Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Planet Of The Apes #12Planet Of The Apes #12
Boom! Studios
Gregory & Magno

This is the big finale of the long, sweeping arc that changed the landscape of the Ape and Human culture. This issue provides an excellent climax to the lives of Bako, Kale, Alaya, Sullivan and her baby. The comic book pushes the story forward 10 years at the end to pick up the strands that were left in the wake of this issue's shocking ending. It's a great ending (this part of the story) to what has been a great book. The future of the title looks very promising, but I urge you to read the previous eleven issues before picking this book up. The emotional impact is slightly lessened if you haven't followed these characters around for the full run.

Basically, the Ape tree is on fire, caused by humans. In the chaos, Bako and Kale attempt to rescue Sullivan (and presumably her baby) by heading into the burning tree. Kale proves that he is full of tricks and weapons that aren't necessarily fully explained, but still manage to provide some delightful surprises in this issue. Bako is very determined to rescue Sullivan and while it is not known if he is the father or not, it is clear he has deep feelings for Sullivan.

Eventually, Kale clears Sullivan from the tree while Bako heads up into the fire to rescue the baby. He is met with a terrific battle from a worthy and familiar opponent. The ending is very shocking.

Who lives and who dies isn't really the importance of this story. Yes, characters do die, but the story lives on and the impacts of this issue remain in plot threads that get picked up ten years from where this story leaves off. The book has the depth to pull this off and still provide a level of insecurity for the safety of the main cast going forward.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork is very good but it is not perfect. During the key battle there are some transition issues. For example, a character removes a knife from his boot with his left hand but stabs with his right. This doesn't take away from the story but it is noteworthy. The joy of the book is the expressions of pain and emotion as the book's drama unfolds. Also, the book's scenes inside the tree do have that Towering Inferno feel to them, which is an excellent characteristic of the art.

Boom! is doing something right with this title. They have a book that taps into the rich history of the franchise while providing an epic tale that still manages to drop cliffhanger after cliffhanger, issue after issue. Boom! is also one of the last publishers to still provide twenty-two pages of story for the four dollar cover charge (even IDW has dropped down to twenty pages). Planet of the Apes has action, drama, political overtones and plenty of heartache. This is a good comic book and this specific issue is an extremely powerful read. I definitely recommend this book.

4.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles