Review- EXILE ON THE PLANET OF THE APES

EXILE ON THE PLANET OF THE APES (Boom, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Exile on the Planet of the Apes Nos. 1-4 (cover dates March- July, 2012)

Writers: Corrinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman

Artist: Mark Laming

This new series in Boom Studios' ever expanding Planet of the Apes line takes place 18 years before the story in the original 1968 movie. Read this immediately after you read the Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes trade paperback, which was set 20 years before the original film. 

The gist (with S P O I L E R S)- Some of the outlying ape villages have been experiencing an increase in supply raids from the humans. Humans who are coordinated. Humans who can communicate. This causes the ape council to investigate the chimpanzee scientist Doctor Prisca. Prisca was the last person who knew how to teach sign language to humans. Councilor Zaius suspects Prisca of training more humans how to sign. Prisca discovers that Tern, the human whom she trained to sign is alive and behind the raids. He leads her to the human settlement in the Forbidden Zone. A settlement led by General Aleron, who was believed to be dead but has been living in exile with the humans, coordinating their medical supply runs. Timon, Prisca's fellow chimpanzee scientist, is caught spying on the mounting ape army and leads Zaius and the army into the Forbidden Zone settlement. Aleron sacrifices himself by blowing up the pass to the Forbidden Zone, sealing it off and basically creating a mountain separating it from the apes. The humans flee the city to find a new place to settle. (End spoilers.)

I normally try to give general plot outlines and leave out the specifics but found it difficult to describe this book without going into greater detail due to the fact that it ties in so closely to the Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes mini-series.

All of these Boom Planet of the Apes comic books have been great, with top notch writing and artwork. Exile on the Planet of the Apes is no exception. If you are, have been, or think you will be an Apes fan, then you might want to check this stuff out. I just wish that Boom would reprint the old black and white Marvel Magazines from the '70s.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Boom Studios' trade paperbacks are manufactured in China and smell nice.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. This book has a nice, thick coated stock of paper.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 3.5 out of 5. I dislike the thin coating used on the cardstock cover, as it scuffs too easily for my taste.