Battlestar Galactica #4 - Marvel Comics

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA No. 4, June 1979

Containing a distinctly energetic comic book adaptation of the “Battlestar Galactica” television episode "Lost Planet of the Gods – Part One", there’s arguably a strong sense of pace to Roger McKenzie’s “Into The Void!”. For whilst much of this seventeen-page periodical focuses upon Captain Apollo’s wedding plans with Serina and a mysterious alien virus which swiftly causes the vast majority of the fleet’s viper pilots to slip into a coma, there’s still plenty of action on show in the shape of a somewhat deadly magnetic abyss and a pulse-pounding attack upon a Cylon asteroid base.

In addition, the sheer suddenness of Boomer and Jolly’s potentially lethal sickness and the disease’s rapid infectiousness really seems to catch the Galactica’s medical staff completely off-guard, and shockingly leaves the humans virtually defenceless with two-thirds of the publication left to read. Coupled with the almost obsessive curiosity both Commander Adama and Count Baltar have with the aforementioned void and its link to reaching the fabled planet Earth, and the American author’s penmanship genuinely projects an enthralling sense of intensity; “Do I dare risk the safety of the Galactica and the ships she has sworn to protect on what may be no more than a myth..?”

Likewise, the fact that Blue Squadron’s attack upon their robotic enemies is spearheaded by simple shuttle pilots, as opposed to experienced Colonial warriors, adds an extra element of excitement to its proceedings - especially when an understandably concerned Apollo is forced to team-up with his untested future wife during the heat of the battle. It is repeatedly made clear that this hastily cobbled together mission is absolutely crucial to the existence of the Galactica, so those bibliophiles unfamiliar with Glen Larson and Don Bellisario’s broadcast storyline may very well have been worried as to whether any of the new pilots were actually going to survive the decisive assault or not.

Perhaps this comic’s greatest asset however, are the layouts of Walt Simonson, which go an incredibly long way to helping move the drama unfurl at a sense-shattering speed. The Knoxville-born artist does a tremendous job of imbuing all the fighter craft with a palpable sense of flight and firepower courtesy of some rapid, tightly-pencilled panels. But also makes it easy to discern one pilot from another by taking up series editor Louise Jones’ suggestion to have the names of “the newly trained cadets” stencilled upon the brow of their helmets.

Script: Roger McKenzie, Art: Walt Simonson & Klaus Janson

Battlestar Galactica #3 - Marvel Comics

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA No. 3, May 1979

Grabbing its audience by the throat and arguably dragging them through two-thirds of the theatrically released “Saga of a Star World” within the space of just seventeen-pages, Roger McKenzie’s script for Issue Three of “Battlestar Galactica” probably made little sense to anyone unlucky enough not to have seen Glen A. Larson’s $8 million pilot on the big screen. Indeed, this comic book adaption’s ending is so rushed that exploits such as Apollo and Starbuck momentous battle against a Cylon Baseship orbiting Carillon is relegated to just three hastily compressed panels crowbarred in at the end of the edition, whilst the likes of Cassiopeia and Sire Uri are absent from this particular periodical entirely.

Such major truncations and omissions genuinely damage this storyline’s pacing, and begs the question as to whether the American author was anticipating having another issue (or two) with which to work with. Certainly everything seems to be going smoothly with the writing up until Boomer discovers the Ovion’s mesmerising casino in the middle of nowhere, and then suddenly the entire subplot concerning Uri awarding the Gold Cluster to the three pilots who successfully navigated the desperate fleet through the Nova of Magadon is skipped. Admittedly, this exclusion does add an extra element of mystery to Starbuck spotting several Colonial warriors from his own squadron who he’s never seen before. But such an enigma doesn’t last long as within a handful of millicentons the Lieutenant is suddenly up to his armpits in Cylon warriors and human-eating Ovion hatchlings; “A-Apollo… I think I’m gonna be s-sick…”

Perhaps however, the biggest disappointment to the curtailing of the movie’s climax is that it robs Ernie Colon of the opportunity to pencil more great pictures of the “race of robots at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity.” The Puerto Rican artist does a stellar job depicting the Imperious Leader’s hulking minions during their discussion with Carillon’s resident insectoid creatures as to how the Galactica’s population will ultimately be destroyed. So it’s a real shame that the illustrator isn’t then later given more room with which to sketch the silver-chromed soldiers being blasted to pieces by the likes of Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer deep inside the planet’s claustrophobic catacombs.

