Battlestar Galactica: Six #1

By JT Krul, Igor Lima & Alex Guimarães

The Battlestar Galactica (2004) TV show is one of the greatest TV shows ever. It’s a complex blend of great action, several awesome science fiction scenes with a complex plot and some great character development. And on top of that, it also had a fantastic cast, such as Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Katee Sackhoff. The first issue of this mini-series focuses on the origins of the Cylon, Six, one of the principal characters played by the fantastic Tricia Helfer. How well this series would translate onto the page is certainly interesting to find out – especially with its tight storytelling structure. However, when you can’t go forward, you go back, with a pre-series origin story that’s pulled off pretty well by JT Krul, even if it isn’t perfect.

This book isn’t for newcomers – if you’re unfamiliar with the show itself then this comic isn’t to be read until you’ve watched it, and seriously, if you haven’t then you’re missing out. However, fans of Six and people longing for more Battlestar Galactica in their life can’t go wrong here – with authentic writing from Krul that really gets you inside Six’s head, with the dialogue being very solid for the most part as well as a compelling narrative to boot. This book effectively paints a good character study of Six and it’s clear that this book will be mainly focused on this character, so there probably won’t be any appearances from the likes of Starbuck or Apollo in the upcoming issues, although don’t be too surprised if Gaius Baltar is brought into things at some point down the line.

Six is a positive start to a series that should be interesting to follow. Krul has established a firm grasp of the character in an interesting setting, and there’s a lot room for potential that benefits from the fact that this book feels like a Battlestar Galactica series, and doesn’t just rely on a sense of familiarity with the use of the word “frak”.

The artwork is good. Six looks like Six and you get a good feel of the Battlestar Galactica world with nothing looking out of place, thanks to some impressive pencils by Igor Lima. Alex Guimarães’ colours look visually strong as well, and these two do a good job working with Krul to put across a solid comic.

Battlestar Galactica: Six is an okay start to a series that has a lot of potential, and should prove to be a good look into the character of Six and what transformed her into the character that we know from the comics. Krul doesn’t waste time allowing newcomers to jump on, but fans with knowledge of the character should find something to like here. This book, therefore, comes recommended, being far from weak and a relatively solid opening issue that should keep readers back for next month.