Planet of the Apes Annual #1: The Newton edition

This is the front cover to Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes Annual #1:

The cover image originally adorned the cover of Marvel's Planet of the Apes #11.

The contents are as follows:

[Terror on the Planet of the Apes] Evolution's Nightmare!, originally published in Planet of the Apes #5, February 1975

A Visit with The Fantastic Four, originally published in Fantastic Four #11, February 1963

The Hulk vs. The Thing, originally published in Fantastic Four #25, April 1964

The Avengers Take Over!, originally published in Fantastic Four #26, May 1964

There is an odd edit in Evolution's Nightmare. This is page 3:

This is page 4:

The black text caption at the beginning of page 4 reads "and the view from the other." In Marvel's Planet of the Apes #11, this caption appears on the preceding page, at the end of the panel with the speech balloon "...but it's human cunning that'll win this day." The edit was presumably compensating for the cropping at the bottom of page 3.

The listing of the contents above suggests that three Fantastic Four features were reprinted in this issue. This is not the case. Only the splash page to A Visit with The Fantastic Four is included from Fantastic Four #11. It is printed before the beginning of The Hulk vs. the Thing. The splash page for The Hulk vs. The Thing is not included. In effect, Newton have presented The Hulk vs. The Thing as beginning with the splash page to A Visit with The Fantastic Four. I'm not making this up:

Newton rectified this butchery later in their Team-Up Special in which they reprinted The Hulk vs. The Thing and restored the original splash page.

On the face of it it's quite bizarre for a Planet of the Apes Annual to predominantly carry Fantastic Four material. On reflection, my guess is that Newton rather cannily selected these Fantastic Four stories in particular in order to showcase not only The Fantastic Four but also The Hulk and The Avengers in an effort at cross promotion by piggybacking onto the success of the Planet of the Apes series, which had been the beneficiary of high profile promotional efforts. All three properties were advertised on the cover of the Planet of the Apes Annual, and I don't think they were indiscriminate padding. It may even justify the inclusion of the single page from A Visit with The Fantastic Four given the page promotes Fantastic Four comics.

The Evolutions Nightmare! chapter of the ongoing Terror on the Planet of the Apes serial, published in this issue, is set between Planet of the Apes #4 and Planet of the Apes #5. On this basis it would make sense for the Annual to have been published in between these two issues. The contest in this issue expires 15 September 1975. The expiry date for the contest in Planet of the Apes #4 was 8 September 1975 - one week earlier. The expiry date for the contest in Planet of the Apes #5 is 22 September 1975 - one week later. This settles it for me - these three issues were published over three consecutive weeks. And if Planet of the Apes #4 was indeed published 19 July 1975, as I suspect, then this Annual was published a week later on 26 July 1975.

The Annual was advertised a week later in Planet of the Apes #5:

Planet of the Apes #5: The Newton edition

The cover to Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes #5 originally appeared on Marvel Comics' Planet of the Apes #5.

The contents are as follows:

[Terror on the Planet of the Apes] Malaguena Beyond a Zone Forbidden, originally published in Planet of the Apes #6, March 1975.

This chapter follows Evolution's Nightmare! from Planet of the Apes #5 which was published in Planet of the Apes Annual #1.

Planet of the Apes [Chapter Two: World of Captive Humans], originally published in Planet of the Apes #2, October 1974

These five pages complete the reprinting of this chapter. 

There is no rehearsal of the summary blurb included in previous instalments, and no reference to the chapter title I Can Write! from Planet of the Apes #4:

The bottom tier is cropped to accommodate the inclusion of the rather rudimentary title panel

Planet of the Apes Chapter Three: Manhunt!, originally published in Planet of the Apes #3, December 1974.

Only the first 9 pages of this chapter are reprinted. There is no proxy title for the continuation of the chapter in the next issue, and all of the pages of this chapter are non-paginated, except for a crudely designated page 35 by hand. 

