? This borders on being fan fiction, catering to folks so bored with repeated viewings and readings that we have to insert filler into a character to amuse themselves.

I have loved every single Apes series by BOOM that I have read until now. While I've avoided the crossovers (I have no desire to POTA commingle with, say, Star Trek, Tarzan, etc) the rest have been winners. While this wasn't a bad read it fell below the high benchmark which BOOM has set with these comics over the past eight years. The artwork in this series is the weakest in the line yet. Consider this to be a hiccup in an otherwise successful line of comics.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding glued into a cardstock cover.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte coating resistant to scuffing.

Review- PLANET OF THE APES ARCHIVE VOL. 1: TERROR ON THE PLANET OF THE APES

PLANET OF THE APES ARCHIVE VOL. 1: TERROR ON THE PLANET OF THE APES (Boom, First Printing, 2017; Hardcover)

Collects material from the Planet of the Apes Magazine #1-4, 6, 8, 11, 13,14, 19, 20, 23, 26-28 (cover dates August, 1974- January, 1977)

Writer: Doug Moench

Artists: Mike Ploog, Frank Chiarmonte, Tom Sutton, Herb Trimpe, and Virgil Redondo

I am thrilled to see these black and white Marvel magazines from the 1970s finally get a proper high end hardcover treatment. I am disappointed that BOOM decided to collect them by story rather than chronologically by issue. Aside from the three film adaptations from these magazines which Malibu collected in trade paperbacks and the first four chapters of this story reissued in comic form in the early '90s, this stuff has been out of the public eye for over 40 years.

Like the original film, this story uses a wafer thin allegory on racism to drive its point home. Jason, a human, and Alexander, a chimpanzee, are forced to work together to save each other and the city that humans and apes share at this point in time in Apes continuity. This being a comic book, Moench and company are free to go off of the rails with sets and characters. We are introduced to some great characters, such as Gunpowder Julius, Steely Dan, Lightsmith, and Gilbert. All of them have clearly defined personalities and all are as important to the overall story as Jason, Alexander, and the head of the Ape Supremacists, Brutus.

This being the '70s, some things haven't aged well. Take Jason, for example. He is supposed to be an adolescent, but his hotheadedness and impulsive lashing out at those who care for him border on emotional abuse. This is somewhat common in Bronze Age comics. People were portrayed as macho with short tempers and a self-righteous attitude. This is easy to say here in 2018, where things are so much better with kids being prescribed psychotropic drugs on the regular and school shootings being a routine event. Come to think of it, maybe kids should be allowed to blow their top once in a while.

Terror On The Planet Of The Apes is widely considered the highlight of the Apes magazine series. I owned some of these as cheapo back issues circa 1983, and the few parts that I read never wowed me more than any of the other stories in each issue. I enjoyed them all equally. Pieced together and read as one story, I get why these had such a huge impact at the time. They are still good reads but I am looking forward to the stories in the other Archives even more. #4 was my favorite as a kid, the story where a human was blind and the ape crippled (or vice versa) and they tied themselves together to survive in the wasteland with all sorts of weird monsters. I haven't read or seen it in 35ish years but I am really looking forward to revisiting that one.

I am thrilled that BOOM has collected the entire series minus the Apeslayer stories (licensing?), but wish that it were done chronologically. Oh well. Just a couple of years ago this line was nothing more than a fantasy. Now it is real and I own them all.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework restoration: BOOM scanned and cleaned up original magazines for this volume. They were granted access to the film for the next three volumes in the series. The restoration in this volume is acceptable but not great. It's readable but linework is occasionally washed out with the filtering process, particularly on Ploog's uninked pencils-straight-to-press stuff.

Paper stock: Thick coated semi-glossy stock.

Binding: Sewn binding with eight stitches per signature. Book lays reasonably flat. These super squared spines are annoying, as they have a hard edge to them when you hold them in your hand. I understand that these books are not meant to be read but to be displayed on bookshelves for shelf porn threads, but readability should be a consideration.

Hardback cover notes: Matte casewrap with a cover stamping where the logo is. While it is not embossed, it is a nice touch.

Review- WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (Boom, First Printing, 2018; Softcover)

Collects War For The Planet of the Apes #1-4 (cover dates July- October, 2017)

Writer: David F. Walker

Artist: Jonas Scharf

Colorist: Jason Wordie

Timing is everything. This prequel to last year's movie would have been more enjoyable had I experienced it when the single issues came out around the movie release. Instead these comics were released in a collection which was pushed back several times. As it stands, it is still a highly enjoyable read that fills in plenty of gaps between the second and third act in the rebooted trilogy.

If you enjoy the new Apes films then you will enjoy this. If you dislike them then you will also dislike this. I enjoyed the explanation of the virus as well as what drove The Colonel to go rogue. It's a brisk read and a pleasant way to spend an evening.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Super glossy coated stock. I'm not kidding. You get light glare with no lights on during the day, even when you are nowhere near a window. If you get stranded on a desert island and have this book with you then you could use the pages as a reflective substance to alert the search planes as they pass by.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte coated cardstock cover.

Review- PLANET OF THE APES VISIONARIES: ROD SERLING

PLANET OF THE APES VISIONARIES: ROD SERLING (Boom, First Printing, 2018; Hardcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Writers: Rod Serling, adapted by Dana Gould

Artists: Chad Lewis with David Wilson

Colorists: Darrin Moore, Miquel Muerto, and Marcelo Costa

Rod Serling's movie treatment for Planet Of The Apes is the stuff of legend. It is set in a futuristic city like the book. The scenario is very, very similar to the original movie, only with an Ape City which looks an awful lot like Manhattan, robbing the Statue Of Liberty ending of all of it's shock during the twist ending. The rest of the differences are subtle and the story plays out more like a 90 minute episode of The Twilight Zone.

