COMIC BOOK REVIEW: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA VOLUME 2: THE ADAMA GAMBIT / AUTHOR: DAN ABNETT, ROBERT PLACE NAPTON / ARTIST: VARIOUS / PUBLISHER: DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 20TH
Classic Battlestar Galactica has a certain iconic charm all of its own that stands the test of time to this day. Despite the gritty reboot and the death of disco, there’s still a kind of charm to the original Battlestar Galactica crew, and it’s nice that publishing house Dynamite have risen to the challenge of producing a series of graphic novel stories detailing the exploits of the famous rag-tag fleet and its crew.
The book is a handful of loosely connected stories rather than a specific arc plot. The crew of the Galactica and the associated fleet head into a dangerous nebula in order to avoid their Cylon enemies, a zone filled with exotic hazards. The writing is strong and well-paced, with each section feeling like a tightly written episode of the actual show. Characterisation is strong and doesn’t rely too much on familiarity with the material; if you’re new to classic Battlestar then you’re in for a treat, as you will get to meet much loved characters for the first time.
Guardians of the Galaxy scribe Dan Abnett wrote the bulk of the stories here, and you can tell that he is very happy when he’s writing space opera. The top tale in the collection is written by Robert Place Napton, who gives us the secret backstory of the traitor Baltar, laying the groundwork for some potentially great adventures in future books.
The art is quite workman like and variable in quality. Despite being produced by three separate artists and a team of colourists, the entire thing looks very samey throughout, and not in a good way. The art is poorly thought out, dull and utterly unremarkable. Some effort has been made to make it all look like the ‘80s TV show, however. The cover is produced by Livio Ramondelli and it looks epic and fantastic; it’s a pity he didn’t work on the rest of the book.
In summary, Battlestar Galactica Volume 2: The Adama Gambit, is a tightly written book that evokes and exploits the classic source material, which is unfortunately let down by the art, which is a real shame.
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