transparent wood now.

Revell-Fan

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Alright, but be prepared that these pages (and the scipts) are still in German. I have reduced the file size because this is just a glimpse at the stories and it really deviates from the original topic of this thread. I guess I'll have to start a new thread on the comics only where I can put up the pages in their full resolution. ;)

These pages were drawn in 1998, about 5 years before I reached what I call the state of my art as it is today (seen in the Terminator / Predator crossover teaser comic). So the art is still in its "infant stages" (please forgive me for that).

history1.jpg

Title page:

You see a stone bust of Emperor Augusts in the center. I was still training to get the ships right; my reference library was quite tiny then and most ships had to be drawn from memory or after blurry screenshots.

The whole season was entitled "Galactica 6551" because it takes place in the year 6551 A. E. (after exodus). The final episode consists of 4 parts (a MAMMOTH episode dealing with the end of the universe which is one of the two incomplete eps). It takes place at the end of the year marking the end of the season (and start of a possible season of "Galactica 6552" ;) ).

At this point I called the project finished because my whole creativity was put into it and I didn't know what to tell more. Recently I told @Rhaven Blaack about a new idea: A BSG spin-off dealing with a completely new group of Colonial survivors who experience all events of the original season in another fashion. This is not quite a re-launch but a tale of survivors who were stationed in a different part of the Cyranus galaxy. It begins with the sneak attack on Scorpio, shows what happened to the "Star Kobol" (which is indeed the name of a ship mentioned in the original pilot movie) and explains what "Made in USA" on the viewscreens means (namely "Made in the United States of Aerilon" ;) ). You will see many of the stuff we are building here in action (including the Aurora - damn, I really have to finish her!!! :) ). The story is somewhat experimental, too. It is extremely cliffhanger-driven and very fast-paced. The climax is so full of tension that the reader will be totally exhausted at the end. I even have a sequel in mind dealing with the return of the Pegasus and then - ultimately, the re-union with the Galactica fleet. One thing is for sure: You will see the Cylons quite differently after this adventure. I even might have a guest star appearing who usually travels around in a blue police box... Cylons against Daleks..? Hmm... We'll see..! ;)

history1a.jpg

Page 2: Summary of previous events.

history2.jpg

Pages 3/4: The Galactican fleet has found Earth. Apollo gets to know Cynthia, a reporter who is making a documentary on the battleship in order to reduce the hostilities and fears of the Earthlings regarding the Galacticans. She is ... pretty pretty, as you can see.

As mentioned before, the text in the bubbles is not an encrypted language spoken by the Galacticans but indeed German. I'll translate some pieces for you here which might increase the fun factor of the panels.

Cynthia asks Omega to turn the bridge around a bit to have a better view. Omega fulfills her wish. Later Tigh says to him: "And Omega, this is no carousel..!"

Tigh: Miss Thaunders, ... remember to erase the tactical data screens in the pictures.
Cynthia: Well, thanks for the reminder because my first practical training required me to erase the faces rather than the screens...

Yep, reporter and time travel... Sound familiar? True, they have been part of "Galactica 1980". I have taken the interesting elements of that show and incorporated them in my story. :)

If you look closely you might recognize three of the main extras of the original show. Name them, if you like (and find out the truth behind the "Vulcan hello"). ;)

The pages are arranged as double pages here (two pages side by side, just as if you are looking at a printed comic book). So you have to look at the left half first and then proceed with the right half (there is no line dividing them).


history4.jpg
Starbuck and Apollo on patrol.
Starbuck: Admit it, you like her!
Apollo: Starbuck, Cynthia is ... is ... she is nice.
Starbuck: She is a total hottie. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Apollo: I see. But there is nothing to it.
Starbuck: Yeah, right. Call me Kermit, the Frog.

They head to another sector to investigate strange sensor readings. The radiation levels of Saturn reduce their scanning field so that they have to fly by sight. Starbuck notices a big object directly above them and presses the Turbo button.

history6.jpg

Apollo's ship is severely damaged and is about to desintegrate. Manual override of the safety systems is useless. Starbuck sees only one option: To eject the cockpit pod by force. So he opens fire on his best friend - and it works!

history8.jpg

Both are shocked to see what hit them: A BATTLESTAR!

history10.jpg

Back at the home base Adama orders a salvage party to rescue the ship before it enters Saturn's atmosphere. Sheba speculates that it might be the "Pegasus" but Apollo says that there is nothing to confirm her theory.

