Review: Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #2 (of 4)

 

General Aleron seems to have violated the most sacred of the Lawgiver’s edicts: Ape does not kill ape! First he is on the run, then imprisoned in the nightmarish location called … The Reef! And it seems the only witness who may assist the down-fallen general is … a human who cannot speak?

Truly, scribes Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have taken the essence of the blockbuster Planet of the Apes comic and imbued that into this four-part mini-series, Betrayal.

In #2, we see the furtherance of conflict between ape and ape 20 years before the arrival of the human called Taylor. Caste systems are beginning to be set up with gorillas as the muscle. But Aleron is one muscle-man whose world has come shattering down around him.

Now that the Powers That Be have sentenced him to The Reef, what other hells will this apparently innocent soldier face and how will a human get him free of this treason?

Bechko and Hardman give us an intriguing script that is brought to vivid life by the art of Hardman. The artist brings energy to the mood of the story, capturing both the vibrant action in Aleron’s escape and the facial and bodily expressions of these beasts as they interact with one another. Kudos also to Jordie Bellaire whose dim colors and shadows play to the mood of Hardman's art and the tone of the sci-fi franchise.

Anyone reading BOOM’s Planet of the Apes series should pick up this mini. It expands the mythos greatly and fits, as always, within the lore of the films.

In short, you should go ape for Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes!