Captain's Library BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Conclusion

When Last We Left the Apes and Mutants...

Ape leader Caesar, and his advisiors, orangutang Virgil and human MacDonald, search the radioactive Forbidden City for electronic files about Caesar's parents and what the future holds for Earth.

The trio find the info, but the mutated human inhabitants of the ruined city find them.

Though the explorers escape, the mutants, now aware of their existence, follow...

It's unknown how many differences between this adaptation and the movie (such as General Aldo attacking Virgil instead of Ceasar's son Cornelius) were the result of working from an early draft of the script, or an attempt to keep the story "kid-friendly".

Captain's Library BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

Cover of British Magazine. Art by Ron Wilson and Mike Esposito

A decade after the conflict that devasted the Earth, ape leader Caesar leads an expedition to the Forbidden City in search of videotapes of interviews with his parents which would explain what the future holds for both apes and humans...

Tomorrow:

The Apes of Wrath!

(Sorry, couldn't resist...)

Note: the above cover is from the British reprint of the Marvel b/w magazine version of Battle.

As you might have guessed, it was grittier than the Power Records version.

In fact, it was a bit more graphic than the film itself.

BTW, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens today.

Why not go see it?

Captain's Library BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Part 1

With Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opening tomorrow...

...let's look back at the flick from the original series it seems most thematically-linked to...

Tomorrow:

The Forbidden City!

(You'll see why it's forbidden!)

If the comic looks unfamilar, it's because this is the never-reprinted Power Records comic adaptation of the 1973 movie.

It was packaged with a 45 rpm record that presented the comic story like an old-time dramatic radio show with a full cast, music and sound effects.

However, Power didn't use the movie's cast, music or sfx.

They used their own in-house people instead.

In addition, the story seems based on an early draft of the script.

And Marvel Comics did a serialized adaptation of the film for their b/w magazine, but it's almost 100 pages, so Power (which had adapted a number of existing Marvel comics into audio adventures) decided to do an all-new, shorter, comic...in color.

Packaged by the Arvid Knudsen & Associates studio, the exact credits are unknown, but it's speculated that one or more Phillipino artists handled the illustrations.

To me, it looks like Tony DeZuniga, who was doing work for Marvel, DC, and Warren.

Captain's Library & Theatre: SPACE: 1999 "This Insect Earth" Conclusion & "Return to the Beginning"

When Last We Left Our Space-Going Refugees...

Art byArnaldo Putzu

...the synopsis below covers everything you need to know up to this point!

The next story arc takes them to Mars, still over a thousand years in the future!
This tale from the British Look-In magazine was written by Angus P Allen and illustrated by John M Burns (who had worked on Lady Penelope, and other Gerry Anderson-based strips, but is best known for his art on Judge Dredd and Dan Dare).

Yesterday, we mentioned another version of the "Moon returns to Earth in another time period" plot, so here it is...
"Return to the Beginning" as presented by Power Records!

It's the second and last Power Records story (besides "Breakaway") adapted into comic form.

(The other Space: 1999 audio stories weren't illustrated.)
Art by Rich Buckler, Russ Heath, Mike Netzer, Alan Weiss, and Dick Giordano (and possibly other Continuity Associates/Crusty Bunker personnel).

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The Complete Series

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Captain's Library: SPACE: 1999 "Breakaway" (Power Records) Conclusion

We have already seen...

Art by Rich Bucker and Dick Giordano

Problems plague the upcoming Meta Probe mission and newly-appointed commander of MoonBase Alpha, John Koenig, discovers the "official" story to be a pack of lies with the "virus" ravaging the personnel actually being magnetic radiation from the nuclear waste pits on the far side of the Moon.

And there's another, unexpected, problem besides the deterioration of human brains and bodies...

The writer who adapted the screenplay is unknown, but the art is by Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, and Neal Adams' Continuity Studios team.

There were two lp albums from Power Records of Space: 1999 stories.

The first one featured three adaptations of Year One stories: "Breakaway", "Death's Other Dominion" and "Mission of the Darians".

Only "Breakaway" was adapted into separate comic book form with a 45 rpm record.

The second lp album, despite having Year Two cover photos (including Maya and Tony Verdeschi), consisted of two Year One adaptations; "Dragon's Domain" and  "End of Eternity" and two original tales; "Return to the Beginning" (adapted into comics form with a 45 rpm lp record) and "It Played So Softly on the Ear" which were both based on the Year One format.

Oddly, though rocketry pioneer Wernher Von Braun gave the show a commendation, noted science fact/science fiction author Isaac Asimov railed against the series' scientific inaccuracies in a couple of newspaper and magazine articles, HERE and HERE.

"Breakaway" is probably the single most-adapted tv show episode or movie in history!

In English alone, there's no less than three different comic book versions (all of which we've presented), plus a novelization, a short story that appeared in the first British Space:1999 Annual, as well as the story being adapted into EC Tubb's epic EarthFall novel which, after the incidents of "Breakaway", did an "alternate-universe" story covering decades, and finally returning a second generations of Alphans to Earth!

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Captain's Library: SPACE: 1999 "Breakaway" (Power Records) Part 1

We previously presented the audio version of the pilot episode...

...but, since we've received several requests for the tale in standard page format, here it is!

Tomorrow: The Explosive Conclusion!

The writer who adapted the screenplay is unknown, but the art is by Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Frank McLaughlin, and Neal Adams' Continuity Studios crew.

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The Complete Series

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