| Bôken'ô | |
| |
| Publisher | Akita Shoten |
| Cover Date | April 1968 |
| Mangaka (Artist) | Jôji Enami |
This 63-page 'movie adaptations' special issue bessatsu ('volume') of the monthly manga magazine Bôken'ô (/ Bouken ou - 'Adventure King', first published in 1959) included an adaptation of Planet of the Apes written and drawn by Jôji Enami and published in 1968. The adaptation was also included in an 'Adventure King' quarterly collection.
Synopsis[]
The storyline follows that of the movie, but with a few extra scenes added. Notably, this adaptation includes a lengthy sequence showing the expedition launch and has a completely different design for the spacecraft. The crew has increased to four men and one woman; 'Anne'. During the flight, Anne is revived and suffers a mental breakdown when she realises they are being propelled into the far future. She starts smashing the ship equipment and in doing so revives another of the astronauts from his hibernation chamber. He wakes to find her ageing rapidly and fights her to prevent her sabotaging the remaining astronauts' life-support systems. As the spaceship approaches an unfamiliar planet the three surviving astronauts are revived and find the corpses of their two colleagues. They guide the craft to a crash-landing in water. As they escape on a life-raft they are attacked by a sea monster. The conclusion of the story featuring the Statue of Liberty was omitted in order to retain the shock value of the film which was then still in the cinemas.
Notes[]
- Another manga adaptation of the original movie followed in 1971. Additionally, Japanese special edition magazines commemorated the first two Apes films, while Battle for the Planet of the Apes was also adapted in comic format in 1973.