I'm a well read grad student who's bluntly honest about all things, although I try to be most honest about myself.
I haven't watched any of the Planet of the Apes movies, read the book, or any other tie-ins and quite frankly wouldn't have read this if it wasn't in the latest Humble Bundle. I'm glad I did, though, because this was pretty amazing!
Fantastic art, and I'm not sure if the silents - children born mute - are new to this graphic novel or not, but it adds another level of motivation for them to rise up against their masters in their world. This is pre-movies, I believe, and it's all about the tension between monks, and apes, and gorillas and the tension between them and the humans.
I didn't think I'd care much about what happened next - but I do! Love, love, love this. Moving onto the next volume as the bundle gave me access to the first four.