Review: Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm #1

It is eight years before a human named Taylor drops from the stars, and society on Earth – at least that of the Apes – is at its pinnacle. The ancient caste system remains in place, but not even the most conservative of the orangutans can deny that the rumblings of revolution have been felt – even in a seemingly perfect world.

Meanwhile, the mute humans are considered animals, unhealthy and dirty and banned from Ape cities. It is the low ebb for homo sapiens, or so it would seem--

It is this world – the Earth that precedes the coming of the famed film franchise – that is being investigated by Planet of the Apes mini-series writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman in this new ongoing, Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm. The writers explore characters familiar from the movies as well as new ones who will play key roles in the course of the adventure. Actually seeing longtime favorites like Dr. Zaius brought onto the comics page is one of the story’s highlights.

Artist Damian Couciero continues the standard set by others in previous Apes books here at BOOMby keeping the tone of the renderings true to the film genre from which it came, and insuring that every Ape is as individual as human characters would be today. His panel usage and feel for the script are superb, seeming to promise a great ride with this new comic.

There is adventure in the dusty deserts, pageantry in the abodes of the Apes, and fans of the original films will thrill again at the detail in every panel. And the story itself makes next issue a must-read!

BOOM has itself another cosmic classic, it seems.