Sci-Fi Storm

For more information, contact:
Rich Handley (rhandley@optonline.net)
Paul C. Giachetti (karnie@optonline.net)

Hasslein Books to Release Planet of the Apes Chronology

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Planet of the Apes film franchise,Hasslein Books will publish Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology, by Rich Handley.

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2008 – “Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!” This classic line, spoken by Charlton Heston in 1968’s Planet of the Apes, ranks alongside “May the Force be with you,” “Bond – James Bond” and “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” as one of the most recognized bits of dialog in film history – and for good reason.

Planet of the Apes, created by French writer Pierre Boulle in his novel La planète des singes (“The Monkey Planet”), was crafted for the big screen by Rod Serling, Michael Wilson, Paul Dehn and others. In the series’ first outing, Heston’s Col. George Taylor found himself stranded in a madhouse of a future in which an oppressive ape civilization had inherited the Earth in the wake of mankind’s evolutionary and revolutionary downfall.

This classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama has riveted audiences with its stunning performances, brilliant make-up work, resonant soundtrack and powerful statements on humanity, science and religion, as well as the jaw-dropping revelation in its legendary final moments. But the 1968 film was just the beginning of the story.

Four sequels, two television series, a 2001 film re-make, and more than a dozen novels and 120 comic books later, Planet of the Apes remains a living, breathing universe that celebrates its 40th anniversary (and Blu-Ray release) this year. To help commemorate this landmark event, Hasslein Books announces the upcoming publication of Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology. This hefty volume will explore:

* How a small-scale simian rebellion grew, in so short a time, into a complete, planet-wide reversal of fates for humanity and apekind

* How the apes acquired the power of speech?while man was rendered mute

* Where the plague that ravaged the planet came from, and the effects it had not only on man and ape, but on other creatures as well

* The many unique ape and human cultures that spawned around the globe in the war’s aftermath?and how the Statue of Liberty ended up in pieces on a desolate beach

Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology explores these and other questions, presenting every recorded event of the Planet of the Apes saga in its proper chronological context?from long before Caesar’s birth to far beyond Earth’s destruction. This book covers every film, television episode, cartoon, novel, comic, short story and audio-tale produced under the Planet of the Apes banner over the past four decades – including a number of rejected or unpublished tales unavailable to fans. No other reference book has covered the expanded Apes saga so completely.

Along with a painstakingly detailed timeline spanning millennia, this volume features a gallery of more than 350 cover images, a recommended viewing/reading order, an examination of time travel in the Planet of the Apes mythos (both on screen and in print), and a title/creator index of published fiction – plus, insightful notes discussing preliminary and discarded story concepts, inconsistencies and discontinuities, unpublished lore and other fascinating trivia.

Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology will be published as a 322-page softcover volume, at a cost of $24.95. A release date will soon be announced. Timeline of the Planet of the Apes is an unauthorized, unlicensed publication, created as an academic source-work. Planet of the Apes and all related characters, concepts and titles are the sole property of 20th Century Fox, with no copyright infringement intended.

About Hasslein Books
Hasslein Books was created by author Rich Handley and graphic artist Paul C. Giachetti. Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology is the company’s debut publication, featuring cover art by Patricio Carbajal. To view the cover, or to contact the author, visit rhandley.0catch.com/POTA/. And to peruse a gallery of Giachetti’s design/layout work, visit www.paulgiachetti.com.