Like bad fanfiction
I’ve often been skeptical of attempts to adapt big science fiction and fantasy television properties to comics. For one thing, there’s not a lot that can be done with them storywise — particularly for comics based on serial properties such as Battlestar Galactica. Since a comic book is ancillary to the original property, by its definition it can’t do much with the source material unless the show has been cancelled. No matter what, the cast always has to remain at status quo. This doesn’t mean that you can’t tell some good stories, it’s just that you cant’ change the characters.
But a bigger factor, I think, is the fact that comic book creators just aren’t on par with their television counterparts. Not to bash Greg Pak who I am sure is a great writer on the Hulk, but his previewed work on Battlestar Galactica is a bit underwhelming. Not only is his adaptation set before the big event that closed the second season of the show and completely changed the series status quo, but there’s just something off about the writing. The charcters just don’t ring true to me — the voices are wrong. The art doesn’t do them any favors, either.
You can have a look for yourself here.
Not unsurprisingly, the comic book version of Galactica looks to be on the verge of very high sales. But I’m afraid I’m not going to be adding it to the pull list.
