Review: Kong on the Planet of the Apes #5
Lifetime reader of comics and fan of Planet of the Apes. When the two combine I can barely contain myself. Image, Boom and Titan comics fight for shelf space with Doctor Who DVDs.
Boom! Studios keeps the Planet of the Apes franchise alive and well and this week sees the penultimate issue of the crossover extravaganza that is Kong on the Planet of the Apes. Our contributor, Darryll Robson, takes his usual jaunt into the world of the Apes to see how well the story is developing.
What’s not to love about this concept? Apes, apes and more apes; some of them giant in size. There are also vicious raptors, self-servicing Orangutans and power hungry Gorillas. It’s not often to you get to say this has it all and really mean it but this story really does have it all, in a Planet of the Apes sense.
As the story arc reaches its penultimate issue, the action begins to take over and the scenes readers have been waiting for finally arrive with a gusto. The whirlwind of an issue is majestically controlled by Ryan Ferrier and beautifully realised by Carlos Magno and Alex Guimaraes. But is it everything that we have been waiting for?
Synopsis
With Raptors running rampage in the streets of Ape City, Ursus rallies his troops to protect the Ape citizens. That protection, however, does not extend to the Humans.
Cornelius desperately searches for Zira while Zaius repents his unwise actions. He warns Cornelius to look after himself and for a moment the orangutan gives up, wallowing in despair. And, unbelievably, things are about to get worse. Kong, witnessing the threat to the Humans he identifies with, finally awakes from his own melancholy and breaks loose.
Meanwhile, something important is happening in the Forbidden Zone.
Analysis
As the series readies itself for next month’s finale, this issue ramps up the action and the confrontations that the reader has been waiting for since issue one. This is Ape versus Giant Ape in a battle to save a city and its inhabitants.
Although the main element of this issue has been coming from the very beginning, the way in which it has unfolded and the twists the narrative have taken to get here have been captivating, making this payoff worthwhile. It’s not a surprise but it is satisfying. The fight sequences are bloody and terrifying with a high threat element. Both the raptors and Kong himself are depicted in ways that cause major concern to the Apes running around, especially as it hasn’t been confirmed if this is part of recognised continuity or not. At this stage in the game it’s not clear if any of our regular Ape characters are going to be killed off in a shocking twist.
Ryan Ferrier keeps the reading on the edge of their seat by throwing all of the characters into the fray, sparing no-one. As chaos reigns Ferrier brings the characters back together, ready for the final phase of this crossover. It has been a wonderful story so far and the only problem with this issue is the amount of space taken up with action. It’s been coming and is not a surprise but it does make the page turning much quicker than pervious issues.
However, if you do take the time to linger, the art work by Carlos Magno, and colours from Alex Guimaraes, are sublime. The violence of the Raptors compared to the sheer brute force of Kong both belittle the Apes of the city. Magno and Guimaraes soak the former in blood splatters and washes of red while shadows coat every panel with Kong, adopting grey and black as their dominant colours.
The energy in the panels breaks out across the page. The movement helps the reader skip through the pages at a heightened pace equal to the narrative which is a shame because it’s worth taking the time to soak up the beautiful images. Concepts of power and intimidation dictate some of the composition, especially in scenes with Zaius and Kong. Both of these characters are to be feared in their own way so Magno draws them from below, towering over the reader.
There is an interesting element to the narrative which plays out at the end of this issue, giving it a subdued cliff-hanger that I wasn’t expecting. The violence was foreshadowed but this is an intriguing twist. The payoff is risky, though. If it isn’t handled right it could become a mess but Ferrier and Magno have so far proven that they know what they are doing; we are in safe hands and I’m convinced that the final issue will be the pinnacle of the series.
Darryll Robson is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Occasionally he remembers his Twitter account: @DarryllRobson, but he does remember to write more about comics on his website comiccutdown.com
Monstrous
Although not the best in the series, the kinetic action sequences are expertly rendered and the story naturally flows towards the finale next month. This issue makes big promises that makes the next issue impossible to miss.