BRANDON JERWA ON NEW BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON ZERO

[MattBrady]

by William McCarty

What started off in Dynamite’s Free Comic Book Day Flip Book (with 100,000 copies distributed on FCBD) really gets rolling in July with the release of New Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #1.

Set roughly two years prior to the original Battlestar Galactica miniseries, the debut issue, written by Brandon (NBSG: Zarek) Jerwa, with art by Jackson Herbert and Stjepan Sejic will follow Commander Adama and the crew of the Galactica as they take on their first mission.

We spoke with Jerwa about the six-issue miniseries, and what fans can expect to see.

Newsarama: Season Zero is a prequel to the events of the initial re-imagined Battlestar Galactica mini-series; so what can you tell us about the story? Give us some wheres, whens and whos…

Brandon Jerwa: Basically, we’re starting at Bill Adama’s first day in command of the Galactica. He and Colonel Tigh are fully expecting to be put out to pasture with this new assignment, and they’re probably right. They’re handed a simple mission with some personal resonance for Adama, but events soon start to spiral out of control. We’ve seen a bit of that already in the Free Comic Book Day #0 issue, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.

After that first hurdle is cleared, we’ll see the arrival of a certain headstrong female pilot and move into the second act of the initial storyline. That’s the beauty of TV-connected-comics: it’s really pretty easy to keep things episodic and move the storytelling along just as the TV series would. The first couple of issues are really centered around Adama and Tigh, the third and fourth shine some spotlight on Starbuck and Helo and the fifth and sixth sort of bring the whole gang together.

NRAMA: What can you say about the impetus for the series? For example, what led you to pitch the story?

BJ: The pitching process for this was easily the most painless thing I’ve been involved in. I was on the phone with my editor at Dynamite discussing some Highlander business and we were literally saying our goodbyes when I said, “Oh, hey, by the way, I have this idea: what do you think about a Season Zero for Galactica?”

He let out this sort of startled laugh and said, “Hey, that’s not a bad idea at all. Write it down.” I did that within 24, maybe 48 hours and sent it over…and 24 hours past that, I was on the phone with Dynamite, and they liked it so much they had already given it the green-light. I was thrilled.

NRAMA: What’s it like crafting a tale for which the climax—which, in the case of Season Zero, is essentially the end of the human race, is already known?

BJ: This kind of storytelling has sort of become my trademark, hasn’t it?

NRAMA: Well, you do seem to land on assignments where your audience knows the end point, but not the journey to get there…

BJ: Exactly. Just as I did with Zarek and Snake-Eyes Declassified, I’m really just trying to put the characters and situations that follow this story into a fresh perspective with additional information. It’s very similar to what Heroes has done. You know what’s going on today, but you don’t know everything that led up to it, so the black and white flashback’s they do still have lots of power. It’s a great way to give the fans more. I’ve been studying Battlestar Galactica even closer than I usually do, watching for subtle nuances in the characters and their reactions to one another. It’s all very fertile ground, especially if you love this material as much as I do. That’s one thing I’ll definitely say about Dynamite – they don’t just randomly recruit writers for their licensed properties; you have to be “in it to win it” and have that real passion for the subject matter. All of the Galactica project writers are knee-deep in the continuity and we all keep very close communication between ourselves.

NRAMA: That said, how do you handle the issue of character development when working on a prequel? Do you begin with the earliest canonical work, say, the original BSG mini-series, and work backwards?

BJ: That’s pretty accurate, but I think that you have to take the entire canon into perspective as well. What happened in Season Zero that caused Starbuck to react to this event in Season Two? How does Adama face a divorce when the wounds are still fresh? It’s a balancing act between keeping the characters sort of frozen in time in terms of what we know, but also allowing them to move forward in terms of the big picture.

NRAMA: Will the series touch upon life on Caprica, pre-attack? If so, talk about the challenge of creating the type of dramatic tension BSG fans have come to expect in a setting, i.e., peacetime, decidedly different from the one they’re used to.

BJ: Let’s do the second part of that question first: I think that the TV series succeeds because a large chunk of the tension really has very little to do with the settings the characters are in, but rather the real, human - or Cylon - reaction to the events happening around them. Where a lot of science fiction – especially the genre-heavy work – might use the environment and external threats as a means to move story forward, Galactica goes the other way. We can only hope to mirror that in the comics.



To answer the first part, I have to give an answer that may cause some readers to roll their eyes a bit. I don’t want to be coy or give some really pointless piece of hype like “wait and see”, but we’re sort of in that situation. Basically, we’re greenlit for six issues, but I have story elements in place and grand designs currently in mind through issue 12. If the sales and orders warrant the continuation of the story, then I believe that option is on the table. The initial arc will really deal with the Galactica and it’s crew directly, although we will see bits of peacetime Colonial life…but if we go to 12 issues, I have a sub-plot regarding Lee Adama - who, of course, isn’t associated with his father’s ship at this time - that would give us a good ground-view of life in the Colonies.