Page 38 is a mess - it has been printed in reverse:

The poster in this issue advertises the forthcoming Conan the Barbarian series:

The image is cribbed from the final panel in the story The Keepers of the Crypt which originally appeared in Conan the Barbarian #8, August 1971. This story was reprinted by Newton in Hulk King Size Annual #1 page 81:

This issue includes in-house advertisements for Conan the Barbarian #1, advertised as On Sale 30 August 1975, and Planet of the Apes Annual #1 as Out Now!

The contest expires 22 September 1975. As discussed in my post on Planet of the Apes Annual #1, I believe Planet of the Apes #4, Planet of the Apes Annual #1 and Planet of the Apes #5 were published over a period of three weeks. Accordingly I date this issue as being published on 2 August 1975. I note it's possible all three issues were published one week earlier than my schema, but I favour the dates as I've laid them out.

Update 9/12/2018: A further consideration of the publication dates in discussion of Planet of the Apes #7.

Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes #NN[18]

This is the cover to Planet of the Apes #NN[18]:

The cover image is a composite of two panels. The main image is from the first panel on page 41 of this issue:

As per the 125% bromide note above the image has been enlarged, and otherwise modified (the ape's spear is closer to Derek on the cover image than in the original panel).

 The second image of the gun wielding ape is from the last panel in Planet of the Apes #9 page 27:

The story contents are as follows:

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes Chapter 1: The Trip

[Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes] Chapter 2: Arrival

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes Part II Chapter 3: The City!

[Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes] Chapter 4: The Island Out of Time

[Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes] Chapter 5: Battle

Chapters 1 and 2 were originally published in Planet of the Apes #9, June 1975.

Chapters 3-5 were originally published in Planet of the Apes #10, July 1975.

According to the GCD, Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes was originally intended for an Annual, but was reformatted for publication in two consecutive issues. For this reason, Chapter 3 is also the beginning of Part II. 

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes  had previously been published by Newton in Planet of the Apes #'s 11-14. The chapters were chopped up in various configurations to fit the page count of individual issues which led to unfortunate surgical events such as the splash page above being the last page of one issue, and the story continuing in the next issue without the splash page. 

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes was also serialised in the UK Planet of the Apes series.

To the best of my knowledge, the first time Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes was published in full in a single issue was in this issue. Presumably it has been collected since, but I haven't come across a record of it in the GCD.

The non-comics content in this issue are as follows:

Simian Visions: The Written Worlds of the Apes, originally published in Planet of the Apes #19, April 1976

The Man Who Sold The Planet Of The Apes!, originally published in Planet of the Apes #5, February 1975

Exclusive Interview With Marvin Paige Planet of the Apes #7, originally published in April 1975

The Remaking Of Roddy McDowall, originally published in Planet of the Apes #8, May 1975

Knowing Your Place On The Planet Of The Apes!, originally published in Planet of the Apes #8, May 1975

Knowing Your Place On The Planet Of The Apes! is incomplete in this issue. Two of the pages are  printed out of sequence as standalone images, whilst two others are omitted altogether.

The non-comics content accounted for almost half the pages in this issue. The reprinting of a previously published story and the collation of a mass of previously unused non-comics material suggests the inventory of new material was well and truly exhausted.

This issue contains no issue number, no comics-related in-house advertising or competition or letter column. The only advertising is for pop music magazines on the inner and rear covers. 

Thanks to Mark Muller for advice re: the 125% bromide note.

Update 28/1/2019: In the original post I designated this issue #NN[19]. Given the new information to hand re: the post-August 1976 period I have now amended the issue number to #NN[18].

