- Written by: David F. Walker
- Art by: Dave Wachter, Andy MacDonald
- Colors by: Bryan Valenza
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
- Cover art by: Joshua Cassara, Dean White
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 12th, 2023
Planet of the Apes #4 finds Juliana Tobon and her ship of apes besieged by the Exercitus Viri in the first recorded battle where apes were used as the primary defenders.
Is It Good?
Planet of the Apes #4 marks a first in the decades-long franchise’s canon. It’s the first time humans and apes fought side-by-side, so Planet of the Apes (POTA) completionists may want to take note of this issue for the milestone it represents. As a comic, however, this issue may be the best representation of a POTA series David F. Walker manages to deliver, even if it comes much too late to make a difference in a badly floundering miniseries.
When last we left Juliana Tobon and her ship of apes, they had reached the United States shores, but their ship was intercepted by heavily armed and coordinated Exercitus Viri (still a terrible name) terrorists. Meanwhile, readers were offered the vague origin surrounding one man who eventually become a coordinator of the terrorist forces.
Now, the battle is joined, narrated through a conversation with the Secretary-General from a debrief after the battle ends. We learn the hard-to-believe extent of the Exercitus Viri’s globally coordinated attack. We learn how major cities, such as Washington D.C., were unable to repel a ragtag collection of terrorists with a combined group of military and civilian forces. And we find out that Tobon’s battle is the only battle to weather the Exercitus Viri siege and the first battle where apes took up arms for their own cause.
At the heart of the issue is an interesting concept about apes evolving just to the point of becoming a formidable force. Within the timeline of POTA history, Walker manages to fabricate a noteworthy moment within the canon.
However, the moment feels fabricated because it requires a suspension of disbelief too heavy to bear. How did a ragtag group of terrorists get the people, training, resources, and weapons to stage a global, coordinated attack against every major ape refuge across the planet? How did a loose network of terrorists assemble enough power to attack major cities with enough force to overwhelm in-place military and civilian militia? It’s a bridge too far, presumably because Walker began this series as an incredibly heavy-handed allegory for the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst traits of humanity coming out of that event. Does Walker believe that, had the COVID lockdowns continued, the anti-government and anti-vax sentiment would have coalesced into some kind of terrorist organization? Who knows, but it sure feels like Walker is trying to vent a message to the detriment of the story at hand.
How’s the art? The art is fine to very good. We finally get some ape action in this issue, which is a considerable step up from every previous issue, so Wachter and MacDonald deliver the goods when it’s needed.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Planet of the Apes #4 finally gives POTA fans what they want – smart, evolved, formidable apes. Unfortunately, the boost this issue provides comes much too late in the miseries and only comes through a too-much-to-believe contrivance in the form of a super-powerful terrorist group.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 