Script: Roger McKenzie, Art: Ernie Colon, and Colors: Marie Severin

Battlestar Galactica #2 - Marvel Comics

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA No. 2, April 1979

Sporting a truly dynamic cover illustration by Jeff Aclin and Bob McLeod which strongly suggests Commander Adama’s lone battlestar will soon be mercilessly attacked by a plethora of deadly Cylon raider ships, Roger McKenzie’s narrative for “Exodus” probably came across as something of a major disappointment for its readers in January 1979, considering that the comic’s plot predominantly focuses upon the human fleet’s food shortages as opposed to any sense-shattering spaceship battle. True, this seventeen-page periodical does depict some intriguing insight into the motivations behind Baltar’s titanic treachery against his fellow colonials, but witnessing the traitor’s unsurprising comeuppance later on at the hands of the Imperious Leader doesn’t debatably work as this book’s biggest highlight; “But… What have you done? What of our bargain? My colony was to be spared!”

Instead, the American author spends a good portion of his penmanship slowly depicting the supply issues being experienced by the crumbling convoy, courtesy of pluton poisoning, and the disconcerting rise of the utterly odious Sire Uri “to the Quorum of Twelve after the Cylon attack against the Twelve Colonies.” Such sub-plots are obviously crucial to explaining just why Captain Apollo is later galvanised into recommending he leads a seemingly suicidal mission through the heavily mined Nova of Magadon so as to ensure the supposed “safety of the entire fleet”. However, these scenes are so dialogue-heavy that it is decidedly difficult to traverse them without the publication’s already pedestrian pacing almost grinding to a complete halt.

Luckily though, Jeff Aclin’s script for Issue Two of “Battlestar Galactica” does at least include the introduction of child-friendly favourite, Muffet Two, and provides plenty of spotlight upon Serina’s fast developing relationship with Adam’s eldest son. These scenes set aboard the Rising Star appear to do an excellent job of adapting the televised sequences shown in “Saga of a Star-World”, as well as genuinely helping convey a sense of family between Apollo, the ‘famous female news reporter’ and her young son, Boxey.

Ernie Colon’s artwork should also receive some praise for at least trying to add some dynamism to this comic’s lack-lustre narrative. The Puerto Rican artist’s illustrations of Uri and Lieutenant Jolly are, admittedly, somewhat different from their small screen counterparts in physical appearance, yet they both still manage to imbue some of the characters’ unique personality, particularly the bald-headed Galactican politician who positively exudes his self-centred vileness in every panel in which he appears.

Script: Roger McKenzie, Art & Letters: Ernie Colon, and Colors: Bob Sharen

Battlestar Galactica #1 - Marvel Comics

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA No. 1, March 1979

Based upon “the first episode of the television series”, Roger McKenzie’s script for this comic book adaption’s opening instalment somewhat wisely limits itself to simply focusing upon the destruction of both Humanity’s formidably-sized Colonial Fleet and its defenceless home planets by the merciless Cylons, rather than trying to stretch itself too thin by concerning itself with either the crossing of the Nova of Madagon, or the Ovion’s subsequent carnivorous machinations on Carillon. Indeed, despite the “monthly” arguably suffering with a tremendously text-heavy final few panels, Issue One of “Battlestar Galactica” ends on a natural high-point as Commander Adama initiates a mass exodus of his race in search of a mysterious "planet called Earth!” 

Furthermore, whether because of some last minute changes to Glen Larson’s storyline or not, the American author even goes so far as to deprive this eighteen-page periodical’s audience of Zac’s dialogue-driven opening exchange with Lieutenant Starbuck on board the Galactica, and instead immediately throws the inexperienced pilot straight into his fatal patrol with the youngster’s older brother, Captain Apollo. Such a decision really helps transport the reader straight into the cataclysmic action by demonstrating, within the space of just a handful of sketches, that this publication’s hapless peace envoy is clearly facing a ton of pain by pitting just two military-class space superiority fighters against “thousands” of Cylon warships, and enough combined firepower to annihilate all but one of Mankind’s capital ships.

