ROLL CALL! Who's getting GHOSTS?

[Brandon Jerwa]

Okay, kids...as you know, my new series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: GHOSTS will see its first issue released in the next couple of weeks. This is the first BSG-related Dynamite work to feature an all-new cast of characters (at least on the "good" side), so of course we're curious as to how it will be received.

I'd like to hear from everyone who plans to pick the book up in its first week. Let's hear it!

[magadizer]

I would love to. Unfortunately, I have to reassess my financial priorities since I was forced to buy a new car, as well as deal with a hurricane.

I may not be able to buy comics on my budget now, especially ones priced that high. Eventually I'll get them, but it may be down the road depending on how I can work things out.

I'm on record here at this forum as being a huge fan of your writing for BSG. I'm also on record as saying this comic is priced too high. We'll see.

Josh

[cdarlage]

Okay, kids...as you know, my new series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: GHOSTS will see its first issue released in the next couple of weeks. This is the first BSG-related Dynamite work to feature an all-new cast of characters (at least on the "good" side), so of course we're curious as to how it will be received.

I'd like to hear from everyone who plans to pick the book up in its first week. Let's hear it!

I will be getting this for sure.

[Simon Bowland]

The book's actually great value at $4.99 - remember there's 32 pages of story, not 22, so per page it actually works out as better value than the $3.50 books.

The first issue is superb, Brandon and Jonathan have done a great job. It's well worth checking out.

[Raymar3d]

I pretty much buy all Battlestar Galactica material, as I worked on the show and am friends with Richard Hatch. :)

That said, I most likely will wait for a trade paperback edition. I really prefer them, as I don't buy comics to sell them later, and reading them as one complete story appeals to me more than piece by piece.

Also, I was much more a fan of the original series than the new series. So, depending on the feel of the characters in this one, will decide me on buying it. I REALLY would like to like at least one character in the new Battlestar universe, and after 4 years of watching, plus the miniseries, I still have problems liking any of the characters consistently. Once in awhile, they excell at something and I appreciate them, but too often they get caught up in pettiness and stupidity for my tastes.

I liked the nobility of the old series, despite the camp.

None of which means I won't like your story, just trying to answer honestly. :)

I look forward to giving it a read, in whatever format.

Sincerely,

Ken Thomson

[Raymar3d]

Well, it's in my file at the comic shop with a few other BSG issues and some Savage Tales back issues I'm going to grab. I saw issue #1 tonight, but I'm waiting till next week to bring it home. I had to get Volume 4 of Savage Sword of Conan and also Giant Size Red Sonja #2 today. I am enjoying the Sonja stories right now. So far, it's a great read. :)

Ken

[magadizer]

Well, fortunately, I have been able to keep my budget for comics going this month, so that I could pick up the book.

Here's my review (although I think reviewing single issues of a multi issue arc is often unfair, since you don't get to see where it is going yet)

I thought this was solid, though not spectacular writing. I think that Season Zero set the bar high, not just for Brandon Jerwa, but also for BSG comics writing in general. We haven't yet seen enough of these new characters to understand their personalities and motivations yet, so I reserve judgment there. Perhaps that is one reason why the Season Zero series was so effective, was that we really understood the personality and future trajectory of the characters for the TV show, and Brandon Jerwa did such a great job of keeping his writing in line with that. On the other hand, the characters he created such as DeMarco, were well realized and had a great and tragic story.

My main concern is with the plot elements. The "terrorists in our midst" concept has been well covered in BSG not only in the show, but also in the Zarek miniseries, in Season Zero, and to a degree in the first BSG 12-issue series. I am not going to prejudge the remaining 3/4 of the series, but I was hoping for a more unusual premise in this series.

The artwork is still not to the standard of Jackson Herbert's fine work in Season Zero. Lau does not give enough distinction to the different characters he draws. Since most of the females especially look basically the same (face and hair) depending on the panel, it often takes me an inordinate amount of time just figuring out what character is talking. I think this is especially important in a new book with all new characters. It took me to the end of the book to guess that perhaps the woman having an affair with the captain was a cylon 3. I would not have been at all sure of that if it were not for rereading the Newsarama interview (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080715-BSGGhosts.html) from a couple months ago.

