Planet of the Apes: September 2009 Archives

Here's another set of Planet of the Apes covers from Marvel's 1970s magazine.  These covers are different from the last set--not related to the movie adaptations.  They showcase Marvel's original apes stories.

Planet of the Apes #14:  Killer Gorillas on a Manhunt!  I love how the gorilla in the center is aiming the rifle right at the viewer.  The orange hue shining against their uniforms and the water is really cool.

Planet of the Apes #3: Jason and Alexander travel to the Forbidden Zone.  A very popular vacation destination on the world of the Apes.

Planet of the Apes #4: Jason and Alexander meet Gunpowder Julius and his band of coonskin cap wearin' Apes!  This was one of the wildest inventions of Doug Moench and Mike Ploog.

Planet of the Apes #26: Gorillas mashed up with Viking armor, on a conquering cruise!  This wasn't the only sea-bound Apes adventure.  Doug Moench and Tom Sutton also did a series of "city-ship" Apes stories that were wildly imaginative.  Nuff said.

Update: While I received these POTA covers from a different source, I learned that they originated from Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive.  Dave Ballard wrote to alert me--he was also the person who retouched the covers.  Check out that website, they've got some unpublished Doug Moench scripts and many other cool Ape-related things.

Marvel had some great Planet of the Apes cover paintings in the 1970s, that evoked scenes from the movie series.  Here's a number of them, with the cover logos removed.

Planet of the Apes #7: The classic Statue of Liberty is shown in the background as Brent (James Franciscus) and Nova flee a Gorilla posse.

Planet of the Apes #8: Brent and Nova again on the run in a Beneath-inspired cover.  I had a great crush on Linda Harrison, who played Nova in the first two movies.  I thought Earl Norem, who painted this cover, liked her a lot as well.  Uncle Sal Abbinanti recently disclosed his Nova thirst on Around Comics episode 252, to the bewilderment of Tom Katers.

Another interesting aside:  Linda Harrison starred as Wonder Woman in an unaired 1967 pilot, according to Wikipedia.  She would have been a natural fit for the WW costume!

Planet of the Apes #10: The Gorillas have met their match with the mind-bending mutants.  Brent and Nova cuddle next to the nuke for safety.

Planet of the Apes #12: Cornelius--the good hearted chimpanzee who aided Taylor and Brent in the first two films--makes his Escape from the Planet of the Apes.  The cover shows a scene we never saw in the movie--Cornelius' astonishment at watching his planet explode.

Planet of the Apes #21:  Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.  Watch out Jessica Simpson, those red-suited Gorillas are taking over the world!  I love this movie and the rioting scenes!  Roddy McDowell's speech (as Caesar) at the end is worthy of Shakespeare.

Planet of the Apes #27: Battle for the Planet of the Apes, the climatic fight between Caesar and Aldo in the trees.  Aldo actually killed Caesar's kid in this movie.  I cried buckets.

Did anyone have the reaction that I did when after seeing Battle?  I desperately wanted to learn what happened to Caesar and his Great Society.  The ending shows the Lawgiver making a sermon in the future, where Caesar's statue sheds a tear.  More tragedy must have occurred after the final film.  It seems like this mystery will never be solved.  Nuff said.

Update: While I received these POTA covers from a different source, I learned that they originated from Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive.  Dave Ballard wrote to alert me--he was also the person who retouched the covers.  Check out that website, they've got some unpublished Doug Moench scripts and many other cool Ape-related things.

How big was Planet of the Apes in 1974?  Big enough for these giant-size ads in Marvel’s black and white magazines.

Here’s my favorite: Giant-sized wall-hanging figures with eight movable parts.  Cornelius is featured front and center, with Spider-Man on his side.  The Cornelius figure is actually taken from a Mike Ploog drawing from Terror on the Planet of the Apes—the Alexander character.

Don’t ya just love that guy in the suit and tie staring admiringly at these giant pin-ups?  If a respectable adult likes them, it must be ok for a kid to buy it!

Someone still has these fading figures on a wall somewhere.  I just know it.

If you wanted to declare your Apes devotion in public—you could wear one of these nifty belt buckles—and choose between the Chimpanzee, Orangutan, and Gorilla factions.  Notice something funny here: in this ad, there is a chimpanzee called Alexander as well as Cornelius!  There are also a couple mistakes.  The Cornelius image looks like a Gorilla; General Ursus is spelled Urus.

