Battlestar Galactica #3
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Illustrated by Cezar Razek
Colored by Vinicius Townsend
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross and Chris Eliopoulos
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 14, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

There’s a good chance I might get some flak for this, but here goes nothing: I’ve never seen the original Battlestar Galactica television series. Ronald D. Moore’s 2004 series happens to be among my favorite shows of all time, but I’ve never really been interested its predecessor. With that being said, I decided to give the new Battlestar Galactica comic book series from Dynamite a chance as an introduction of sorts to the show that started it all. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and illustrated by Cezar Razek, Battlestar Galactica is now on its third issue and there are some frakkin’ crazy inter-dimensional happenings going on.

Starbuck and Apollo are still stuck in an alternate timeline where those who should be dead are alive and vice versa. Captured by none other than Boomer, Apollo struggles to convince the downtrodden resistance of this dimension “” including his dead wife, Serina and his father, Adama “” that he is, in fact, Apollo from another history.

Meanwhile, Starbuck gets caught in the middle of an escape led by an overweight, rugged version of himself on a Cylon ship. Will the rebels be able to pull themselves together in time to prevent Zee from creating this dimension’s version of time weapons? Will Apollo and Starbuck find a way to reunite and make it back to their own timeline? Time is running out!

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed a few of Abnett’s Warhammer 40K novels in the past, so his involvement on this series was certainly a major draw for me “” and I am not disappointed. Battlestar Galactica #3 is a great addition to this series, featuring the most character development thus far. Only three issues in and I am reading these characters as they are meant to be portrayed, never thinking about their counterparts that I know so well from the reimagined show. Abnett and Lanning have crafted a compelling drama with just enough action and led by a cast of fallible heroes that I want to root for.

I am equally impressed with Razek’s art. Contrasted with the first issue, his drawings in issue three provide excellent representations of the characters from the main timeline with some subtle and not so subtle differences. With his character depictions, he’s skillfully managed to create the feel that these men and women are more war-torn and broken than their alternate-history equivalents.

If you’ve ever enjoyed any iteration of Battlestar Galactica or if you’ve always wanted to check one out, this comic book series is a great place to start. Along with Lanning, I can now credit Abnett’s storytelling as the reason that I wish to give the original television series a shot “” and to continue reading this fantastic series!