Planet of the Apes #8: The Newton edition

By my reckoning Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes was published 20 September 1975. The front cover originally appeared on Marvel Comics' Planet of the Apes #8: 

The contents are as follows:

[Planet of the Apes: Into the Forbidden Zone] The Secret Of The Apes!!, originally published in Planet of the Apes #5, February 1975

The first 9 pages of Planet of the Apes: Into the Forbidden Zone were published in Newton's Planet of the Apes #7.  The chapter continues in this issue. Page 62 from Marvel's Planet of the Apes #5 should be the first page in this segment of the chapter, but it is omitted. It begins with Page 63:

The top tier and first panel of the second tier are dedicated title panels. The title The Secret of the Apes!! is a Newton contrivance, with two exclamation marks for effect. The next chapter is titled the Secret, so Newton decided to retitle it The Secret Part 2, and Voila! a new title is born. 

It gets even worse.

This whole page is a Newton contrivance. The second panel on the second tier - the first story panel - is the first panel on page 63 of the original issue, and the next panel is the second panel on page 64 of the original issue - all the other panels in between are omitted. Furthermore, the bottom tier is cropped, and the text box "...and begin our descent on foot." has been allocated to the top of the panel whereas it is at the bottom of the panel on the original page. I daresay this page represents the most drastic butchery of all the Newton reprints of Planet of the Apes, and there have been plenty.

 [Planet of the Apes Chapter 6: The Secret] The Secret Part 2, originally published in Planet of the Apes #6, March 1975

This chapter begins thus:

The Part 2 box takes the spot reserved for a text box in the original issue. The rest of the chapter is reprinted intact. Except, of course, for the climactic double-page spread with the Statue of Liberty on the beach - you have to turn the page to see the right hand side of the picture. A final indignity to a wretched reprint program. I can't even muster the energy to scan it for your edification. Sigh.

The poster in this issue is drawn from the cover of Newton's Doctor Strange #2, and the swap card is Spiderman (sic) Series A No. 2:

I say the poster is drawn from Doctor Strange #2, but the cropped Now On Sale stamp on the bottom right hand corner suggests it may have been sourced from an advertisement. Which doesn't explain why Doctor Strange is suddenly The Amazing... (I note Doctor Strange #2 was advertised as Now Out Fortnightly in The Amazing Spider-Man #8, and whilst that advertisement is a pre-production image, it doesn't include the same Now On Sale stamp... but I'll deal with Doctor Strange #2 in detail in a later post).

There are no in-house advertisements for other titles in this issue. The Swap Cards Cometh ad takes pride of place on the inner front cover, and the Toltoys contest expires 3 November 1975.

It appears to me this issue was scheduled for publication 13 September 1975 but was delayed by a week to 20 September 1975.

This issue was advertised in-house in other issues such as The Incredible Hulk #7 and Hulk King Size Annual #1:

Planet of the Apes #17: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes #17 is cover-dated August 1976 and is the final numbered issue of the series. Two unnumbered issues followed. There was also an Annual.

The cover image originally appeared on Planet of the Apes #14.

The story contents are as follows:

Terror on the Planet of the Apes Phase Two: Up the Nose-Tube to Monkey-Trash, originally published in Planet of the Apes #14, November 1975

Escape from the Planet of the Apes Part 3: Trouble In Paradise Lost, originally published in Planet of the Apes #14, November 1975

Dreamer In Emerald Silence, originally published in Planet of the Apes #15, December 1975

The following non-comics feature is included:

Shaping A Simian World, originally published in Planet of the Apes #14, November 1975

Dreamer in Emerald Silence is a 28-page story. However, Newton buggered up and effectively made it a 29-page story by duplicating page 67 in the middle of the story, after page 78 which contains an in-house ad: 

Page 25 advises that "Terror on the Planet of the Apes continues in issue #18 with: "The Society of the Psychedrome!"" This story was not published by Newton.

Page 52 advises "Next issue: In the Cradle of a Father's Sins." This was published in the unnumbered 19th issue of Planet of the Apes.

This issue includes a 2-page letter column, a competition (no expiry date) and in-house advertisements. The Dracula advertisement above features a pre-production image of the forthcoming unnumbered Dracula issue (more on this in a later post). An image of the cover of Planet of the Apes #17 - without the date/issue number information or the poster/contest/price banner - is also included:

The Newton Comics reader in August 1976 had cause to expect the line would continue for the foreseeable future -  the letter column proclaimed changes to formats and announced new titles, the competitions were still in place - in other words, an editorial hand was evident with plans for the future in place. This would change very shortly.

