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''Planet of the Apes''–based comics have been published regularly since 1968. Among the most notable is [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[Planet of the Apes (magazine)|Planet of the Apes]]'' magazine, published from 1974 to 1977. The black-and-white series featured adaptations of each of the films, new ''Apes'' stories by [[Doug Moench]], series news, essays, interviews, and other material. It became one of Marvel's most successful titles, attracting 300 to 400 fan letters with every issue, so many that the studio had to suspend its practice of writing personal responses. Marvel also published the monthly title ''Adventures on the Planet of the Apes'' from 1975 to 1976, comprising color reprints of the ''Planet'' and ''Beneath'' adaptations.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=164–166}}
 
In 1990, during a resurgence of interest in the franchise, [[Malibu Comics]] launched a new monthly black-and-white ''Planet of the Apes'' comic through its Adventure Comics studio. The debut issue sold 40,000 copies, a record for black-and-white comics, leading to a successful run of 24 issues over two years. The series follows Caesar's grandson and heir Alexander as he struggles to govern ape civilization. The comic's success led Malibu to publish five four-issue spin-offspinoff [[Comic miniseries|miniseries]]: ''Ape City'', ''Planet of the Apes: Urchak's Folly'', the ''[[Alien Nation]]'' crossover ''Ape Nation'', ''Planet of the Apes: Blood of the Apes'' and ''Planet of the Apes: The Forbidden Zone''. Malibu also published two [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] comics, ''A Day on the Planet of the Apes'' and ''Planet of the Apes: Sins of the Fathers'', a prequel story to the original film; a [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] collecting the first four issues of the main series, titled ''Monkey Planet''; and reissues of stories from Marvel's earlier ''Apes'' series.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=171–175}}
 
[[Gold Key Comics]], [[Dark Horse Comics]], and [[Boom! Studios]] have also produced ''Planet of the Apes'' comic books. The Boom! releases include crossovers with other properties: 2014's ''[[Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Sciretta|first=Peter|date=July 25, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2016|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/star-trek-planet-of-the-apes-crossover/|archivedate=September 14, 2015 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914201104/http://www.slashfilm.com/star-trek-planet-of-the-apes-crossover/|title=Star Trek/Planet of the Apes Crossover Announced By Boom Studios|website=slashfilm.com|publisher=/Film}}</ref> and 2017's [[King Kong]] story ''Kong on the Planet of the Apes.''<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/kong-planet-apes-exclusive-first-look-comic-mini-series/|title= Kong on the Planet of the Apes: Exclusive First Look at the Comic Mini-Series|last= Gross |first=Ed |date= August 9, 2017|website= www.empireonline.com |publisher=Empire |access-date= January 12, 2018}}</ref> In 2018, Boom! released a graphic novel, ''[[Planet of the Apes: Visionaries]]'', adapted by [[Dana Gould]] and Chad Lewis from the original 1968 film's unused screenplay by Rod Serling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/08/30/planet-of-the-apes-visionaries-offers-a-glimpse-at-the-rod-serling-apes-movie-that-couldve-been|title=Planet of the Apes: Visionaries Offers a Glimpse of the Rod Serling Apes Movie That Could've Been|website=IGN|date=August 30, 2018|author=Scott Collura}}</ref>
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==Themes==
===Race===
Critics consider [[Race (human categorization)|race]] to be the ''Planet of the Apes'' series' primary theme.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=2}} Eric Greene, author of a book on the role of race in the original films and spin-offspinoff material, writes that "when seen as one epic work, the ''Apes'' saga emerges as a liberal allegory of racial conflict."{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=1}} In Greene's interpretation, the franchise's plot arc is rooted in the central conflict in which humans and apes alternately subjugate one another in a destructive cycle.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=23}} [[Difference (philosophy)|Difference]] between human and ape manifests primarily in physical appearance, and dominance derives from social power rather than innate superiority. Each film shifts the power balance so that the audience identifies sometimes with the humans and at other times with the apes.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=9, 21, 33}} According to Greene, this arc's central message is that unresolved racial discord inevitably leads to cataclysm.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=23}} Other critics have adopted or echoed Greene's interpretation.{{sfn|Von Busack|2004|pp=171–173}}{{sfn|Davis|2013|pp=246–247}} Producers Abrahams and Jacobs did not consciously intend the first film's racial undertones and did not appreciate them until [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] pointed them out in 1968.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=2–3, 16, 19–20}}{{sfn|Russo, Landsman, and Gross|2001|p=89}}{{sfn|Davis|2013|pp=245–246}} Subsequently, the filmmakers incorporated the theme more overtly in later installments; as a result, race moves from being a secondary motif in the first two films to becoming the major concern of the last three.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=19–20, 71–73}}
 