The coloring was very different from anything we have seen on a BSG book yet. It was interesting to have such pastel shades in a series when the visual look of BSG is usually defined by a gritty, saturated, and shadowy spectrum.

Looking forward to seeing the continuation of the story, though, and hoping for a surprising story!

Josh

[magadizer]

Anyone out there?????

This is the deadest forum. I would love for anyone else to chime in about this issue or any other. Not that I am so self-important to expect that anyone cares what anonymous me thinks about this, but surely some other BSG fans would like to talk about these comics.

I was reading back on some of my earlier posts where I reviewed the Pegasus one-shot, for example. I was a little surprised to see that I was fairly critical of Jerwa's writing here, but sympathetic to his difficulties as a writer of licensed fiction. I may have overstated that I was "on record" :D as being a huge fan of Jerwa's writing. I wasn't sucking up though. I just realized that it was the season zero comic that cemented my appreciation for Jerwa as a BSG writer.

Anyone else have an opinion? I would love to hear from Brandon Jerwa to see his interaction with my review....

Thanks,

Josh

[Raymar3d]

Well, overall, I would say I have enjoyed the comic writing better than the current TV series writing, and that should say something. :)

I'd like to see more classic Battlestar, though. Comics are a medium where those characters can live on, even though some of the original cast have departed this earth.

Ken

[magadizer]

I think that the current season is definitely (with some moments aside) the weakest yet. I have faith that they will make it pay off however in the back half IF THEY EVER AIR IT.

I suspect that you are among only a small number hoping for more "Classic" BSG comics. Even the fact that the writer from my other favorite show (LOST) was writing that last series couldn't interest me to take a glance at it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think most fans of the new BSG don't think much of the original. (See: last week's episode of "The Office").

;)

[Raymar3d]

What a sad day, when classics are cast aside to favor classless imitations that may look more sophisticated, may have a grittier feel and seem more honest, but favor classless characters over honor.

Original BSG was far superior to the new series.

Ken

[magadizer]

What a sad day, when classics are cast aside to favor classless imitations that may look more sophisticated, may have a grittier feel and seem more honest, but favor classless characters over honor.

Original BSG was far superior to the new series.

Ken

That's an interesting take. I haven't seen enough of the original to judge with complete fairness, but what I have seen didn't impress me. It seemed to be too campy to maintain my interest in the "classier" characters.

I do agree that at times it seems there is no one to root for in the new series. But as you recognize, there is a certain attempt at honesty which appeals to today's audience by and large. However, there is a danger of cynicism when your characters are so tainted that no one can be admired. It is not necessarily more honest to portray everyone in this way. There really are legitimate heroes in the world, people of honesty, integrity, and courage. Like in Lord of the Rings, the character of Faramir (in the book-I think the movie got this character wrong) to me represents the man who could see temptation, but would not even give it an opportunity, avoiding it and choosing virtue. This type of character is absent from the new BSG.

[Raymar3d]

That's an interesting take. I haven't seen enough of the original to judge with complete fairness, but what I have seen didn't impress me. It seemed to be too campy to maintain my interest in the "classier" characters.

I do agree that at times it seems there is no one to root for in the new series. But as you recognize, there is a certain attempt at honesty which appeals to today's audience by and large. However, there is a danger of cynicism when your characters are so tainted that no one can be admired. It is not necessarily more honest to portray everyone in this way. There really are legitimate heroes in the world, people of honesty, integrity, and courage. Like in Lord of the Rings, the character of Faramir (in the book-I think the movie got this character wrong) to me represents the man who could see temptation, but would not even give it an opportunity, avoiding it and choosing virtue. This type of character is absent from the new BSG.


The thing about the original BSG is that it came from the 1970's and was on television. It has a few things that detract from it in that regard, such as the occasional disco music, and a few campy episodes. On the other hand, it had some really excellent ones that are lost because new fans aren't giving that show a chance.

I caught it in 1978 during its first run. At the time, we had Star Trek TOS and the one and only, we had recently had Space 1999 and had just had Star Wars. BSG was somewhat of a mix of Star Trek and Star Wars, mixing in the chariots of the gods, altlantis, the mayans, etc. much like Stargate does today. In fact, I highly suspect that the guys who made Stargate were fans of Battlestar, because the ships RA's group used were very much like Cylon Raiders.