Planet of the Apes #11: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes #11 is cover-dated November 1975:

The cover image is sourced from the splash page to the opening story:

The cover is slightly modified - the space capsule on the splash page is to the right of the title caption, whereas on the cover it takes the place of the title caption.

The contents are as follows:

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes Chapter 1: The Trip 

Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes Chapter 2: Arrival 

[Beneath the Planet of the Apes Part III]: The Warhead Messiah 

The two Kingdom On An Island Of The Apes chapters were originally published in Planet of the Apes #9, June 1975. Only the first 6 of 10 pages of Chapter 2 are reprinted. The complete story was subsequently published by Newton in Planet of the Apes #NN[19].

The Warhead Messiah instalment continues from Planet of the Apes #10. It was originally published in Planet of the Apes #8, May 1975. Only pages 64-71 of that issue are reprinted.

The poster in this issue is a recoloured version of the cover to Newton's Conan the Barbarian #6.

This issue was advertised in The Fantastic Four Giant Size 84 Page Annual:

The contest expires 15 December 1975.

One of the more intriguing comments in all of the Newton letter columns occurs in this issue. To quote: "...a STAGGERING, NEW range of pocket-size monthly mags" are announced, and they are named as Vampire Tales, The Savage Sword of Conan, Monsters Unleashed, and Deadly Hands of Kung Fu. The pocket-size editions did not eventuate. Indeed, Giant Size monthly editions of these titles - or their proxies, in the case of Vampire Tales and The Savage Sword of Conan - would hit the stands in December. And, in a few years time, Yaffa would fulfil the wish for digest-sized editions of many Marvel titles. But the announcement does shed some light on the extent to which Newton was reconfiguring their line in terms of page count and cover price, as announced in subsequent letter columns.

PS The notice re: pocket size comics also appears in the letter columns in Planet of the Apes #9 and #10.

Hulk King Size Annual #1: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Hulk King Size Annual #1 was published 20 September 1975:

The story contents are as follows:

A Refuge Divided!, originally published in The Incredible Hulk Special #1, October 1968

The Keepers of the Crypt!, originally published in Conan the Barbarian #8, August 1971

A Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up The Incredible Hulk, originally published in The Incredible Hulk Special #1, October 1968

A Refuge Divided! and The Incredible Hulk pinup appear to be reprinted intact. 

The Keepers of the Crypt has the cover image from Conan the Barbarian #8 in lieu of the original splash page. Here's a photo of the two-page spread:

The Yaffa printing of this story in Conan the Barbarian #3 goes one better by reproducing both the cover and the splash page:

It's odd that this issue should contain a Conan the Barbarian story given Conan had his own ongoing series at the time. However, this was not unprecedented by Newton Comics - we recall the Fantastic Four features in Planet of the Apes #1. Note also this is the story from which the Conan poster was drawn in Planet of the Apes #5. 

This issue was published during the Newton Swap Card promotional period. My copy includes Spiderman (sic) Series A (1 of 15) No. 3:

This issue did not contain a regular poster. However, as the cover and the  letter column above informs readers, one could send in for a "FREE glossy giant-size Hulk poster". This offer was prominently advertised alongside the contest:

This Hulk poster was still being offered as an enticement in December 1975:

This issue contains a number of in-house advertisements for other Newton comics:

Planet of the Apes #8

The Fantastic Four #6 

The Avengers #6

Conan the Barbarian #3 

Doctor Strange #2 

The Silver Surfer #1 

Dracula #4 

The Annual was advertised in-house:

The Planet of the Apes Annual #1 was published in July 1975. The Hulk Annual was the first of a projected 'series' of Annuals to be published monthly henceforth, according to the letter column. Sure enough, over the next three months readers were treated to Annuals featuring Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four  and The Avengers. (The Spider-Man Annual was in fact a Team-Up Annual, which begat a second Team-Up Annual, and indeed a series of such issues, but this is a rather convoluted episode in Newton's program which I'll address in a separate post).