Similarly as enthralling is the writer’s ability to demonstrate the extremity of Count Baltar’s treachery and just how close the former Colonial military officer comes to bringing the Thousand Yahren War to a calamitous conclusion. Admittedly, a lot of the mass carnage is actually explained through word balloons and text bubbles as opposed to graphic depictions of the slaughter, yet it still helps to ‘sell’ Adama’s eventual decision to bravely mass evacuate his people from the Twelve Colonies following their devastating destruction at the hands of the robots; “If we stay in this star system, the alliance will eventually hunt us down and destroy us!”

Disappointingly however, this comic is debatably badly let down by some decidedly uninspiring pencilling by Ernie Colon, which whilst prodigious when it comes to depicting the narrative’s impressive-looking spaceships, seems to somewhat lack much in the way of detailed dynamism for its quite considerable cast of characters. Indeed, the “stateside Puerto Rican” artist rarely seems to provide many of his drawings with any sort of background whatsoever, and when he does, they disconcertingly consist of simple, rudimentary line-art.

Script: Roger McKenzie, Art: Ernie Colon, and Coloring: George Roussos

Battlestar Galactica (Classic) #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (CLASSIC) No. 1, November 2018

Undeniably packed full of outer space dog-fights and the utterly harsh brutality of the pitiless Cylons, this comic’s 7,238 strong audience probably still didn’t feel John Jackson Miller’s script for Issue One of “Battlestar Galactica (Classic)” quite resonated with them as well as Glen A. Larson’s science fiction television series from the Seventies did. Indeed, despite containing plenty of Adama’s brooding negativity regarding his “ragtag fugitive" fleet's headlong flight through the Empyrean Expanse, as well as Starbuck's endearing wit, such as when the Lieutenant grumpily acknowledges the return of Sheba and Silver Spa Squadron just in the ‘nick of time’, the inclusion of the lion-headed Okaati debatably seems to consistently dispel any illusion that this story is a genuine extension of the well-loved “American Broadcasting Company” programme.

Of course, that isn’t to say that the original network’s twenty-four episode long franchise was entirely devoid of aliens, as the likes of the wonderfully insect-like Ovions and their richly-varied casino customers showed in the three-part pilot “Saga Of A Star World”. But to seemingly crowbar in such an over-used sci-fi soap trope as a feline race for a fortieth anniversary celebratory mini-series like “Counterstrike” may well have struck some fans as a clichéd discourtesy, especially when instead the Memphis-born writer could have perhaps explored the fate of Carillon’s multi-limbed inhabitants following its tylium-fuelled destruction, or even offered an insight into another member of the seldom seen Cylon Alliance?

Resultantly, this twenty-page periodical only seemingly provides plenty of nostalgic joy when its narrative focuses upon the likes of Lucifer’s utterly merciless decimation of the “people of Kiernu” for allowing “the Galactica and the human fleet to cross your territory”, and Baltar’s impressive appearance at the very end of this comic when he smugly familiarises the Comitat with the concept of “the enemy of my enemy…” Sadly, the rest of this story-line smacks of its American author rather indolently penning some pretty unimaginative plot-threads, particularly as the book’s entire premise is ludicrously based upon Captain Apollo escorting a massive fleet of unknown extra-terrestrial ships straight to the highly-vulnerable location of his own people, simply because the Okaati “were being followed by [three] Cylons.”

Written by: John Jackson Miller, Art by: Daniel HDR, and Letters by: Taylor Esposito

Battlestar Galactica (Classic) #0 - Dynamite Entertainment

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (CLASSIC) No. 0, October 2018

“Set soon after the events of the first season” of Glen A. Larson’s 1978 American science fiction television programme, it must have been abundantly clear to this “Dynamite Entertainment” title’s audience that writer John Jackson Miller was somewhat inspired by “one of the series best-loved episodes in which another surviving Battlestar was discovered” when he was busy penning the narrative behind this “miniseries timed for Battlestar Galactica's 40th anniversary year!” Yet whilst the former “Comics Retailer” editor’s script for this 35¢ priced sixteen-page periodical is undoubtedly imbued with plenty of pulse-pounding Colonial Viper action as Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer lead a hostile alien assault squadron away from the human convoy, it’s premise of the ragtag fugitive fleet encountering a handful of distinctive extra-terrestrial species all within the space of a few “centons” is as arguably disconcerting as Commander Adama’s decision to “cross the narrow neck separating the two parts” of the Kiernu Empire without the permission of the territory’s fuming chancellor; “Do not insult me with your oath, Adama. This day I have seen what the word of a human is worth!”

