Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Planet Of The Apes #16Planet Of The Apes #16
Boom! Studios
Gregory & Magno

Apparently I wasn't paying close enough attention because I was surprised to find out that this was the last issue of this amazing series. I didn't even catch on that the issue said "The End" on the final page. It wasn't until I read the editor's note in the back that I realized it. And that is part of the flaw of this issue. This issue doesn't resolve very much and really races from scene to scene, I guess to highlight the characters that have been involved in this series up to this point. This is at the cost of this issue because some of them simply don't get much more than a couple of lines of dialogue as if to remind us that they are there. I was not thrilled with this issue, which is a first out of sixteen.

Basically, the humans launch an offensive on the Ape strongholds that include their human camps as well as the core Ape city. The threads have been coming together for a while as Sully has been gathering weapons and men to assist in the battle. The real turning point is with the Ape leadership falling apart.

The Apes are divided and there is a surprise reveal as to why this is the case. If anything, this does provide a good ending to the series because we are given some resolve in terms of how the Ape government has collapsed. However, this is probably the only real resolution. Apparently the signs have been there all along, but now I will have to go back and look through the prior issues.

The other plot threads are sort of left out there. Whether it's Sully's son or the hairless Gorilla on the boat, these little pieces are still hanging around to be picked up (hopefully) in a future series.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsMagno delivers a very good story artistically. There are plenty of epic images, as usual, and the story does contain the same high level of detail we have become accustom to in this series. Whether it is just tense character situations or gun fire picking off apes from a sniper, the art delivers again and again. Overall, this is a beautiful comic book.

I loved this series. Yes, there is an annual coming out next month but it doesn't seem like it will continue any of this story. The note in the back promises more from these characters, but the question is when. This is a down issue in an otherwise amazing series.

3 out of 5 Geek Goggles