Boom! Studios 2017
Written by Ryan Ferrier
Illustrated by Carlos Magno
Coloured by Alex Guimaraes
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
So Zira and Cornelius with Zaius have found Kong and tribe of humans that live on the island and worship him. They speak as they are isolated and haven’t had that somehow bred out of them and they have welcomed the expedition in friendship, one that seems to be wearing a little thin. Meanwhile Ursus is hatching plans of his own, the bloody violent kind that we’ll go into later.
I love the writing here that Ryan is doing. The characterisation is so good and that Zira talking to Ni’Ta was like she was trying to warn her that the nature of her people wasn’t friendly. Which brings me to the whole Apes aren’t better than humans they are pretty much a violent version of them. Branching off the same tree after all and according to chromosomes and DNA we’re cousins so it isn’t that far-fetched that they would exhibit these violent tendencies only experience them in a more aggressive manner in line with their “wild” beginnings.
Ryan is a genius here with how he’s structured the story and the ebb & flow of both information revelations as well as the violence. He continues to impress me with not only the way we see the differences in how Zira and Cornelius think but also how Zaius is so wishy washy and Ursus who honestly should be killed for all his treasonous acts still manages to sway Zaius to his ways. Now with different humans and a shoot to kill ask no questions and bring back trophies Ursus is opening a can of worms that will forever change Ape City.
The best thing about all this is that regardless of which section of the story you want to focus on there isn’t one part that doesn’t feel like it’s exactly what that franchise should be like. If you go based on the cinematic releases, the originals mind you not these newfangled messes they make for the masses, then this fits right on into both their universes. Now if you were going to make a feature film out of this story that would be what fans want to see because it’s the original elements that makes this a fan favourite.
One of the smartest moves Boom makes is hiring Carlos to do the illustrations. The man has a beautiful eye for storytelling as we see through the page layouts and how we view the angles and perspective in them. Then there’s his attention to detail in every panel of every page including those backgrounds to create an effect that is as close to cinematic as you can get with artwork. His work transcends illustration and art and moves into this realm of something else and it’s and experience you should be having. Alex does a masterful job colouring all this and being able to keep the highlights of Carlos’ work intact. The two work extremely well together.
Any time I get to see Cornelius and Zira in action I’m going to take it, as a kid I remember them fondly and being friends with Charlton Heston and being ingrained in my psyche. That alone brings a kind of familiarity and pleasure to the reading we can’t get by using the newer versions. I mean this is a complete and utter wow factor in every aspect from the writing through it’s plot, story advancement and characterisation all wrapped up in some the most exquisite interior artwork around.
Boom! Studios does a crossover within in it’s company using two franchises that were made for one another and tells a story that will resonate with readers.