Archaia Entertainment has set July 25th for the release of Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, its first illustrated novel, through its new book trade distributor Publishers Group West (PGW). Written by celebrated author, artist, and digital producer Andrew E.C. Gaska, and adapted from a story by Gaska, Rich Handley, Christian Berntsen and Erik Matthews, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes recounts what happened between the scenes of the classic 1968 Twentieth Century Fox film, centering on the astronaut John Landon, Chimpanzee scientists Dr. Milo and Dr. Galen, and Gorilla Security Chief Marcus.
The book contains 30 full-color paintings and another 19 black-and-white illustrations, including a cover by legendary artist Jim Steranko (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and interior art from some of the top talent in the industry, including renowned book cover painter Ken Kelly (Conan, KISS), Joe Jusko (Savage Sword of Conan, Tarzan), Sanjulian (Eerie, Vampirella), Mark Texeira (Ghost Rider, Wolverine), Leo Leibelman (Heavy Metal), Matt Busch (Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica), Brian Rood (Indiana Jones, Star Wars), Tom Scioli (Godland), David Hueso (G.I. Joe: Storm Shadow) and newcomers Dan Dussault (Critical Millennium) and Dirk Shearer (Mice Templar).
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes marks an expansion of Archaia’s successful collaboration with Gaska, following up on his science fiction comic epic, Critical Millennium: The Dark Frontier, which has received early critical acclaim. “It means a lot to have this project be set for release and we cannot think of a better partner to have than Archaia with their outstanding production value,” said Gaska. “It’s been a great working partnership with 20th Century Fox and an honor to contribute to this legendary franchise.”
Pop Culture Zoo spoke briefly with Rich Handley, who had this to say: “Having been privileged to edit the first draft of the novel for BLAM! Ventures, as well as help craft the direction of the second draft, I’m excited to see this novel finally coming out in print. I’m very grateful that Drew Gaska and Christian Berntsen asked me to join the project in 2008, and am just as anxious as the readers to check out the final product when it hits stores later this year. Planet of the Apes has been a lifelong passion for me, and it’ll be my honor to have this novel sitting on the self in my office alongside my other two POTA books.”
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes also marks Archaia’s first venture into prose books. “We’re very excited about our first foray into prose fiction publishing, particularly being able to work with a brilliant creative talent in Drew Gaska and a storied franchise like Planet of the Apes. I’m a huge fan of the original film and Conspiracy is a great example of an author playing successfully in an established narrative canon. We are very excited to introduce this extraordinary science fiction release across the book trade and genre markets and look forward to Conspiracy emerging as one of the year’s most talked-about titles,” said Mark Smylie, CCO of Archaia.
The original Planet of the Apes was an immediate pop-culture phenomenon, spanning decades with several film and television sequels, including the 2001 remake starring Mark Wahlberg and the latest, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring 127 Hours star James Franco, Harry Potter‘s Tom Felton and Immortals‘ Freida Pinto.