Exile on the Planet of the Apes

Classic Planet of the Apes #7

by Gabriel Hardman, Corinna Sara Bechko, Marc Laming (Illustrator)

Set in the universe of the classic Planet of the Apes series comes an all new story of fan favorite characters including Doctor Zaius!

From the team that brought you BETRAYAL OF THE PLANET OF THE APES comes an all new Apes saga! Gabriel Hardman (HULK, AGENTS OF ATLAS) and Corinna Bechko (HEATHENTOWN, FEAR THE HOME FRONT) team up with red hot artist Marc Laming (AMERICAN CENTURY, THE RINSE) to take the fan-favorite franchise to all new heights in this can’t-miss mini-series. With ape society gripped in uncertainty, Doctor Zaius must find a way to unite the warring factions before they rip the city apart. It's up to one lowly chimp to seek out the famed, disgraced General Aleron deep in the heart of the Forbidden Zone, with a secret that might help — or destroy!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2012

Reviews

[Alfred · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well done and excellent

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new series in Boom Studios' ever expanding Planet of the Apes line takes place 18 years before the story in the original 1968 movie. Read this immediately after you read the Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes trade paperback, which was set 20 years before the original film.

The gist (with S P O I L E R S)- Some of the outlying ape villages have been experiencing an increase in supply raids from the humans. Humans who are coordinated. Humans who can communicate. This causes the ape council to investigate the chimpanzee scientist Doctor Prisca. Prisca was the last person who knew how to teach sign language to humans. Councilor Zaius suspects Prisca of training more humans how to sign. Prisca discovers that Tern, the human whom she trained to sign is alive and behind the raids. He leads her to the human settlement in the Forbidden Zone. A settlement led by General Aleron, who was believed to be dead but has been living in exile with the humans, coordinating their medical supply runs. Timon, Prisca's fellow chimpanzee scientist, is caught spying on the mounting ape army and leads Zaius and the army into the Forbidden Zone settlement. Aleron sacrifices himself by blowing up the pass to the Forbidden Zone, sealing it off and basically creating a mountain separating it from the apes. The humans flee the city to find a new place to settle. (End spoilers.)

I normally try to give general plot outlines and leave out the specifics but found it difficult to describe this book without going into greater detail due to the fact that it ties in so closely to the Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes mini-series.

All of these Boom Planet of the Apes comic books have been great, with top notch writing and artwork. Exile on the Planet of the Apes is no exception. If you are, have been, or think you will be an Apes fan, then you might want to check this stuff out.

[Francesca Giardiello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fumetto che si ricollega al vecchio film de Il pianeta delle scimmie, ambientato nel futuro dove le scimmie già dominavano e gli uomini erano diventati ormai delle bestie.

Ritroviamo Prisca e le vicende continuano proprio con gli stessi personaggi del film in un susseguirsi fra etica, diritti e volontà di sopravvivere. Una lotta per ciò che è giusto e per la propria specie.
Un ottimo fumetto per chi adora questo film e il genere in questione, scorrevole, buon connubio fra azione ed emotività, dialoghi ben presenti ma che riescono a non pesare mai sul lettore.

[David Cavaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story line about the renegade General Aleron and his quest for peace among humans and apes. Enjoyable! Story takes place prior to the events of the 1968 movie.

[Trey Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great little story. Expands on a few more characters from the films while introducing new ones. Good read

[Zoë Birss · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Exile, Hardman and Bechko continue the story from Betrayal, their excellent self-contained prequel to the original film. Unfortunately, though Hardman does continue to illustrate covers, we lose his beautiful contribution in the interior of this book. Fortunately, the new illustrator is competent in their role, and either already draw in a similar style, or successfully emulate Hardman. The story feels less like the self-contained gut punch that was Betrayal, and more like a segue into a larger continuing story. I look forward to reading Cataclysm, Hardman and Bechko's longer run in this world, to see where this book leads them when they have more room to breathe.

[Don Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picking up the saga two years after BETRAYAL OF THE PLANET OF THE APES left off, the banished humans are building an army against their ape oppressors, led by Tern, the only human capable of communication, and aided by a surprising ally…

The in-depth look into Dr. Zaius continues, as the orangutan’s greatest fear comes ever closer to a deadly reality. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman continue to impress with their vast knowledge and affection for the APES movies. The political parallels prevalent in the movies are nicely retained here. For all the boastings of their advancements, the ape society still exhibits the same prejudices as their human “predecessors” once did… chimpanzee, orangutan, and gorilla are definitely not viewed on the same social level.

Gabriel Hardman remains the co-author, but passes the artistic chores to Marc Laming, who also carries the torch exceptionally well. The characters are vivid in their depiction, evoking fond memories of the original series and the fantastic makeup design.

A thrilling chapter, with an ending worthy of all the APES movies. Excellent foreshadowing.

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BOOM! Studios comes the new and exciting Planet of the Apes adventure Exile on the Planet of the Apes. A sequel to Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes, the story picks up with a series of raids on several Ape City provinces by a group of trained humans, which provokes Dr. Zaius to lead an expedition into the Forbidden Zone to uncover the source. The art is quite good and stays true to the character and set designs of the original film. Additionally, the pacing is especially well-done; delivering a lot of strong action beats that engage the reader. However, much of the book is dependent on having read the previous series in order to know who the characters are and how they came to their circumstances. Yet despite some problems with the writing, Exile on the Planet of the Apes is a visually stunning graphic novel that continues to build an epic backstory to the Planet of the Apes film series.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Betrayal on the Planet of the Apes, I knew that I had to read this to see what happens to the characters. This story picks up two years later (possibly 3960). Aleron is leading an army of rebellious humans who know how to sign. The other apes are very concerned about him and about what the humans can do. Milo from Escape from the Planet of the Apes appears in this story, making me wonder how old he is. The ending seems very sudden, and the inclusion of the Statue of Liberty seems a bit forced. It was rather touching to see Timon pick up a human child, and it looks like he will have to take care of it now that it is separated from its family (which is somewhat reminiscent of Adam Rifkin's proposed 1988 screenplay Return to the Planet of the Apes). I loved seeing the humans be capable of revolution despite their lack of speech, and I wish to know the fate of the tribe that sailed northward.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the first volume which was focused more on political maneuvering, Exile on the Planet of the Apes has more action and a little less intrigue. There were not quite as many surprises as I had hoped, but I still felt like this is another satisfying Planet of the Apes story that really does a nice job using canon but not letting that ruin the story. The ending really pays off too. As I mentioned in the my review of the last volume, this art is really top notch. It looks retro and captures the feel of Planet of the Apes extremely well. These volumes may be short but I have read each one really quickly because I enjoy them so much. I'm already looking forward to starting to the next one!

[Patrick Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great 'Apes mini from Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman with Marc Laming taking up the art chores and not missing a beat. Like their earlier mini-series, Betrayal on the Planet of the Apes, 'Exile' takes place before the original movie. If you enjoyed Betrayal then by all means pick this one up, I think the trade will be coming soon.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues the story from "Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes." I thought the story lacked focus, and was less engaging than the previous installment. I would have liked to see more of Aleron's human colony in the Forbidden Zone, but it was introduced and dispensed with without being developed fully. The appearance by Dr. Milo from "Escape" was a nice touch.

[Joey Heflich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously great for any fans of the original movies.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome! is there more!?!?!

[Mhorg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent sequel

Following up on betrayal, this also, unlike some, remains faithful to the source material, while adding to it. A very well done, original story.