Boom-Studios/IDW Publishing 2014
Written by Scott & David Tipton
Illustrated by Rachael Stott
Coloured by Charlie Kirchoff
Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise have pursued Klingon warships through an interdimensional portal, finding themselves on a parallel Earth where mankind has become an inferior species and apes rule the planet! Searching for Klingon interference, they've encountered Colonel George Taylor, a timelost astronaut from 20th-century Earth who's hell-bent for vengeance for what's become of humanity. Kirk and Taylor have come to an uneasy truce, and Taylor has agreed to help stop the Klingons from setting off a civil war among the Apes. When Taylor and the Enterprise crew search the Klingons' base of operations, they discover evidence of Klingon Commander Kor's next move: assassinating gorilla General Ursus to clear the way for their hand-picked puppet, General Marius, to conquer Ape City…
Kirk and company catch up with Kor just in time to stop him for killing either of the Gorilla’s talking. Naturally however a red shirt doesn’t survive the ensuing fight, I mean c’mon it wouldn’t be a Star Trek story if one didn’t die after all. What does surprise me is that as you read this issue you begin to see something, Kor isn’t to be underestimated. There’s a real surprising depth to the story that you aren’t prepared for. You have to read this to see the ending and understand that fully.
I raved about the artwork and it really is superb and for me it really is a high class version of the animated series and seeing Colonel Taylor being so hairy is such a delight considering so many men are seen are hairless. Plus her work on the Ape characters remains incredibly true to the old school make-up effects that may have seemed cheesey at the time but evokes memories and feelings the best way possible.
While we see the Ape law that ape shall not kill ape and as Marius is defeated in single combat by Ursus it is remarked upon that they may have traded today’s threat for tomorrow’s catastrophe. So with things having settled down and Kor’s plan for this Earth thwarted all that’s left is to really pack up and go home right? Well half right because Kirk and the Enterprise need to find Kor and the Klingons and stop their continued incursion of this dimension.
The cat and mouse game that Kor is playing with Kirk finally comes to an end game and honestly this is some of the most shocking and intense writing I think i’ve seen from the Tipton’s to date and gives me a whole new respect for them. Also that there is a moment that we see something from what’s come before well it gives me both hope and pause that sometimes there really are circumstances that the Prime Directive shouldn’t be in play. Of course Kor says that both their sides are hindered greatly being held back by rules and that is never more evident than it is here.
This is why we love the team-up and while the next one announced with the crew of the Enterprise is with another company I do hope that there will be plans for another visit with the Planet of the Apes to kind of wrap up what we see here!