BOOM! STUDIOS PREVIEW: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion

For the past few years, BOOM! Studios has been producing a line of comic books based on Planet of the Apes that has provided some of the best Apes stories ever told or drawn. Unexpectedly, the company halted efforts in 2013, bringing its very popular titles from Daryl Gregory, Carlos Magno, Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman to a close, much to the disappointment of POTA fans who looked forward to their monthly does of simian lore.

Some speculated that the reason for the hiatus was so that BOOM! could refocus its efforts on the new films' continuity rather than the classic era, and that we might see new comics as the impending theatrical release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes loomed closer. As it turns out, the speculators were right.

This past week, the company announced a new Planet of the Apes comic that will serve as a prequel to Dawn, titled Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion. This one-shot will debut in two weeks at BOOM!'s booth (#2229) at San Diego Comic-Con, which will take place on July 24-27. Contagion will reveal the background of Ellie, one of the film's main characters. BOOM! Studios has graciously supplied us with a six-page preview of the comic, which you can read below. It looks fantastic, and will be a Comic-Con exclusive, so be sure to stop by the publisher's booth and pick up your copy! Here's the issue's solicit information:

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion

$5, Convention Exclusive
Cover by Garry Brown
Writer: Caleb Monroe

Artist: Tom Derenick

Set directly after the events of 20th Century Fox's Rise of the Planet of the Apes film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Contagion follows the story of Ellie (played by Keri Russell in the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film) as she struggles to find a cure for the pandemic before it claims her daughter forever. In this self-contained, one-shot issue, we see a slice of the descent of mankind as they succumb to the Simian Flu pandemic from the perspective of the CDC and various doctors and scientists trying to stop the outbreak.