What I really love about this ad is how it also markets the product to Apes fans living in Texas.  If you don’t want a belt buckle, you can have a western tie!  Just the thing to wear to the rodeo.  Nuff said.

The entire nation, nay—maybe even the entire planet, was crazy about the Planet of the Apes in the early 1970s.  My love for the film series started as forbidden fruit.  I saw the original movie on a marquee while on vacation in Hawaii.  The title alone instantly grabbed my imagination.  I desperately wanted to see it, but I knew my parents would never go.  There was an Apes movie marathon that I tried to see at age 11, but the theater turned me away because some films were rated R.  Finally, in 1972, my brother in law took me to see Conquest of the Planet of the Apes.  What an epic Shakespearian movie that was, with Roddy McDowell’s Caesar leading an ape revolt, with that stunning speech at the end!  I caught up on rest of the Apes mythology when the original film was broadcast on CBS (around 1973?).  The high ratings on national TV resulted in an Apes TV show, which I highly anticipated.  Just when I thought the news could not get any better…

Marvel Comics announced in the bullpen bulletins that they would produce a Planet of the Apes black and white magazine!  Marvel and POTA, that was like Peanut Butter and Jelly in my mind.  The John Romita illustration of a chimpanzee in chains, with a militaristic gorilla holding him captive, just whetted my appetite even more.  Was that chimp supposed to be Caesar, who led the apes to freedom in Conquest and Battle?  I was desperate for either the TV show or Marvel’s comics to continue the story of Caesar.

It seemed like an eternity between seeing that ad and finding the actual magazine on sale.

When Planet of the Apes #1 did arrive in 1974, it was truly a giant-sized smorgasbord of Ape entertainment.  Two huge comic stories and a plethora of articles sandwiched in-between.  In the front section, Terror on the Planet of the Apes by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog.  I’ll cover that series later, but I will say, even though it didn’t feature Caesar, it was superb.  The feature in the back was a retelling of the first film, with art by George Tuska.  I was a bit disappointed in these film adaptations—just rehashing stuff I already knew—although I see why Marvel did it.

What I want to focus on now is—how great a magazine POTA was for hardcore Apes fans.  From the minute I opened the cover and saw this picture of Roddy McDowell firing a rifle (if I’m not mistake, taken from the TV show), I was in heaven.  This was only the beginning of behind the scenes material.

There was an interview with Rod Serling—the freaking creator of Twilight Zone—on the conception of the first film, where he provided the initial treatment.  Serling’s vision featured an Ape City that resembled modern day New York, with automobiles and skyscrapers.  Because Sterling’s version would cost way too much money, producer Arthur Jacobs went in another direction and gave Mike Wilson the script to rewrite.  A few of Sterling’s ideas that made it into the completed film; the Statue of Liberty ending and the scene with the stuffed astronaut’s belonged to him.  The interview just didn’t cover Apes, they also discussed Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and his other work.

How great would a modern day Apes film be if they used some of Serling’s ideas?  Tim Burton hinted at that world in his remake, but didn’t get the chance to make the sequel that would carry it through.

In addition, there was a behind the scenes article on the special effects makeup used to turn the actors into apes.  If you have the Apes DVDs, you’ve probably seen these documentaries that feature John Chambers’ Academy Award winning process.  This article covered that stuff in great detail, and featured this photo of Maurice Evans taking a break during the first film.  It’s odd seeing sneaky Dr. Zaius with an umbrella to keep the sun away!

Later issues of POTA would have many more articles to satisfy the cravings Apes fans, including interviews with Roddy McDowell (who was the iconic face of the Apes films for me) and a series of interviews/articles on the POTA CBS TV show.  Quite a few of these articles were written by Chris Claremont after he visited the set during the production.

Was there any chance that I would ever miss an issue of this incredible magazine?  No way.  I took a “Lesson From the Lawgiver” (in this ad from the first issue, drawn by Pablo Marcos) and subscribed immediately.  The magazine lasted for three years until issue 29, and while some issues fell apart, almost each of them had something to make you go Ape over. Nuff said!