BSG also was cancelled too soon. The real camp came when they 'finished' it with Galactica 1980. Interestingly, I rewatched that show on DVD last year when it came out, and didn't hate it nearly as much as I did when I was a kid watching it, after the huge changes that came with the new show.

Don't get me wrong, I watch the new show, but it is hard for me to respect the characters in it, because they don't act worthy of respect most of the time. The old show, camp or no, I would have been able to call those people friends, and, in fact, I did. When in 1999 I met Richard Hatch, and started working with him on his attempt to bring back the original, with a little more serious edge, but keeping to the core of the characters, that was the vision I wanted to see. I fought for four years to get it back like that, but it didn't matter. So, yes, some sour grapes here. But it has more to do with the fact that I can't let my kids watch the show than anything else.

They bas...ardized it, IMHO. It's a changeling, and it's not something I really like that much. Now, that being said, the comics have been grand so far in that universe.

It's a different animal altogether, really. But I miss what could have been. Many, many ideas floated around with us for stories and plots in our take on the show. I was even working with Tom DeSanto and Bryan Singer at one point. I did get to build a ship for the 2003 miniseries that you see every week, the Celestra/aka/Striker. I put a mark on the new show with that ship, as well as the cycles of history repeating themselves. I had quite a few conversations with Ron Moore as well, talking about what changes he had made, and I suggested that since he'd radically changed it, he should change it MORE not less, so that it could pass as a similar event to the original, either in the past or the future, and he did like it and ultimately incorporated it into the mythos, "It's all happened before. It will all happen again." That's mine. :)

I don't hate the new show. But I wish people would give the old show another look and enjoy it for what it is too. It's better than it gets credit for, and I have never liked seeing something torn down to be replaced with something new and especially when it is mocked in the process. The new series owes its existence to a lot of hard work that came before, and lest they forget, it is a copy.

Ken

[magadizer]

Issue #2 was an enrichment. (I was going to say improvement, but that seems to imply a too-negative view of issue #1)

Obviously this is not 4 episodes of a story, but rather a long tale we are recieving in 4 parts, and can't be reviewed piece by piece.

However, I first got the feeling in this issue that I would like to see an ongoing series with these new characters. I feel like we are just barely getting to put names with faces, and now the tale is half over. I expect good things to come, but I wonder if we'll be left wanting more once the series finishes.

At least we have Cylon War and Final Five coming, but I want to see continued stories from Brandon Jerwa.

[magadizer]

OK...issue #3 was fantastic.

No comlplaints from me about the art this time. I honestly don't know if the art is better this time, or if i am just getting acclamated to Lau's style. I found it much easier to follow this time, and I really enjoyed the layouts and visual pacing of the story this issue.

The story just gets better and better. I am not sure how you can wrap it all up in just one more issue, and do justice to the large number of characters in the cast, but that's a minor issue. The series has improved with each issue, so I am now REALLY looking forward to the conclusion. This may be one of the few times I think that a monthly series would be better read in collected format. It's hard to remember all the characters and plot threads from month to month in this book. Oh well, guess I just have to re-read it all!

Again, great job on this book....I am now going to officially begin the campaign to continue GHOSTS as an ongoing series...or at least as a series of minis.

Are you up for that Brandon?

[Mr. Fantastic]

Up until now, I have been buying every BSG title that Dynamite put out. I decided not to get Ghosts because of the $4.99 U.S. price tag.

I live in Canada. I used to be able to buy comic books for the same price they sold for in the U.S. Unfortunately, due to a drop in the value of the Canadian dollar because of the worldwide financial crisis, I now have to pay about 20% more. That makes an already expensive comic book undesirable.

As a result, I have decided to drastically cut down on the number of comic books that I buy. I will no longer purchase any titles put out by Dynamite. Dynamite comics are the most expensive because they put out more titles that cost more than $2.99. A $2.99 comic in Canada currently costs me $3.75. Many Dynamite titles are $3.50 U.S. and higher. I am only going to buy Xena: Army of Darkness? What Again #3 and #4 because I want to finish reading it. Then I am done with Dynamite.

