It’s a good day for the world to end, again.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tim Seely, David Walker
Art: Fernando Dagnino
Colors: Sandra Molina
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
What They Say:
God told men they would rule over all the creatures of the earth. The Lawgiver told the apes to beware the beast man, and for good reason. Now as the worst aspects of both species rise up in hatred and fear, two brothers—one man, one ape—hold in their hands the future of life on earth as they try to change the destiny of the Planet of the Apes.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The craziness of this series has been something that has been a delight throughout its run and that does continue here at the end, though it all feels like a book where the journey is better than the ending. Walker and Seely have thrown so many things at the reader with such craziness that it feels like I need a breakdown like the Primer movie has. Dagnino has definitely captured a lot of it well with some very fun action sequences along the way and some grin inducing quirks and inside bits that just make it all the more engaging. As it hits the end here, however, it feels like we’re just barrelling toward a conclusion that doesn’t quite have the weight it needs to feel right.
With the timeline that we’re now in with Tarzan running around with Caesar and trying to figure out how to survive, their problems only grow with the death of Taylor and Ursus now even more intent on destroying what he sees as a threat to simian civilization. That’s coming at the same time that Zaius is trying to keep things on track in the Forbidden Zone with the ship that’s being worked on while now having the arrival of the time displaced Dr. Milo in the picture. Milo is a consistent piece in the various timelines as he sees how things go badly over and over but he’s so broken and incapable of figuring out how to break out of this cycle of destruction that it almost feels like he’s embracing it and wanting to be there for it because it’s the one few consistent things that he sees,
The unique thing this time, however, is that we do have Tarzan and Caesar here and they’re trying to figure out how to keep it all alive. With so much chaos in their past and loss, having them back with their parents is a weird moment to be sure and it has its surreal moments when it comes to Zira and her being brought in by Ursus to interrogate Tarzan. It all builds to a weird head as the focus turns toward the Forbidden Zone and the atomics that are going to be used out there, but it ends with a kind of impassioned whimper of a plea to find a way to break the cycle of violence because Tarzan and Caesar are there. It works in the moment but as the ending piece it just rings a bit hollow and unearned. It feels like it needed something bigger and more distinctive, and daresay crazy, to really come together right.
In Summary:
While by no means a bad book, the final installment of Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes simply feels weak in comparison to what came before. It’s a simple end that’s more dialogue based after a spurt of violence and that leaves it not really driving home the kind of powerful moment it needs to feel like it matters amid all the timeline craziness. Seely and Walker really put in some creative stuff across this series but it’s also one that should have been a dozen issues or more to flesh it out and expand it rather than something this compressed. Daganino’s artwork was great throughout it and really give it the right tone and roughness to feel like a part of the original works. This is a series that I think will really read well in one full sitting and just trying to break down all the references and inspiration is far too much fun.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics, BOOM Studios
Release Date: January 25th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
