Battlestar Galactica #6

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Battlestar Galactica
Issue: 6
Publisher: Dynamite
Date: 2007
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Nigel Raynor
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Simon Bowland

Photo cover edition. Set during the second season of the SciFi TV series, this issue has the Galactica and it's "rag-tag fleet" hiding among space debris as they deal with a virus that has incapacitated many of their crew, as well as multiple ships with FTL drives damaged by attacks from Earth Protectorate terrorists.

To make matters worse, the (temporary, apparently) death of one of the Cylon agents may have alerted the cylons to the location of the fleet, and an attack could come at any moment.

I have only seen a few episodes of the show, and the only other issue of the comic series I have read so far was #0 (reviewed here), but I was impressed with the comic's ability to capture the emotional tension of the show. This issue had a ton of subplots, and breakneck pacing, but in spite of my relative unfamiliarity with the ongoing story, I never felt put off by the complexity. Instead, it added to my interest.

Coupled with some terrific art, the pacing and intensity of the story made for a very engaging read.

Rating: 7.5/10

Giant-Size Action #0

I got a whole pack of these flip book from Red Giant Entertainment during Free Comic Book Day. Here's one that features Nikola Tesla.

Title: Giant-Size Action
Issue: 0
Publisher: Red Giant Entertainment
Date: May, 2014
Writer: Benny R. Powell, Terry Keefe, David Lawrence
Artist: Nigel Raynor, Bong Dazo
Colorist: Jay David Ramos, Michael Bartolo
Letterer: Benny R. Powell, Zach Metheny
Cover: Studio Hive
Editor: Brian Augustyn, David Lawrence

Flip book.

First story is Tesla: The Future Is Mine, featuring Nikola Tesla, in some steampunk flavored historical action. The story features appearances by Pierre Curie and Mark Twain, but the main character is really Mathilde Poincare (the scientist/mathematician Henri Poincare is never actually mentioned, but it would make sense in story terms for Mathilde to be his daughter).

Tesla (who is not actually all that appealing a character here) manages to pretty much end up as the damsel in distress, hanging off of the Eiffel Tower only to be rescued by Mathilde in a scene that's a lot of fun. Mathilde is intriguing. Tesla has potential. As does this story.

Flip the book over and you get: Wayward Sons, an urban fantasy that seems to be influence by a hodgepodge of mythology. It opens with a father and son practicing swordplay. When the son's magical powers manifest themselves, the father takes the son to meet a young woman with psychic abilities of her own.

Then there is a random encounter with a minotaur. No, really. A minotaur just kinda shows up and they fight it. Alanis the female "Wayward Son" (why the gender-specific title if the main characters are one man and one woman?) pulls out a bow and proceeds to go all Katniss Everdeen on the minotaur and it's off to the next stop on the quest to defeat whatever big evil is out there dropping minotaurs into people's living rooms.

This was harmless fun. It had good pacing and tolerable dialogue, and the potential to get more interesting as it continues.

Potential is kind of the watchword here. It will be interesting to see if either series lives up to that potential.

Rating: 6/10

Battlestar Galactica #0

Title: Battlestar Galactica
Issue: #0
Date: 2006
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Greg Pak
Penciler: Nigel Raynor
Inker: Nigel Raynor
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover Art: Steve McNiven

Convenient note for the hardcore fans: "The events of this comic book take place in the middle of Season Two of the television show, after the return from Kobol in Episode 207 (Home, Part 2) and before the arrival of Pegasus in Episode 211 (Resurrection Ship, Part 1)". For those who are not hardcore fans, this is an adaptation of the Battlestar Galactica remake, not the original series. No Dirk Bennedict. Starbuck is a woman. The comic itself centers on a hospital ship that is under attack by Cylon centurians. When Kara "Starbuck" Thrace boards the ship, she discovers that all of the survivors are people officially listed as dead in the records. Are they Cylons in human form? Are they who they claim to be? Or are they something else? Not much is answered here, but it serves as a nice teaser for the comic series. The art is good, although as with most adaptations of movies or TV shows, the character designs feel just a little bit "off". The characterizations seemed pretty good, especially Commander Adama.

Backup story is a two-page preview of Red Sonja #11 that's all fight scene with no dialogue. The chainmail bikini is still just as ridiculous as it ever was, although artist Mel Rubi does a nice job with all of the jumping around, kicking, and sword-swinging. Writer on this segment is Michael Avon Oeming.

Rating: 6.5/10