This issue includes The Swap Cards Cometh advertisement and a T-shirt offer.

A Visit With The Fantastic Four in Australia

As readers and collectors of Australian editions of vintage US comics we are rather accustomed to odd or inexplicable editorial decisions. Whether it's alternative covers to issues or modified contents,  benign intervention or careless butchery, it's part and parcel of our experience and obsession. 

However, there is one story which has been subjected to such a range of modifications that it warrants special attention. 

When I indexed Newton Comics' Planet of the Apes Annual #1 I noted the bizarre situation in which the splash page to the Fantastic Four story A Visit With The Fantastic Four became the splash page to The Hulk vs. The Thing:

Let's inspect this a little more closely:

Now let's compare it to the printing in Essential Fantastic Four #1 (Third edition, First printing 2008):

The differences are fairly obvious: The Newton edition omits some of the creator credits, and the job code is also omitted.

This story was first published in Australia in Horwitz Publications' Strange Tales #4 in 1963. Take a close look at the splash page in this edition:

On first blush it appears to be a rather faithful reproduction of the version in Essential Fantastic Four, apart from the missing job code and the page number. One might even observe that the linework is distinctly clearer than both the Essential and the Newton editions.

But if you read the text you'll see that the lingo has been altered. Johnny Storm's "I told ya..." has become " I told you...", and the civilian's "Say, fella..." becomes "Say, fellows...". 

Heh. What can I say...? After all, it was the tail end of the Menzies era... And if the singular "fella" needs to be changed to the plural "fellows" to maintain decorum, well, sacrifices have to be made. You'd think it was the ABC newsreader of 1963 editing this comic! Never mind they didn't deem it necessary to correct "standing on line" to "standing in line"! 

If all of that isn't enough to have you running earnestly to your battered original copy of Fantastic Four #11, get a load of this printing in Yaffa/Page Publications' Fantastic Four #200-201:

The title text box has been crudely transplanted atop the first two tiers of the fourth page of the story, in the process eliminating not only the third tier of the page, but wholly omitting the second and third pages, and the splash page image!

I can't think of any other single page reprinted in Australia which has been subjected to as many instances of grievous adulteration.

And after all this, what does the original page look like?

Well, here's an online a scan of the page from Fantastic Four #11:

And while we're at it, here's a few more scans of the page from various editions, beginning with Fantastic Four Annual #3:

And here's a  grey-scale printing of the Fantastic Four Annual #3 version as it appears in Les Daniels' Comix: A History of Comic Books in America:

If you find the muddy grey tones pukey then it might be best to look away as I present to you the version published in the UK in The Mighty World of Marvel #22:

And if you need some Alka Seltzer, this might settle you down a tad:

I'm not sure of the source of this printing - I found it online - but it does a reasonable job of representing the original colours, albeit brighter and cleaner on glossy paper. Initially I assumed it to be from a Marvel Masterworks edition. Then I received a photo of the page from Marvel Masterworks #6, October 1988:

It's arguably more attractive with the new colour scheme, but it cannot claim archive standard fidelity to the source material.

(And to add insult to injury... When Yaffa/Page Publications published The Hulk vs. The Thing in Fantastic Four [Vol. 3] #1, they also managed to omit the original splash page, just as  Newton Comics did in Planet of the Apes Annual #1 - but, unlike Newton, they did not bother to surgically transplant the splash page from A Visit With The Fantastic Four.)

This is just a sampling of the available reprints of this story. The GCD lists a number of US printings and I'm sure there's plenty of international editions. It would be funny if this page was subjected to similar treatment in other international editions. If anyone would like to send me scans I'll gladly post them below.

Thanks to Mark Cannon and Mark Muller for providing some of the scans above.