After Marvel finished its adaptation of Battle for the Planet of the
Apes, the magazine needed to move in a new direction, now that all
five films had been adapted. To that end, as of issue 30, writer Doug
Moench intended to make his Derek Zane storyline (about an inventor
lost in the future after building a time machine to rescue Taylor's
crew) the main focus of the book.
The result was "Journey to the Planet of the Apes" (originally
known as "Return to the Planet of the Apes," but re-titled due
to the animated series using that same name). "Journey" would
have been a multi-arc storyline that would have lasted until around
issue #60, taking Zane on a variety of adventures into other eras and,
ultimately, to other worlds. Moench completed an 18-page outline for the
first chapter of the saga, entitled "The Secret of the City."
The storyline was cut short, however, when Marvel—pressed for
increased licensing fees from APJAC Productions—abruptly canceled
the magazine before issue #30 could be produced. This first chapter of
"Journey" thus remained unpublished, as did several other
stories Moench had written for upcoming issues.
"Future History Chronicles VI: The Captive of the Canals"
would have picked up where the fifth chapter of that story left off,
with the main characters finding a great city known as Sexxtann, and
encountering Her Majesty's Cannibal Corps. In part 6, readers would
have learned more about the Cannibal Corps, while also meeting Her
Majesty, a giant female gorilla captured by the humans of Sexxtann,
known as the Industrialists—descendants of citizens from several
African nations who blamed apes and Caucasian humans for the planet's
devastation, and thus decided to form their own isolated civilization.
In an interview I conducted with Mr. Moench for Simian Scrolls
magazine, he described the tale as a "King Kong riff."
Moench also wrote a new chapter of "Terror on the Planet of the
Apes, Phase 2," subtitled "To Meet the Makers." This
story, which took place immediately following the previous
"Terror" chapter, introduced the Makers' latest creation:
Smashore, a 9-foot-tall albino Gorilloid with a hole in his head to
propel bombs, a utility belt, bionic eyeballs able to shoot death rays,
and laser-shooters in his fingertips—a reminder that although it
was set in the Planet of the Apes universe, Marvel's "Terror"
was, first and foremost, a comic book.
The above three unpublished tales are now available, after 30 years of
obscurity, thanks to Doug Moench, who provided them to me as
research for my book, Timeline of the Planet of the Apes. Moench
has graciously allowed his work to be shared with fans for the first
time ever.
Moench also wrote a fourth story, "Forbidden Zone Prime," of which he
no longer retains copies. Unlike the above entries, which appear to
exist only in script or outline form, "Prime" was fully illustrated
and lettered before its cancelation, and would likely have been
published in issue #30 had the series not been prematurely canceled.
A number of pages from "Forbidden Zone Prime" have surfaced online,
and can be found on this site, in the Marvel Ultimate Edition section.