[Simon Bowland]

It's a shame you feel that way, Mr Fantastic. You should try living in England if you think you've got it bad, we're paying a heck of a lot more for our comics than you guys are. I think when you factor in inflation, the days of the $2.99 comic are coming to an end, we've already seen Marvel shift a lot of their product to $3.99 and DC will surely follow suit before too long. Top Cow have recently pledged to keep their line at $2.99 for all of 2009, but what that probably means is a price hike at the start of 2010 from them as well.

[Mr. Fantastic]

I counted the pages in a $3.50 U.S. ($4.25 Canadian) Dynamite comic. It had the same number of pages as a $2.99 ($3.75 Canadian) comic book put out by a competitor. I noticed that Dynamite charges more than its competitors. Something about Dynamite's pricing doesn't add up.

These comics are printed in Canada. It is a lot cheaper to print them here. The publishers save a lot of money because of the difference in the U.S. and Canadian dollars. Then they make Canadians pay more for them than Americans. You are in England. You are paying more because it is expensive to ship from North America to England and possibly import tariffs.



It's a shame you feel that way, Mr Fantastic. You should try living in England if you think you've got it bad, we're paying a heck of a lot more

[Raymar3d]

With gas prices going down, so should prices for stuff. The other thing is, a lower price point will sell more copies.

Back to BSG Ghosts...

I picked up the first two issues, and I liked them very much. I haven't gotten the third yet, but I do plan to finish the series.

Well done. :)

Ken

[Brandon Jerwa]

OK...issue #3 was fantastic.

No comlplaints from me about the art this time. I honestly don't know if the art is better this time, or if i am just getting acclamated to Lau's style. I found it much easier to follow this time, and I really enjoyed the layouts and visual pacing of the story this issue.

The story just gets better and better. I am not sure how you can wrap it all up in just one more issue, and do justice to the large number of characters in the cast, but that's a minor issue. The series has improved with each issue, so I am now REALLY looking forward to the conclusion. This may be one of the few times I think that a monthly series would be better read in collected format. It's hard to remember all the characters and plot threads from month to month in this book. Oh well, guess I just have to re-read it all!

Again, great job on this book....I am now going to officially begin the campaign to continue GHOSTS as an ongoing series...or at least as a series of minis.

Are you up for that Brandon?


Hey everyone! Happy New Year!

I'm sorry for my absence. My wife was in a terrible car wreck in late October that left her with several broken bones. Since that time, I've been pretty overwhelmed with the juggling of work, promoting the books, taking care of wife and child and insurance / medical nonsense.

One of my New Year's resolutions is better contact with the readers, so here we are. ;)

I'm glad to see that Ghosts is being well-received by the people who are picking it up! I know the price has been an obstacle for some, and the sales figures definitely reflect that, unfortunately. Hopefully, we'll find some more support when / if it goes to trade paperback.

As for the idea of an ongoing Ghosts series: I think I definitely have more stories to tell with these characters, but I think anything more than another mini-series would probably be overkill. I don't know if the sales have been strong enough to support the idea of ever seeing the Ghosts again, but I'm certainly willing to revisit them.

[magadizer]

Hey everyone! Happy New Year!

I'm sorry for my absence. My wife was in a terrible car wreck in late October that left her with several broken bones. Since that time, I've been pretty overwhelmed with the juggling of work, promoting the books, taking care of wife and child and insurance / medical nonsense.

One of my New Year's resolutions is better contact with the readers, so here we are. ;)

I'm glad to see that Ghosts is being well-received by the people who are picking it up! I know the price has been an obstacle for some, and the sales figures definitely reflect that, unfortunately. Hopefully, we'll find some more support when / if it goes to trade paperback.

As for the idea of an ongoing Ghosts series: I think I definitely have more stories to tell with these characters, but I think anything more than another mini-series would probably be overkill. I don't know if the sales have been strong enough to support the idea of ever seeing the Ghosts again, but I'm certainly willing to revisit them.


Thanks for checking in, Brandon. Sorry to hear about your wife. I hope that your return to the forums here means she has recovered! I think we all can sympathize with your insurance woes...God bless you and kee up the good work.

Of course we have to wait and see how you wrap things up with issue 4, but I really have the feeling that we are just getting to know these characters and now we are about to leave them - it seems a shame to not have more.

Are you listening, Dynamite? I hope you keep employing Mr. Jerwa for a long time writing BSG stories, and I would love to see GHOSTS return again!!!!
I have complained about the price, but bought them anyways, and now I hope that Dynamite works a different way with future series.

