Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Cullen Bunn
Illustrated by Alex Sanchez
Coloured by Daniela Miwa
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
THE LAST REMNANTS OF HUMANITY ARE ON THE RUN, PURSUED BY THE ROBOTIC CYLONS WHO SEEK MANKIND’S EXTERMINATION. CAPTURED BY THE PULL OF A BLACK HOLE, THE GALACTICA AND ITS FLEET EMERGED IN A HERETOFORE UNEXPLORED REGION OF SPACE. WITH ADAMA IN A COMA, STARBUCK AND APOLLO INVESTIGATED A NEARBY PLANET IN HOPES OF FINDING WHERE THEY WERE AND HOW TO GET HOME. UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM, ADAMA FOUND HIMSELF BACK
IN TIME, WHEN THE TREATY WITH THE CYLONS FIRST FELL, WHILE IN THE PRESENT, THE CYLONS ALSO TRAVELED THROUGH THE BLACK HOLE.
With all the hoopla that surrounded the new version of Battlestar Galactica it’s wonderful to see Cullen take on the original series here. There really is so much to explore in this universe between seasons of the original show before they arrived on Earth and to see the characters explored again reminds me of my childhood.
We all know the basics the Cylons attacked and caused the remainder of humanity to seek refuge in the stars and find the lost colony. This issue we pick up where the last left off and a Cylon Armada is attacking those pursuing the Galactica. While that’s happening Starbuck and Apollo after having gone through a black hole are on the planet below they’ve encountered.
This is great I mean the Cylons have no idea the identity of their attackers other than they appear to be other Cylons. But how can that be as the Supreme Command would know if they were his troops. It’s a surprise twist, revealed last issue, and what happens moving forward well you’ll have to read the issue to find out.
On the planet below the collected beings that have been stranded on the planet have gathered around the Apollo and his crew. This is when an old familiar face appears and suddenly the story becomes a lot more weird. They are taken to a place that even the demons won’t go, though the demons seem to be those Cylons who were on the attack of their own kind. What’s revealed however is amazing and then boom the story moves on to Adama.
His part of this story ties directly into what Apollo and the others are experiencing. Only Adama is reliving the day the Cylons attacked and knows that this can’t happening again. He gets to meet an old friend as well face to face and suddenly the scope of the story changes and things get a little muddier and a lot more interesting.
Okay so while it does help to be familiar with the original run or the Dynamite comics from the past it isn’t necessary to enjoy and follow this. The flow of the story is wonderfully done and how Cullen ties it all together is in his usual great style. This is what i’ve missed all the characterisation and a story that makes their universe that much larger and more dangerous without having to solely rely upon the Cylons. Then of course there’s the surprise endings that really grab your attention and leave you wanting more now.