Cybermen, Borg, set to battle in Doctor Who-Star Trek crossover

Following up on our earlier report that a Doctor Who/Star Trek comic crossover was in the works, US publisher IDW have released more detals about the eight-issue mini series.

In conjunction with BBC Worldwide Consumer Products and CBS Consumer Products, IDW Publishing will make history when two of the greatest science-fiction properties of all time come together in a comic book for the first time. The world’s most popular time traveler teams up with the U.S.S. Enterprise crew in Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2.

“By joining these two sci-fi powerhouses, fans will be taken on the ultimate adventure through time and space,” said Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products.

Launching in May but, as far as we know at presnt, only to be on sale officially in the US, Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 will feature fan-favourite villains the Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

This eight-issue series will be written by Scott and David Tipton, two of the regular IDW Star Trek writers, with a helping hand from longtime Doctor Who writer Tony Lee, and will feature fully painted artwork by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel).

“We are excited about this new adventure for the Doctor and the fact that he will be travelling with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his iconic crew," says the BBC's Soumya Sriraman, executive vice president Home Entertainment and Licensing.

"This is a perfect partnership for not only Doctor Who’s incredible fans, but also for the brand. We have just celebrated our most successful year yet. Doctor Who’s latest season delivered record ratings for BBC America and it was most downloaded full TV seasons of 2011 in the U.S. on the iTunes Store,” .


The fisrt issue variants include a rare wraparound photo cover and an alternate cover from Star Trek Ongoing artist Joe Corroney featuring the Doctor and friends aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. 

The bad news for British comics fans is that getting hold of this crossover series might be difficult. Because Panini license Doctor Who comic rights in the UK for Doctor Who Magazine and the BBC publishes its own Doctor Who Adventures title, IDW's Who comics are not usually available officially in the UK.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 ($3.99, 32 pages, full colour) will be available in US comic stores in May 2012.

• Visit IDWPublishing.com to sign up for updates and learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

® & © 2012 CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.

BBC, DOCTOR WHO (word marks, logos and devices), TARDIS and CYBERMAN are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under license.