Before Starbuck was played by a woman he was played by Face on The A-Team. Before Richard Hatch was Zarek he was Apollo. And Adama was played by Lorne Greene, not Edward James Olmos. Vipers were distinctive and cool. Viper pilots had helmets that were equally cool, with a bit of an Egyptian aura. These were the days of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. Despite the success of the modern remake, the original 1970s series has its own rightful place in the annals of sci-fi TV.
Next week Dynamite Comics is releasing a new comic book series for the TV series’ 25th anniversary, and if Issue #1 is any indication fans of retro TV generally and the original BSG specifically will find a familiar universe here. And yet the new series has been updated with some new twists.
How about time travel as a weapon? We saw something similar in the Bruce Willis sci-fi movie Looper, reviewed here at borg.com last month. It’s a cool idea introduced in issue #1 and likely will be a key element in future stories.
Artist Cezar Razek creates some nice outer space images with detailed baseships and both classic and updated vipers. The characters evoke the original series cast, especially Dirk Benedict’s Starbuck. Writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning offer up the background of this future world where an epic battle has pitted man against machine. And man is in search of the legendary planet Earth. And in Issue #1 Abnett and Lanning set Commander Adama off on a new battle with those machines–the classic chrome Cylon warriors.
Despite the interesting idea of clone humanoids as Cylons in the BSG reboot, it’s really hard not to love the original appearance of Cylons more.
Battlestar Galactica Issue #1 is a fun retro sci-fi read. Pick up your copy next Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at comic book stores everywhere.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
