Collecting issues #0 - #4
I’ve been meaning to start reviewing trade paperbacks, but I hadn’t finished one recently. Then a friend of mine who shares my new-found obsession for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica threw my way a copy of the comic series’ first collection and I read it in one sitting. I was surprised that the read was more than just me simply getting a fix of Vipers and Raiders. It was a very well done adaptation of the series’ storytelling. Let’s face it, comic adaptations of movies and television are a dime a dozen, but ones that truly capture the magic of the screen on paper are hard to find. Being a die-hard 24 fan, rest assured I have all the comics IDW’s put out so far, but other than the ‘Nightfall’ mini-series, the one shots couldn’t bottle the intensity each episode delivers. And don't remind me of DC's run of Star Trek comics. Galactica, however, flows from page to page just like the show.
Using splash pages that superimpose the faces of the main characters alongside their vessels keeps the pace on track like jump cuts in film editing does, and the inside cover establishes where this ‘episode’ falls in relation to those already aired on SyFy. The story is high drama, the crew confronting loved ones back from the dead, which all reason and logic suggest are part of a Cylon plot. The fact one of these ‘Returners’ is Zak Adama, the commander’s departed son, as well as Starbuck’s true love, makes matters more dire. Writer Greg Pak, best known in my eyes as the man who sired the epic ‘Planet Hulk’, knows the Galactica mythos well, pitting Colonial prophecy against Cylon paranoia as well as fusing Viper dogfights with marine firefights. Adama’s exchanges with Starbuck, as well Baltar’s conversations with his imaginary Six, sound dead-on, so much so that you can hear the actor’s voices reading the lines. The greatest touch is Adama’s journal entries, which he addresses to the real Zak’s memory. Nigel Raynor’s art, however, is hit and miss. At times, his renditions of Adama and Six are complimentary, whereas Apollo, Roslin, and a few others fade into the background. If it wasn’t already formula on the series, I would say the colliding imagery was too much for a comic, but here it works well.
As supplemental material, the collection ends with an enlightening writer’s commentary, artist sketches and a diverse cover gallery covering all variants of issues #0-#4. All in all, I'd call it a successful adaptation. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s tuned in to the show.
Comments