O my God! I was wrong! It was earth, all along!
July 11, 2010 12:25 PM Subscribe
Marvel Comics' Planet of the Apes magazine (1974-1977) , now forgotten by all but a few comics readers and genre film buffs, was canceled abruptly, leaving in mid-stream a story intended to go on for years. Now writer Doug Moench has allowed the original manuscripts of his unused scripts to be published for the first time, providing (some) closure to longtime readers and a fascinating look at how comics scripting happened way back when.
Previously!
The Jack Kirby Planet of the Apes that almost happened
An accounting of all the Planet of the Apes comics. ALL the Planet of the Apes comics.
Previously!
The Jack Kirby Planet of the Apes that almost happened
An accounting of all the Planet of the Apes comics. ALL the Planet of the Apes comics.
grumblebee's post is only about the covers -- and mostly aboout U.S. covers vs. foreign covers.
This is definitely more plot-heavy.
posted by vhsiv at 12:36 PM on July 11, 2010
This is definitely more plot-heavy.
posted by vhsiv at 12:36 PM on July 11, 2010
There should be a contractual obligation to link this to any post mentioning PotA.
posted by The Michael The at 12:57 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by The Michael The at 12:57 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
i was not aware Dr.Zaius authorized the use of color?
posted by clavdivs at 1:05 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 1:05 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is great stuff. Most people don't realize that Planet of the Apes was among the first serialized, cross-media film franchises -- sequels, toys, comics, cartoons, etc.
Without Planet of the Apes, there's no Star Wars.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:26 PM on July 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Without Planet of the Apes, there's no Star Wars.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:26 PM on July 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
a fascinating look at how comics scripting happened way back when.
It probably should be noted that this is what they call the Marvel style of scripting, where the artist works from an outline and then dialogue is added after the art is done - a style pioneered by Stan Lee, whose outlines were by all accounts way less descriptive ("Hey Jack, go do a story with Galactus, or something.")
posted by Artw at 1:42 PM on July 11, 2010
It probably should be noted that this is what they call the Marvel style of scripting, where the artist works from an outline and then dialogue is added after the art is done - a style pioneered by Stan Lee, whose outlines were by all accounts way less descriptive ("Hey Jack, go do a story with Galactus, or something.")
posted by Artw at 1:42 PM on July 11, 2010
Interesting stuff. It's funny, for some reason I never liked Moench that much--I'm not sure if it was something about his writing style, or something he said in an interview, I can't even remember now, but something rubbed me the wrong way back in the day--but this shows a real enthusiasm for his work. (And I realize that exclamations like "holy shit" probably wouldn't have made it into the book, even if they'd been part of a script (which they aren't here) but seeing Moench use "shit" a couple of times in his outline reminds me that these non-Comics Code Authority comics magazines of Marvel's had a bit more leeway in what they could show (e.g. breasts) than the regular line of comics, something that Marvel occasionally took advantage of in the seventies, particularly in their horror-themed books like Tomb of Dracula.
There's also an implicit debt to Jack Kirby's work in the late sixties and early-mid seventies at DC and Marvel, particularly things like Kamandi and even his bizarre run on Black Panther. I mean, my initial reaction to reading about "Smashore, a 9-foot-tall albino Gorilloid with a hole in his head to propel bombs, a utility belt, bionic eyeballs able to shoot death rays, and laser-shooters in his fingertips" is to say you gotta be kidding me, but then I remember that in a Kirby 70s comic, that would have been one of the less rococo concepts.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:38 PM on July 11, 2010
There's also an implicit debt to Jack Kirby's work in the late sixties and early-mid seventies at DC and Marvel, particularly things like Kamandi and even his bizarre run on Black Panther. I mean, my initial reaction to reading about "Smashore, a 9-foot-tall albino Gorilloid with a hole in his head to propel bombs, a utility belt, bionic eyeballs able to shoot death rays, and laser-shooters in his fingertips" is to say you gotta be kidding me, but then I remember that in a Kirby 70s comic, that would have been one of the less rococo concepts.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:38 PM on July 11, 2010
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posted by kittens for breakfast at 12:27 PM on July 11, 2010