Shatner Vs. Heston In Star Trek/Planet of the Apes

by Vince Brusio

This year Scott and David Tipton were given the opportunity to play cosmic chess with pieces that, to some, look mismatched. After all, you have apes that talk and dress themselves pitted against humans in spaceships. But they will assure you that in Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #1 (OCT140442) from IDW Publishing, everything clicks. Rules of the game are still in place. And you’re still going to be using a traditional chess board. It’s just that optimism is about to clash with nihilism in a crossover comic book. So sit back, and read how both writers cracked their knuckles when they approached this 5-issue series. It’s quite a task to decide what furniture is best suited for a madhouse.  

Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #1 (OCT140442) arrives in comic shops December 31.

**********

PREVIEWSworld: For those who may not be up to speed on the latest news, can you please tell us the storyline behind Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #1?

Scott Tipton: Without giving too much away, when Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew discover the Klingons up to their usual gambit of expansion and conquest in an all-new arena, they find themselves in the chilling position of enforcing the Prime Directive and siding with Dr. Zaius against the Klingons. But what will Colonel George Taylor have to say about it?

PREVIEWSworld: Did the original vision for this story differ from the final version? Can you tell us a little about the creative process that went into this book?

Scott Tipton: When we were asked if we had an idea for a Star Trek/Planet of the Apes crossover, we jumped at the chance. Both of those properties at their inception are so uniquely rooted in the tenor of the times in which they were created, we thought they'd fit together perfectly if given the right narrative framework, and were extremely pleased to discover it worked out better than we could have imagined. Star Trek’s optimism and Planet Of The Apes' nihilism counter each other perfectly.

David Tipton: The original Star Trek and Planet of the Apes were both very much products of the late 1960s, and I think you'll see in the story many of the key themes of both, set alongside each other.  As far as the creative process goes, we worked closely with IDW, BOOM! Studios, CBS, and FOX to make sure we had a vision that worked for everyone.

PREVIEWSworld: Will Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #1 figure into IDW’s current continuity for the Star Trek universe? Or is this a case where readers have entered a black hole, and all rules have been scattered across the cosmos?

David Tipton: One of the primary goals for this project was to tell a story that makes sense within the continuity of both universes. We would not be very interested in a story that did not "play by the rules." We think readers would not like that either.

Scott Tipton: Oh, absolutely not. We're insane sticklers for continuity. Whenever we do one of these big crossover events, it's really important to us that it fits in seamlessly with the continuities of both franchises. We want to leave the reader with the impression that, even though the characters never mentioned it on screen, there's absolutely no reason why this adventure couldn't have logically taken place, and maybe if we do our jobs well enough, the reader will have the idea permanently planted in his or her head that it did.

PREVIEWSworld: Without giving anything away that would act as a spoiler, what would you say is one of the pinnacle moments in this story that would make you “geek out” and blog/Tweet?

Scott Tipton: Captain Kirk versus Colonel Taylor. Shatner versus Heston. Epic. Stay tuned.

David Tipton: Lots of apes.

PREVIEWSworld: If fans can contact you on social media, which site(s) would you mention?

David Tipton: I am @David_Tipton on Twitter.

Scott Tipton: I'm @Scott_Tipton on Twitter, and you can also reach me through my North Hollywood comic-book shop, Blastoff, as well – our website is at www.blastoffcomics.com, and on Twitter at @BlastoffComics.