In 1968, 20th Century Fox introduced the world to the futuristic landscape of the Planet of the Apes. Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, but nowhere near as hi-tech, the film starring Charlton Heston gave birth to a number of sequels, a TV series, comic book, toys, Dr. Zaius bank (for all you Reality Bites fans out there) and not 1 but 2 reboots! Oh, and a trio of trading card sets.
A year after the success of the first film, Topps released a 44 card series based on the film. Due to a licensing agreement with Heston which only allowed Topps to use his image a grand total of 9 times, the company had to get rather creative in the images used. Ironically, 4 of the photos of Heston are of him from behind and you can't even see his face!
After the success of the the Apes films on both screen and being re-aired on TV, CBS decided to produce a live action TV series. To help market the show, Topps was once again tasked to create a trading card set, complete with stick of bubble gum. As the show was currently in production, Topps didn't have any issue showing the likenesses of the main cast. There were just no images of guest stars, unless they were in a monkey suit. Regrettably, the card set did little to promote the show. Despite huge ratings for the 2-hour premiere, the live action Apes series lost viewers pretty quick. According to the author of this chronicle of trading cards, Gary Gerani, almost as soon as cases of wax packs arrived in stores, CBS cancelled the series.
A couple of years later, the Planet of the Apes returned to TV as an animated series. It lasted about as long as the live action version. Burnt by the poor sales of the second batch of trading cards, Topps passed on a set based on the Saturday morning cartoon. With the toons demise, no new Planet of the Apes were released for decades.
Jump ahead to 1994 and the Universal Pictures film and Generation X opus, Reality Bites. The main character played by Winona Ryder accidentally breaks Ben Stiller's vintage Dr. Zaius bank. Immediately, I'm floored with a rush of Planet of the Apes nostalgia. It had been years since I even thought of those movies. Almost immediately, a new wave of toys, clothes, and VHS/DVD sets devoted to the original 5 movies seemed to begin flooding the market in the late 90s and I took full advantage of the revival.
By the new millennium, it appeared that the world was ready for a return to the Planet of the Apes. Tim Burton was allowed to reboot the franchise and he put his unique touch on the franchise. Aside from that twist ending that rivals the iconic twist of the 1968 original, the reboot wasn't all that great. But once again, Topps was there to capture the action. This time with artifact cards, a rare coin card (that I really want one of) and autograph cards that include original stars Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison, who I did not know this, has a cameo in the 2001 feature.
I really liked this book. Both the front and backs of all the cards are presented, making it the next best, and most affordable, thing to actually owning all 3 original sets. I wasn't so keen on how the back of the card is presented on the opposite left to the front of each card. I felt that the front should be on the left side with the back switched to the other side. Though I guess Abrams Books or Topps felt doing it the other way was more aesthetically pleasing.
I think I found this book for mega cheap at Ollie's. Or maybe a used book store. Though I don't think I am going to keep this book, my interest has peaked on several other trading card book releases. There are collections similar to this one of Garbage Pail Kids, Star Trek, Wacky Packages and more. Plus several Star Wars ones. All of which I want to read. Plus, I think my wife will appreciate me owning them. I think I can get away with owning books about card sets as opposed to filling the house with a bunch of cardboard clutter.
Perfect for fans of Planet of the Apes, trading cards and Topps. Even if you own all 3 sets, this book is a must as it includes an exclusive set of cards that were produced just for this collection!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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