Ultimately, I think we could keep this series going for 18 issues. Maybe 24, if it’s a real barn-burner on the sales front. We will eventually run out of time in terms of storytelling, and I would never want to serve more fat than meat. It’s ultimately up to sales, though. How’s that for a long answer to a short question?

NRAMA: That works. Season 3 of Galactica has spent a great deal of time delving into the culture of the Cylons; how will Season Zero handle the Cylon threat? The Cylon infliltrators on Caprica? Will you give Six a name?

BJ: The Cylons will play one sort of peripheral role in the first arc. Again, if we go to issue 12 or beyond, you’re going to see some really interesting Cylon involvement in terms of what’s happening in the colonies and within the Cylon Empire as well. As for giving Six a real name, someone definitely needs to - though this is something that’s more Ron Moore’s call. Though I can’t imagine Gaius Baltar simply yelled out “Unbelievably Hot Sex Machine!” every night… although that could be cool…

NRAMA: Given the nature of the comic (a licensed property), have you had to run all the backstories you’ve created for the Galactica characters past the show’s creators?

BJ: Every aspect of the comic universe is run directly through Ron Moore’s office, and they definitely don’t hesitate to let us know if something’s slightly off-kilter. When I did the Zarek book, my editor told me that I was getting the fewest notes of any Galactica writer. That was great, and I was high on my little horse when I started this job…but then I received the notes for issue #2 of Season Zero. They were all completely on the money, but I felt a little ego-twinge when I was presented with a pretty extensive list of points from the office.

I just wrapped up issue #3, however…and it came back with zero notes. Given that it was my first time writing Starbuck, I was scared! I guess I did all right.

NRAMA: Last but certainly not least, what’s your take on the Adama and the Armistice line issue? Do you think his black ops mission led to the Caprica Apocalypse?

BJ: I think blaming Adama isn’t strictly correct. He did what he had to do, right or wrong, and I think it speaks more to the system he represents than it does the man himself. In my series, the specter of the lost pilot “Bulldog” is still hanging over Bill Adama, and it’s definitely something that informs at least one of his decisions in the story.

New Battlestar Galactica: Season Zero #1 (MAY07 3333) is due in stores in July, and will be available with covers by Stjepan Sejic, Adriano Batista, Stephen Segovia, and a photo cover. Also, Battlestar fans should ask their retailer about the special “Cylon Silver Foil” edition of New Battlestar Galactica: Seaon Zero #1, featuring a Battlestar photo cover.

[DaVeO]

I'd probably be interested in this if the art even remotely resembled the actors. It doesn't so I'll pass. The "unlikeness" of the characters takes me out of the story unfortunatly. It was the same with Highlander. Xena however was well done.

[deathmasterj]

I sooooo can't wait for this. Brandon's BSG stuff has been top notch!

[Del Gorky]

The biggest problem I have with the Battlestar Galactica comics is that comics based on other media properties really need artists that can draw faces and figures that actually look like the actors from the series. Dynamite has clearly failed to do that. It really is a drag on the enjoyment and feeling of authenticity to their Battlestar comics. Dark Horse has generally done a much, much better job of hiring artists who can draw likenesses well. I have been purchasing the Battlestar comic but will probably stop soon solely due to the art.

[Switch625]

Originally Posted by DaVeO

I'd probably be interested in this if the art even remotely resembled the actors. It doesn't so I'll pass. The "unlikeness" of the characters takes me out of the story unfortunatly. It was the same with Highlander. Xena however was well done.

I love the new BSG and this is the exact same reason I don't purchase this series. And what's with the cheesecakiness of that Starbuck cover? Don't get me wrong, the actress is very sexy, but the character doesn't pose like that, showing off her butt. The flight suits aren't that tight.

[Tom Daylight]

I'm a bit confused, I thought at the start of the TV miniseries mankind and cylon hadn't been in any sort of contact for forty years?

[deathmasterj]

Originally Posted by Fetsur

I'm a bit confused, I thought at the start of the TV miniseries mankind and cylon hadn't been in any sort of contact for forty years?

I'm pretty sure one of the episodes has Adama telling someone about an early mission where they found the Cylons and something happened that may have ended up making the whole Cylon attack Adama's fault, which I'm presuming is what this comic is based on and fleshes out.

[bigdaddyhub]

We find out in Season 3 that there had, in fact, been very limited, unofficial contact between the cylons and the humans when Adama led a secret mission to cross the armistice line. No one, including the president, knew about it.