Serling did multiple swings at bat with his treatments, and this is sort of a hybrid of the later ones. The basic framework of the original film is largely unchanged. The Apes live in a society that appears to be the mid-1960s and are intelligent and civilized. Humans are primitive animals kept in cages. Elements of the original production art are utilized here. The original design of Doctor Zaius is used in this book.

None of the wow moments in the original movie are present here. The writers who came in after Serling punched things up considerably. If the movie were made to this script it would have been successful but not as fondly remembered. It's easy to take the movie for granted today, but those special effects were cutting edge stuff for their time.

This is a good read, but that's about it. It's not great. The artwork has a storyboard vibe to it, being left intentionally unpolished. I would have liked to see it spit shined to mid-60s photo realism perfection. I'm glad that this book was released, as Rod Serling's treatment deserves to be experienced after all of these years.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Hardback cover notes: Matte finish casewrap with no dustjacket. The spine is super squared, a trend that I will never understand. Looks great on the shelf, feels uncomfortable when you actually read the book.

Review- DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? OMNIBUS

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? OMNIBUS (Boom, Second Printing, 2017; Softcover)

Collects Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? #1-24 (cover dates June, 2009- May, 2011)

Writers: Philip K. Dick

Artists: Tony Parker

Colorists: Blond

Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? is the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner. Ridley Scott admits that he never made it through the entire book, and it shows when you watch the movie. While the table setting is the same (android bounty hunter Deckard, etc.), the goal posts are located in entirely different spots than the movie version which most people are familiar with.

This was a tough slog of a read for the first four to eight issues. Unlike any other comic book adaptation, this is a word for word transcription of the original novel. While I am not a fan of decompression, the first several issues are packed with so many words that they fall flat. Too wordy for a comic book, too many pictures for a novel. The huge swaths of words ruin the story flow and if I were a single issue buyer, or even if I bought the first trade back when it came out, I would have bailed on this series. It's a chore to read for a while.

This makes Don McGregor look like Bendis by comparison.

The story itself is very good, although the climax was kind of a whimper instead of a bang. This is where my preconceived notion due to the film ruined things. I imagine if you read the book in the '60s or '70s it was mindblowing, predicting anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, the ramification of technology in daily life, the questions technology would pose to humanity, etc. The book poses different questions and moral dilemmas than the movie did.

The focus of this story is also quite different from the film. Most animals are dead due to the fallout of nuclear war, and electric animals are very popular. Owning a real animal is cost prohibitive and a status symbol as well as a sign of empathy. Due to the new “religion” Mercerism, empathy is considered the greatest virtue one can have. The Penfield mood organ is basically Xanax, with people trying to follow Mercer's teachings. Deckard pursues these androids so that he can afford a real animal.

Rick Deckard is still an android hunting bounty hunter, and he is after six of a new kind of android who have illegally returned from an offworld colony. In many ways the version of Earth in the book is even more dystopian than in the film. There's a whole subplot with Isidore that is not explored in the movie. The Noir aspect of the film is entirely absent in the original book.

As a comic this is just okay. The artwork and coloring are both mediocre, with my kindest description being “adequate”. I dislike the color palette used, a sea of bluish grays and grayish blues, overly rendered and making everything look lifeless and dull, and not in a way that serves the story. The story is very good of course.

So should you buy this? Maybe. It's worth a read, but if your local library has it you might be better off checking it out instead of buying it like I did.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

The first printing has a red circle on the front cover instead of the blue one found on this printing.

Paper stock: Heavy glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte coating with embossed foil spot varnish.

Review- DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (Boom, First Printing, 2015; Softcover)

Collects Dawn Of The Planet of the Apes #1-6 (cover dates November, 2014- April, 2015)

Writer: Michael Moreci

Artists: Dan McDaid with Inking by Adam Gorham

Colorist: Jason Wordie

This mini-series takes place two years after the Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes movie. It shares the name of the second film in the re-rebooted Apes franchise, but it's more of a bridge between the two films.

The story centers around a family of three at the end of the old world. Power systems are failing and people are reduced to an almost Mad Max, post-apocalyptic roving band of marauders cliché. Further complicating matters is that Rita has contracted the simian flu. Malcom wants to leave their home and travel to Austin, where there are rumors of a cure. I won't go into certain plot points here because they would spoil the story.

Koba's ambition to usurp control of the apes from Caesar is already apparent, as he conspired with Pope to go behind Caesar's back and leave the ape city to investigate. Koba is ruthless, as anyone who saw Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes knows. The rest of the gaps of the hows and whys of the second film are all set up here. I just wish that this series came out before the film.

I have no idea what is next for Boom's Apes series. They seem to have devolved into silly crossovers with Star Trek, Tarzan, and now Green Lantern, all of which I am boycotting because crossovers suck. They don't seem to be putting out any new material otherwise. They did announce a line of Archives which are going to reprint Marvel's black and white magazine by storyline rather than order of publication. I am excited to see them finally reprinted, and I hope that they publish them in the original magazine dimensions like Dark Horse and Dynamite have done with the Warren Magazines (Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella).

With another Apes film due next summer I'm hopeful for more new, non-crossover comics. BOOM has done right by the property thus far.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Unlike most Chinese made books, this one does not have that sweet toxic smell. I was kind of disappointed, to be honest with you. Huffing toxic Chinese made books is my favorite past time.

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding in a softcover. I'm not sure how much more durable sewn binding is on a glued softcover, as it isn't attached to cloth, but it sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside anyhow.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte coating on a thick cardstock cover. Unlike many “frosted” matte coatings, this does not scuff easily.