End of the panels. :)
 
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bigpetr

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That is great. You can draw realy well (I saw in Terminator/Preadator). I am big fun of comics and drawing. For a long time I have planed to draw fantasy webcomics, but can not come up with good enough script (apparently not your problem :)). Also very time consuming.
 
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zathros

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I had no idea you were such a great illustrator! Doesn't surprise me though. ;)
 
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Revell-Fan

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Thank you! :) I call it, "hidden talents". :D ;)

I've been drawing comic books since I was 6. Everything started with "Micky Mouse". Then I switched to "Witchblade" thanks to Michael Turner. His art tremendously changed my view of things and encouraged me to make more dynamic poses - and to finally improve the noses of the characters. Unfortunately I have so little spare time that I am unable to continue with it. The last comic I made was the afore-mentioned TvP crossover. I didn't attend an art class, BTW. However due to my studies (I'm studying graphic design) I was "forced" to get into illustrations again. And wonders of wonders, it seems that I can still do it! :)

The idea of writing a whole Galactica season was inspired by "Babylon 5". Its creator, J. Michael Straczynski wrote ALL but one episode (and directed the one he didn't wrote). ;)

One of the major points behind this project was that there was absolutely NOTHING available dealing with Galactica at that time. No comics, no new stories, I had no internet and even no model kits. The whole franchise was dead in a way even though it had such a GREAT potential. I hadn't seen the show for 15 (!) years before it was in syndication again. Then I recorded every ep on VHS tape and studied every frame of it. Later I got internet which brought me much closer to Galactic fandom and then the new series came up (which was kind of a drag here in Germany because we got the first episodes almost two years after the mini series premiered on US TV :( ).
 
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Revell-Fan

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Thank you for your compliments. :)

I'll have to come up with an own original idea to make this work which is very hard. It is easier to take an established franchise and expand on what has already been given. Franchise-based works made by fans will never be supported by the big studios. Believe me, I tried it with the Terminator adventure. All the people I spoke to told me they were not allowed to read scripts which were sent to them for legal reasons. Everything you send to them will be destroyed immediately to avoid someone sueing them for plagiarism in case one or more ideas from the script are co-incidentally used in a future commercial product (which is understandable). The same is true to the TV industry. I offered myself as an independent script writer for a well-known German action TV series with the same result: they were not allowed to even read excerpts. The only way to get a foot into the business would be applying for a job in the industry and hoping that the application is accepted. I have therefore given up on that.

HOWEVER, I somehow managed to co-write an anthology book which was actually published. The book was entitled "My most beautiful bed time story" and contained 100 short fairy tales which were chosen out of 4900 submissions. It was a writer's contest and I was one of the 100 winners. That was quite a surprise. And yes, the stories were suitable for kids. ;)
 
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Revell-Fan

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Ya know, one of the drawbacks of drawing is that it is a very time-consuming process. Writing a story is much faster. I need one whole day to draw one page, lettering not included. If you have to go to work it will take even longer. So if you have a story which needs 200 pages you are committed to that for at least one whole year. Then you'll need to find a publisher who likes the story. If you don't find one you have spent one year on a project no-one else but you care for. This is too great a risk IMO.

Finding a good story which touches the audience is another important aspect. So far I haven't got a good idea (yet).

The funniest thing is, the last time I read a book was when I was at school ("Macbeth"; my favourite book ever, I wrote an "A+" essay on it). Ever since I have had no time to read a book myself (aside from science magazines and instruction leaflets ;) ). I'd rather watch the movie adaptation (which can be a nightmare like the German version of "The Wave" - gee, that was a mess; it was so bad that even the word "catastrophy" did not suffice to describe it!). :)
 
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zathros

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You are brilliant. To be such a nice person, and sop brilliant pisses me off!! Only kidding. My wife was just looking at all you posted, she was as impressed as I was. Write your own story, and I bet you get published! :)
 
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