Kurt Russell Crossover in BOOM! Studios Team-Up

by Vince Brusio

Film icons. Few of them exist. Sylvester Stallone, who’s known for Rambo and Rocky. Harrison Ford, who’s known for Han Solo and Indiana Jones. And then there’s Kurt Russell, who’s known for Snake Plissken and Jack Burton. Star power unequalled, to say the least. So the question is what would happen if you put some of these famous characters together for a mash-up? What would the final recipe look like? That answer comes to us this October with the debut of Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York #1 (AUG161297), when Greg Pak takes Kurt Russell’s characters and puts them into a comic book cocktail. Read what Greg had to say about this new project from BOOM! Studios in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview!

Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York #1 (AUG161297) is in comic shops October 5.

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PREVIEWSworld: Short of the “Four Doctors” weekly event, where four versions of Doctor Who collided, we’re hard-pressed over here to remember when we saw such a unique concept. An actor meets himself from another movie. What gave you the idea to have Kurt Russell meet Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China/Escape From New York #1 (AUG161297)?

Greg Pak: I wish I could claim credit, but the idea came from my editors at BOOM! They shot me an email asking if I’d be interested, and I said, “You bet!”

It totally makes sense, though, doesn’t it? BOOM! has published both Big Trouble in Little China books and Escape from New York books — and crossovers are things that happen in comics. What better reason for a crossover than to put these two great Kurt Russell characters together?

PREVIEWSworld: How did you prepare yourself to write such a story? Besides binging on the movies, did you attempt to host an imaginary debate with Jack and Snake? What would the two men have in common? Where would they go their separate ways?

Greg Pak: The great thing about the project is that the characters are similar and distinctive in just the right ways. Jack’s a big, blustering blabbermouth. Snake’s terse and deadly. Jack’s got a heart of gold. Snake might not actually have a heart. Jack constantly goofs up and bumbles his way to success. Snake’s skilled and lethal, and has always depended on preparation and ruthlessness instead of dumb luck.

So put these two guys in the same room, and they drive each other crazy in all the right ways — and on a more serious, emotional level, also have an interesting chance to challenge each other in very interesting ways. It’s been a total blast writing them.

PREVIEWSworld: Can we expect to see more characters from the previous films in this crossover? Will we be rewarded with another appearance of, say, Lo Pan?

Greg Pak: I can’t say anything for fear of spoilers. But YES. ;-)

PREVIEWSworld: If you could “geek” over a particular scene(s) in this story drawn by artist Daniel Bayliss, what would you call out?

Greg Pak: He did a piece of concept art before I ever came on board that showed Snake and Jack taking on a monster that was just all out bonkers glorious fun, and was a big factor in me knowing I had to write this thing.

And the first appearance of Snake Plissken in the book is just tremendous. Daniel’s having so much fun — his art’s got tremendous energy and humor and action, and you’re gonna love it.

PREVIEWSworld: What do you take away from this project, in regards to how you worked on this book with Bayliss? What would be the memory or the impression you would like to capture for everyone to see behind an 8x10 picture frame?

Greg Pak: It’s got that big, loopy kind of unbelievable fun that you can only find in comics combined with a ton of heart. My favorite kind of story.