Several critics have written that the reboot films downplay this theme from the original series, removing the racial subtext of conflict between humans and apes. These critics generally argue that this is to the films' detriment, writing that it softens the series' edge,<ref name=Gonzalez>{{cite web |url= https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes|title= Rise of the Planet of the Apes |last= Gonzalez |first=Ed |date= August 4, 2011|website= [[Slant Magazine|Slant]]|access-date= January 30, 2017}}</ref> leaves it thematically shallow,<ref name=Emerson>{{cite web |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/apes-and-allegories-what-is-the-meaning-of-this|title= Apes and allegories: What is the meaning of this?! |last=Emerson |first= Jim |date= August 12, 2011 |website= rogerebert.com |access-date= January 30, 2017}}</ref> and marginalizes non-white characters;<ref name=Goodkind>{{cite news |last= Goodkind|first=Seth |date= December 19, 2011|title=Enlightened Racism in Rise of the Planet of the Apes |url= http://paracinema.net/2011/12/enlightened-racism-in-rise-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/|newspaper= Paracinema |access-date= January 30, 2017}}</ref> several critics have written that the films appear to invoke a "[[post-racial America]]", rather than exploring issues of race.<ref name=Gonzalez /><ref name=Emerson /><ref name=Goodkind /> Others write that the films incorporate racial themes in subtler ways, but that their presentation oversimplifies a complex message to the point of reinforcing racial norms rather than challenging them.<ref name=Goodkind />{{sfn|Chidester|2015|pp=7–10}}
 
=== Cold War and nuclear apocalypse ===
The Cold War and the threat of [[nuclear holocaust]] are major themes introduced in Rod Serling's original ''Planet of the Apes'' script.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=25–28}} The films are [[Apocalyptic fiction|apocalyptic]] and [[dystopian]], suggesting the era's tensions could well lead to world destruction.{{sfn|Kirshner|2001|pp=43–44}}{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=8–9, 22–23}} The films critique both sides of the war, with the oppressive ape society and the underground mutant city featuring traits of both Western culture and the Soviet bloc.{{sfn|Kirshner|2001|pp=43–44}}{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=65–67}} According to Greene, Cold War motifs were central to the first two films and some spin-offspinoff media, but were less significant in the later sequels, which foregrounded racial conflict instead.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=72, 159}}
 
=== Animal rights ===
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''Planet of the Apes'' received popular and critical attention well after production ended on the original films and television series.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=164}} Fans' interest in the franchise continued through publications like Marvel Comics' ''[[Planet of the Apes (comics)|Planet of the Apes]]'' magazine{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=164–166}} and [[science fiction convention]]s, where the series was sufficiently popular to inspire "apecons"—conventions devoted entirely to films involving apes—in the 1970s.{{sfn|Southard|1982|p=23}} The series' distinctive ape costumes were employed in live appearances, including by musician Paul Williams ([[Virgil (Planet of the Apes)|Virgil]] from ''Battle'') on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' and by [[Mike Douglas]] on ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]''.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=164}} In the 1970s, fans Bill Blake and Paula Crist created Cornelius and Zira costumes; their routine was convincing enough that Fox licensed them to portray the characters at events.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=164, 167}} The films earned strong ratings when they aired on television after their releases and various stations rebroadcast them together in [[Marathon (media)|marathons]] in later years.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=152, 169}} The live-action television series was reformatted into five TV movies for further broadcast in 1981{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=168}} and the [[Sci-Fi Channel]] ran both it and the cartoon series in the 1990s.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=169}}
 
''Planet of the Apes'' had a wide impact on subsequent popular media. In terms of production, the series' success with sequelization, spin-offsspinoffs and merchandising established a new model of [[media franchising]] in Hollywood filmmaking, in which studios develop films specifically to generate multimedia franchises.{{sfn|Von Busack|2004|p=165}} In terms of content, the series influenced various films and television productions during the 1970s and 1980s that used science fiction settings and characters to explore race relations, including ''Alien Nation'', ''[[Enemy Mine (film)|Enemy Mine]]'', and ''[[V (science fiction)|V]]''. More direct influence can be seen in [[DC Comics]]' 1972–1978 series ''[[Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth]]'' and the Japanese franchise ''[[Time of the Apes]]'', which concern human protagonists in post-apocalyptic worlds ruled by talking animals.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=168}} [[Mel Brooks]]' 1987 science fiction spoof ''[[Spaceballs]]'' lampooned the original ''Planet'''s Statue of Liberty ending.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=169–170}}
 
Interest in the series resurged in the 1990s, as plans for a new film and other media circulated. Greene attributes this renewed interest to a combination of "pop culture nostalgia and baby boomer economics", as well as a "political ferment" rising at the time that hearkened back to the period when the films were first released.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=169, 170–171}} Inspired particularly by the publication of the Malibu Comics series, during this period fans founded new clubs, websites, and [[fanzine]]s active in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and other countries.{{sfn|Greene|1998|p=175}} Companies began producing new branded merchandise, including clothing, toys, and costumes.{{sfn|Greene|1998|pp=xv, 169}}
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