Also, the reason why the characters don't look like the actors is because of BSG legal. When ish one came out, they made a point to say that the characters had to look similar, but could not look identical. So the artists are really handcuffed on this. Given that fact, I think they are doing a pretty good job, but it is distracting.

[nothru22]

I'd be excited for this if the Galactica comics weren't so awful. The fact that they're supposedly in continuity makes it even worse. I thought Galactica was an older ship, more liek a museum, in the first episode. The timing is all wrong. Then again, the show itself doesn't pay attention to it's own continuity, so why should a comic?

[Tom Daylight]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyhub

We find out in Season 3 tha.

Oh well in that case I need to finish watching season three then

[deathmasterj]

Originally Posted by nothru22

I'd be excited for this if the Galactica comics weren't so awful. The fact that they're supposedly in continuity makes it even worse. I thought Galactica was an older ship, more liek a museum, in the first episode. The timing is all wrong. Then again, the show itself doesn't pay attention to it's own continuity, so why should a comic?

Where does the show contradict itself?

I havent enojyed the main BSG comic, but the Zarek mini was top stuff! And so was the FCBD issue. Brandon is the man for BSG!

[JRybandt]

Originally Posted by Del Gorky

The biggest problem I have with the Battlestar Galactica comics is that comics based on other media properties really need artists that can draw faces and figures that actually look like the actors from the series. Dynamite has clearly failed to do that. It really is a drag on the enjoyment and feeling of authenticity to their Battlestar comics. Dark Horse has generally done a much, much better job of hiring artists who can draw likenesses well. I have been purchasing the Battlestar comic but will probably stop soon solely due to the art.

Hey there... this has been mentioned before, but for the record, we PURPOSELY DO NOT have the artists on any of these do exact likeness on the Galactica books for reasons far too mundane and boring to go into here, but it is a conscious decision.

That said, the series artist for this (Segovia did #0 only), Jackson Herbert, is turning out some of the best non-likeness Galactica work we've had and we'll have some more pages to show and see if we can't change a few minds.

best,
Joe
Dynamite Entertainment

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by nothru22

I'd be excited for this if the Galactica comics weren't so awful. The fact that they're supposedly in continuity makes it even worse. I thought Galactica was an older ship, more liek a museum, in the first episode. The timing is all wrong. Then again, the show itself doesn't pay attention to it's own continuity, so why should a comic?

Are you watching the same BSG as everyone else?

[Charlie Hustle]

Originally Posted by Switch625

I love the new BSG and this is the exact same reason I don't purchase this series. And what's with the cheesecakiness of that Starbuck cover? Don't get me wrong, the actress is very sexy, but the character doesn't pose like that, showing off her butt. The flight suits aren't that tight.

yeah and why does Jim Lee show batman being so buffed?

[Switch625]

Originally Posted by Charlie Hustle

yeah and why does Jim Lee show batman being so buffed?

I'm just saying the artist should be able to accurately convey the personality of the character. Six is cheesecake, Starbuck is not.

[Silencer]

Originally Posted by Switch625

I'm just saying the artist should be able to accurately convey the personality of the character. Six is cheesecake, Starbuck is not.

So Starbuck has never stood with her back to someone? Very interesting!

I don't think it's cheesecake. She's standing with her back to us, looking over her shoulder. Her trousers are a little tight but so what? It's hardly worth crying foul over character IMHO.

I'm really looking forward to this book. Deathmaster J said it best: Jerwa is the man. This series will kick ass and I hope he sees his full vision of 18-24 issues realized. I plan on buying at least one variant cover for each issue, if it will help!

One more thing. The Cylons were out there as mentioned above. Did anyone notice that the zero issue takes place in a neutral area? That solves the issue of Cylon/Colonial contact very nicely.

[Lwnasidh]

Personally, I could care less about likenesses, as long as it's made clear who is supposed to be who, and as long as they're drawn consistently.

Those interiors are gorgeous... I can't wait for this!

[Charlie Hustle]

Originally Posted by Switch625

I'm just saying the artist should be able to accurately convey the personality of the character. Six is cheesecake, Starbuck is not.

You're right, every cover should be a pic of her reading flight plans or inside of an aircraft. That'd be exciting.

[Egg]

The Free Comic Book Day issue was good! I'm looking forward to the series!

[dcbill]

The art in #0, the one they gave away on FCBD, was so bad, I couldn't tell whether this was supposed to be the new series or "Classic" Battlestar (and finally decided it was probably Classic)

[Mike Hayden]

It looks interesting. Too bad Nigel Raynor ain't part of the project. His artwork was good. Mind you there are many good artists, to name a few that could have done it, Jan Duursema, Doug Wheatedly, Greg Land, Steve Epting and the list goes on and on, but Nigel Raynor did it for me but it's BSG so yeah i'll give it try.

But one question. Wasn't there supposed to be a BSG-75: Cylon War comicbook series?