This story begins with a battle between talking humans and intelligent Apes in the wasteland of the Forbidden Zone. Both sides are dressed like it's Medieval Times, so this suggests it takes place sometime before Taylor's visit, maybe a few hundred years after nuclear war. The two groups kill each other off, with only one man, Jovan (an African-American), and one ape, Solomon, left. However, the man's legs are broken, as are the ape's arms. He suggests that they put aside their differences to survive-- so the man straps himself to his enemy's shoulders and they begin traveling to a safter area. They manage to kill a mutant rabbit and both hungrily devour it, though it's interesting the ape is carnivorous. Then, they are attacked by a giant mutant animal and seek cover from a terrible storm by taking refuge in a cave. It's here they meet a hermit, Mordecai. He seems to be a half ape/half human hybrid. He nurses the two former enemies back to health. However, they still want to fight each other--and Mordecai proposes they do so. It's an even draw--they are both exhausted. The half man/ape hermit tells them to go to another Forbidden Zone, which we soon see is San Francisco. It's here they realize that their hatred has been blinding, that it's better to live together. Ironically, they are then attacked by mutant humans-- and then by mutant apes, caught in the middle, and are killed. The war between the two species continues....
I thought this was a cool POTA story, especially with the ape hybrid and mutants. Writer Moench had similar type characters in his TERROR ON THE PLANET OF THE APE'S series, also published in the POTA Magazine, so it's consistent.
This was published in PLANET OF THE APES MAGAZINE issues 5, 20-22, in 1975.
This story begins with a battle between talking humans and intelligent Apes in the wasteland of the Forbidden Zone. Both sides are dressed like it's Medieval Times, so this suggests it takes place sometime before Taylor's visit, maybe a few hundred years after nuclear war. The two groups kill each other off, with only one man, Jovan (an African-American), and one ape, Solomon, left. However, the man's legs are broken, as are the ape's arms. He suggests that they put aside their differences to survive-- so the man straps himself to his enemy's shoulders and they begin traveling to a safter area. They manage to kill a mutant rabbit and both hungrily devour it, though it's interesting the ape is carnivorous. Then, they are attacked by a giant mutant animal and seek cover from a terrible storm by taking refuge in a cave. It's here they meet a hermit, Mordecai. He seems to be a half ape/half human hybrid. He nurses the two former enemies back to health. However, they still want to fight each other--and Mordecai proposes they do so. It's an even draw--they are both exhausted. The half man/ape hermit tells them to go to another Forbidden Zone, which we soon see is San Francisco. It's here they realize that their hatred has been blinding, that it's better to live together. Ironically, they are then attacked by mutant humans-- and then by mutant apes, caught in the middle, and are killed. The war between the two species continues....
