The King is Back in ‘Kong of Skull Island’ #1

King Kong is back! The giant ape who first appeared on the silver screen in 1933 (and survived inferior remakes in 1976 and 2005) will star in a six issue Boom Studios miniseries by writer James Asmus and artist Carlos Magno. Kong of Skull Island is a prequel to Merian C. Cooper's original novel and is grounded in Joe DeVito's prose story, Skull Island. It tells a new story about two giant apes clashing, even as two different civilizations must learn to live together on Skull Island, long before Carl Denham and Ann Darrow arrive.

The discussion of encounters between different civilizations makes me hope that the comic book will paint a more nuanced and positive depiction of the human inhabitants of Skull Island, unlike the film, which relies on the oldest of racial stereotypes for its portrayal. Unfortunately, the cover by Felipe Massafera doesn't achieve that at all, featuring the exact same kind of caricatures of indigenous peoples that were common in 1933. Massafera's only the cover artist, so there's hope that Asmus and Magno do something entirely different inside the book, but this cover is at the very least an unfortunate marketing decision.

Here's all the info from Boom's press release:

Kong of Skull Island #1 (of 6)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: James Asmus
Artist: Carlos Magno
Cover artists:
Main Cover: Felipe Massafera
Incentive Cover 1: Nick Robles
Incentive Cover 2: Eric Powell
Auction Variant 1: Ryan Sook
Auction Variant 2: Paul Pope
Format: 32 pages, full color
Price: $3.99
On sale: July 13, 2016

Synopsis: King Kong, world-famous and original gargantuan simian, is the progenitor of an entire genre, spawning sequels, remakes, and countless other interpretations. You know Kong. You love Kong! An original prequel story that takes place before the events of King Kong. Two fractured and combative civilizations are forced to band together as they venture into Skull Island—their new home.

From All-New Inhumans writer James Asmus and Planet of the Apes artist Carlos Magno.