Great work again, though, and I hope you will keep checking in here.

Happy New Year everyone! So say we all.

[Raymar3d]

I suspect that with the Christmas season and a tanking economy taking its toll on extra spending money, that this title will do better in trade paperback format. It also sucks when you subscribe to a comic title at a local shop and they put your issues back out on the shelf and you miss some. That isn't your fault, but it makes me less trusting of buying a comic series, as missing an issue is not an option for me. :(

Heck, I wouldn't mind if all comics just came out as TPB's. I like that format better, as it's a lot easier to store on a bookshelf and pull down to read and reread. Comics get bagged and boxed and forgotten for a long time. I pull them out and read them back to back from time to time, but I'm happier with TPB's overall, as I'm less a $ collector than a reader.

Ken

[Drifter39]

Well, I for one will be going out as soon as possible and buying the Ghost Series. We had some financial Problems here, Wife lost her job, So I haven't been on here in a loong time. She finally got another Job and now we are all caught up on bills. With that being said, She gave me the Go ahead to buying Comics again. I recently Picked up the Entire BSG Season Zero run and Absolutely Loved it. Awesome Story line. I thought about trying to write a Revew for the entire Season Zero Series, but I see it has been done with for a bit. I was sad to see it end. It kept me wanting more. If Ghosts is even half as good as Season Zero, I will be happy. And I'm sure it will be. Mr. Jerwa, keep up the Excellent Writing!!!

I also wanted to say Hi to MadMikey, I see they gave you the honor of being the sites admin. Great Job!!!!!

[Brandon Jerwa]

Once again, I am flattered by the high praise. Thanks so much!

For anyone who's interested, there is a brand-new commentary track for issue 1 at Comic Book Resources:

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19761




Well, I for one will be going out as soon as possible and buying the Ghost Series. We had some financial Problems here, Wife lost her job, So I haven't been on here in a loong time. She finally got another Job and now we are all caught up on bills. With that being said, She gave me the Go ahead to buying Comics again. I recently Picked up the Entire BSG Season Zero run and Absolutely Loved it. Awesome Story line. I thought about trying to write a Revew for the entire Season Zero Series, but I see it has been done with for a bit. I was sad to see it end. It kept me wanting more. If Ghosts is even half as good as Season Zero, I will be happy. And I'm sure it will be. Mr. Jerwa, keep up the Excellent Writing!!!

I also wanted to say Hi to MadMikey, I see they gave you the honor of being the sites admin. Great Job!!!!!

[Raymar3d]

I picked up Issue #3 a week ago, and enjoyed it. Hoping the final issue will be just as good. Looks like it has a great setup.

Speaking of Battlestar, the ending of the TV series seems to be unraveling everything. I wonder if it will end on a high or low note, ultimately? So many characters meeting grisly fates is sad to me. I'm hoping they'll pull out an optimistic ending, but it doesn't look real promising at this point.

At least, in theory, we have some dating confirmation that this BSG is a sequel to TOS BSG, IF it really was 2000 years earlier that (supposed Earth) was destroyed.

Ken

[magadizer]

Got issue 4 yesterday.

I need to reread the entire series straight through, because I totally forgot who a couple of the supporting characters were. Perhaps my brain is getting old prematurely. Perhaps there were a few too many characters for such a short series. With a couple fewer characters there might have been more space to show the emotions and reasoning behind Chen's conversion of heart. I suspect it will not seem so however when I read it straight through.

But on a positive note - very enjoyable wrap up! Jerwa does know what he's doing, for sure. I love the cover now that I've seen the story. I also like that the couple reconciled. There is too few positive depictions of married life in popular culture. (Not that Arvin's behavior was admirable, but that he was "redeemed" in the context of marriage is great I think.)

I enjoyed the resonance or echo of the orignial miniseries. A great nod to the twist ending of the show without seeming derivative at all.

Now, I am eager to see Ghosts #5 come out....hint. And I hope we see more of those gunships in action then.

Another question about the coloring. The pastel coloring was a bit odd to me. I would have thought that a more saturated color palette alternating with a more washed-out almost greyscale would have matched the show more, and therefore felt more BSG.

Until next time, I leave you with this.....Bring Back Brandon!