Creator Spotlight: Ryan North unpacks Star Trek, Fantastic Four, and more

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Interview: Ryan North (STAR TREK LOWER DECKS/WARP YOUR OWN WAY out Oct 22, Fantastic Four, The Rise of Emperor Doom)

1. Ryan, thanks for joining us on the AIPT Comics podcast for the second time! You’re having the nerdiest of years, with Star Trek Lower Decks/Warp Your Own Way out Oct 22nd, the ongoing Lower Decks #1 out November 13 and Fantastic Four cresting into a huge 2025 year, what has been your favorite nerd thing you created this year?
2. STAR TREK LOWER DECKS/WARP YOUR OWN WAY is a choose-your-own adventure! What is the process of plotting something like this? Anything you learned from Hamlet or Romeo & Juliet that opened the way for new experimentation?
3. About how many “storylines” can someone get out of the graphic novel?
4. Maybe this is sacrilege to ask, but do you have a favorite ending for the graphic novel?
5. Is the STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS ongoing series a direct continuation of the animated show, or taking place at a different period?
6. I’ve heard that Heather Antos is basically an encyclopedia of Star Trek lore – how invaluable was it to have her as your editor on this project.
7. Footnotes, you’re one of the best at them…how does it feel to have them return!?
8. Without spoiling anything, Lower Decks #1 touches on a fun part of Trek’s past. Are there any corners of Trek that you haven’t explored in comics that you’d love to?
9. There’s a lot of science in FF, does Star Trek Lower Decks let you stretch your science legs in different ways?
10. You got to visit with the The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast, how long was the visit and how much did you get to see?
    1. Do you get a sense they’re sticking to the comics at all?
11. Considering how much science is in your titles, will The Rise of Emperor Doom also be sciencey, or is it all magic all the time?
12. How would the lower decks crew deal with Dr. Doom? Could they withstand his might?

Rapid Fire Question Round:

• Best sandwich?
• What's one thing you own that you really should throw out?
• Apples or oranges?
• What was your first comic?
• Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?
• When do you think your style came into its own?
• What do you think happens when we die?
• Favorite action movie?
• Favorite smell?
• Least favorite smell?
• Favorite superhero?
• Most used app on your phone?
• If you could have dinner with any three characters you’ve created or written, who would they be and why?
• You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it?
• A genre you want to make more comics in?
• Describe the rest of your life in 5 words?