To debatably make matters worse however, the franchise’s primary antagonists, the Cylons, are seemingly relegated to an all too brief camo where three of the robotic race’s raiders are quickly dispatched whilst ‘pursuing’ an Okaati transport in the middle of nowhere. Just why a trio of the “military androids with silver armour” happen to be patrolling a nebula dominated by the Comitat’s formidable-looking taskforce dishearteningly may well have smacked of overly-contrived “felgercarb” to many readers, especially as the Bucketheads’ heavy fighters “don’t seem to be firing at whoever it is they’re following”...

Quite possibly the biggest draw to Issue Zero of “Battlestar Galactica (Classic)” therefore, is the publication’s artwork. Whether it be Sean Chen and Cris Peter’s “cover harkening back to the original Marvel Battlestar Galactica series”, or Daniel HDR’s interiors, the comic certainly seems to provide plenty of nostalgia to “those kids in the audience every night” who watched the show in the Late Seventies. Indeed, despite the fact that the Porto Alegre-born illustrator’s lion-like sketches of Parrin and Grust unnervingly seem better suited to an episode of “Star Trek: The Animated Series” than NBCUniversal Television Distribution’s show, it is easy to imagine actor Lorne Greene’s instantly recognisable booming out across the Brazilian’s star field-based storyboards.

Written by: John Jackson Miller, Art by: Daniel HDR, and Letters by: Taylor Esposito

Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #1 - Dynamite Entertainment

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: TWILIGHT COMMAND No. 1, February 2019

Fans of Ronald D. Moore’s 2004 re-imagining of the American military science fiction television series “Battlestar Galactica” probably found Michael Moreci’s script for this untold tale’s opening instalment entertaining enough, what with the twenty-page periodical’s mix of fast-paced action sequences and conspiratorial conversations. However, those readers unable or unwilling to recall the plot to the programme’s two-part second season finale “Lay Down Your Burdens” arguably found it little more than a disconcerting mess of jumbled set-pieces focusing upon a settlement of weary-worn human survivors being unnervingly fed by their hated enemies and a small party of rebels fighting alongside a somewhat miraculously friendly talking toaster; “What in the -- A talking Centurion?! What are you waiting for? Kill it!”

Admittedly, “Dynamite Entertainment” does try to warn any bibliophiles haplessly perusing this publication within their local comic book store, that “the events of this issue take place concurrently with Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica.” But such a short summary as to where the mini-series sits within the “Sci-Fi Channel” show’s timeline is hardly going to make much sense to anyone unfamiliar with Admiral Adama’s shockingly sudden abandonment of his people on New Caprica, and resultantly any newcomers to this title will debatably spend most of their time understandably wondering just what in Kobol is going on as a scruffy-looking, one-eyed Executive Officer Tigh rushes headlong to Chief Petty Officer Tyrol’s tent before being ominously carted off by the Cylons…

Lamentably, Moreci provides little elucidation as to the background behind this story during its telling either, despite his narrative containing plenty of opportunities to do so, such as Galen’s heated night-time conversation with Samuel T. Anders when the pair squander three entire pages talking about how little they know about the mysterious Commander Flores, or the Colonial pair’s subsequent introductory meeting with the rebellion’s grim-faced leader. Indeed, with the exception of an early scene which was clearly penned simply to reinforce Saul’s fiercely loyal insistence that the Galactica’s commanding officer will return to rescue his people at some point, this entire adventure is debatably devoid of any meaningful exposition concerning its prior build-up whatsoever.

Similarly as unsuccessful are some of Breno Tamura’s breakdowns, which whilst excellent at depicting the awkward unnaturalness of the robotic cylons, seem rather disagreeably scratchy when used to depict facial expressions when in close-up. Packed full of dynamic gun-play and buckets of bullets, there can be no denying that the “Dragão Brasil Magazine” debutant can pencil some astoundingly energetic panels, yet his questionably inconsistent handling of human anatomy persistently jars the eye throughout this publication.

Writer: Michael Moreci, Artist: Breno Tamura, and Colorist: Dijjo Lima