Planet of the Apes Adventures Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years

by Doug Moench, E.M. Gist (Cover Art), Gil Kane (Cover Art)

Collects Adventures On The Planet Of The Apes #1-11.

The simian sci-fi staple, in the mighty Marvel manner! Relive the classic films Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes as Marvel's 1970s color comic adaptations are collected in one action-packed volume! When a crew of astronauts crash-lands on a strange and desolate world, they discover a society of apes with heightened intelligence and speech! And here, a race of mute humans are their slaves! Can the mission's leader, Taylor, fight his way free and hold onto his humanity? What is the shocking secret of this Planet of the Apes? And what unfathomable danger lies beneath the surface? Find out when a second spaceship makes its way to this uncanny world and another astronaut faces a battle for survival, with the fate of the entire planet at stake!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

223 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2024

About the author

Doug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)

Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.

Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first discovered Planet of the Apes when I was a child, way back in the 1970s, by wathcing the TV series. I then started to read the comics. Now here I am, at the age 0f 59, and nothing has really changed!
This book reproduces the 1970's Marvel adaptations of the films Planet of the Apes & Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The stories follow the films pretty closely, but there are some nice changes along the way. The artwork is pretty good for its age & it was especillay nice to see the covers of the origial comics as well.
For me this was a great piece of nostalgia & a welcome addition to my Planet of the Apes book collection.

[Christopher Geraghty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope that one day Marvel will publish an omnibus collection of the Terror on The Planet of The Apes stories that appeared in the B&W magazine from the 1970s.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a graphic novel enthusiast, let me first point out that at 230ish pages this collection had no business being an Epic collection which are usually 500 pages. Yes - they lowered the price accordingly but it is the same problem I have with an omnibus of less than 500 pages. Call it something different. But they (Marvel) wanted to piggy back on this line to help increase sales.

Okay so this is the 70's adaption of the first two Planet of the Ape movies. The first movie is far superior to the second and it should come as no surprise the first half of this collection is far superior to the second. I am not sure we need a comic book adaptation of movies but the writer does a solid job of translating it to the comic book page. The artist George Tuska does an okay job as well. George is low on my list of "good artists" but he does a competent job, especially with drawing the apes. What you lose in the comic book (in contrast with the movie) is the action sequences don't work as well in comic book form (being chased by apes doesn't seem as threatening over 4 panels as opposed to a few minutes on screen with dramatic music) and I do miss Heston's over the top acting. It had been a while since I saw the movie so one thing I will note is the motives for the space trip seem very vague - what were they in search of? And why was this team selected because they seem to be the opposite of what you would need for this mission...they are individualistic, defeatist and don't have many skills.

The second part is based on the HORRIBLE movie Beneath the Planet of the Apes and this adaptation only served to remind me how horrible it was. The movie series actually gets better after this movie. They should have skipped this movie and gone to the third movie or (better yet) started writing original stories. It is no surprise the comic book series ended after this because I can't see any child wanting to read these issues (or watch that movie). Some of the lowlights - we start off with Taylor from the first movie but he then disappears until the end. The new "Taylor" is Brent and he was sent to find what happened to the original space crew with Taylor on it. Which makes zero sense. Also it makes zero sense they end up in the exact same time warp to land within a FEW MILES of where Taylor is. Another lowlight is the end - sorry to spoil it but it ends with Taylor in a stand off with the apes saying "I'll push the button to explode this bomb if you don't back off" (the bomb will destroy the whole planet) and they don't back down so ...he actually presses the butting and we end with 6 black panels of how the entire Earth is destroyed. Fun stuff. Real kiddie fare! As a review of the movie said "one of the most nihilistic movies ever". And it isn't earned. It isn't like the movie asked tough questions and we get that ending. We have a bunch of mutant humans who worship the bomb and are telepathic and...it is all so stupid.
Bad art - bad source material - bad everything for this half of the collection.

A big pass. Rewatch the first movie as an actual movie instead.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1970’s and 80’s, Marvel comics published comic book adaptations of a number of blockbuster sci-fi movies, including Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes, collected here. These adaptations were republished at one time by Malibu in black and white, but it’s been many years since they were available in their original, garish full-color format. The adaptations are pretty true to the original movies. The only complaint I have with the writing is the occasional Marvel-style snarky quips that are dropped into the story. Those added bits of dialogue seem out-of-place compared to the lines that come from the actual movie script. It’s a bit jarring at times.

The art is generally adequate to the story. Nothing too outstanding but not too terrible either. The human characters don’t look much like the actors, but my understanding is that was usually intentional in these old adaptations, stemming from legal issues around using actors’ likenesses in other media.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an incredibly disappointing purchase. It's hugely expensive for what it is - just 10 issues - and more of a hardback graphic novel than what we've come to expect from Marvel with the word 'Omnibus'. Don't waste your money, for the £100 odd price tag you can probably go on Ebay and buy the original comics. When it arrived, I felt like I'd been mugged.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comic is great however this gets 1 star for the price point

Absolute rip off

[Eric Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up ...

This is basically the first 2 movies. It's a fun read and takes me back to my childhood, but there's nothing earth shattering here.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Heard some praise for this series, so I checked it out. It really is a mid-70s classic bronze-age comics adaptation. After all these years, still more to discover.

[Mason Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid books basically just rehashed the original two movies from

[Tom Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume reprints the short-lived Adventures on the Planet of the Apes comic series of the 70's from Marvel Comics. Storywise, there's little to really say about the book. The series consisted entirely of adaptations of the original Planet of the Apes film and it's sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The writing is a faithful adaptation, but it doesn't really add anything to the story.

The art is really what makes these comics notable. The adaptation of the first film is pencilled by George Tuska and represents some of the most solid work of his that I've encountered. Beneath the Planet of the Apes is adapted by Alfredo Alcala and retains his lush linework, very different from the workmanlike lines of Tuska but no less effective.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, Bronze age goodness, I love the movies and this is a spot on adaption of the 1st 2 films , let's hope marvel gives us the rest of the stories from the magazines , even in b & w