Ah, Battlestar Galactica. That weird and strange Star Wars knock-off. Or was it? Up here in Canada, the first two episodes were cut into a theatrically released movie. I fondly remember being at my cousin’s house and seeing a big write up in the newspaper and the promise from my mother to go see it on the big screen. Now, on the 40th anniversary of the TV show’s debut on network television Dynamite is releasing a new classic Battlestar Galactica series starting with a special 35¢ “issue zero” preview.
Just in case you missed the original Battlestar Galactica TV show and the remake a few years back, a peaceful colony of 12 planets is ruthlessly invaded by a robotic race known as the Cylons. All twelve worlds are decimated. The flagship starship, Battlestar Galactica is all that remains of a once mighty armada. Escorting a ragtag fleet of survivors the Battlestar Galactica travels the universe in search of the fabled thirteenth colony … Earth.
In this introductory issue, we find the Galactica engaged in a desperate bid to save fuel by skipping through the Kiernu territory and the Kiernu are very unhappy about this. But Captain Apollo and his squadron of Viper attack fighters lead the Kieru defence force away from the fleet as they make their escape. On the way back to the Galactica the Vipers discover a sister fleet of refuges which opens up some new possibilities for striking back at the Cylons.
Well written by John Jackson Miller, the intro issue does everything it should by setting up the premise of the series and getting the ball rolling. There is a little bit of exposition to explain the Battlestar Galactica mythos but it’s hard to not look at this book with a preexisting wealth of Battlestar mythos in my head and judge how someone new to the franchise would see things. Art by Daniel Hdr is great. There is some effort to copy the actor likenesses but not so much that the book is filled with caricatures. Daniel captures all the technical objects like the Viper ships and the space scenes are just as iconic as all the stock flying scenes were in the TV show. Understanding that this is a space comic book adventure about a TV show Natalia Marques colours the book very well with a standard palette that blends into the artwork well. Great nebula vistas in the background. Lettering from Taylor Esposito is clean, professional and easy to read.
As mentioned, this zero issue leads into a longer mini-series and I am very excited to read more. Great start coming out this week at your Local Comic Shop.
Issue: Battlestar Galactica (Classic) #0 | Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: John Jackson Miller | Artists: Daniel Hdr & Natalia Marques
Lettering: Taylor Esposito | Editor: Anthony Marques
Price: 35¢ – 32 pages
About Author
