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Michael Moreci's Writer's Commentary on Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #5 – "If We All Had Dads Like Adama, This World Would be a Better Place"

Published Fri, 05 Jul 2019 10:00:58 -0500

Michael Moreci has a Writer's Commentary on Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command #5, on sale now from Dynamite. He writes,

Page 1: For this opening, I wanted to have the team together one final time. Also, I wanted to reinforce that this is a military operation. They may be a ragtag group, but they're still, except for Spark, trained soldiers. That's a big part of this story, particularly with Flores and her relationship to the Colonial military.

Page 2, Panel 5: I love grumpy Devos. He doesn't like it, but he gets the job done. He's loyal, he's brave, and he's a grump.

Page 3, Panel 2: I always wonder if Breno made Spark look like Unabomber on purpose here or not…

Page 3: I admit, I never served in the military. I have friends who have, and I've learned a little from them, and one of the most salient things I've picked up is the bond that forms between soldiers. They become siblings—more than siblings, potentially, and the life-and-death responsibility they feel toward one another is profound. I wanted to touch on that with Spark and Flores, particularly in their relationship with dealing with losing their brothers and sisters. This is Flores's emotional through-line, and I enjoyed seeing her growth here, helping Spark endure something she knows all too well. It shows both her maturity as well as Spark's pain over losing his friend (or thinking he's lost his friend).

Page 4, Panel 2: As much as I hate seeing poor Deacon strapped up like this, I think this is such a great visual. We've never seen anything like this in BSG, and this is a pretty iconic image. Breno, as always, did a tremendous job.

Page 4, Panel 3: Cavil's so evil!

Page 6, Panel 2: I always like to build the fabric of a story and universe with little references like this one to Anders. It's a reminder of the bigger world that exists within the story, and helps to show the bigger stakes—the entire colony—at play.

Page 8, Panel 1: What a great panel from Breno and Dijjo. Have we ever seen a Cylon taken out by a knife? I don't think we have—until now!

Page 8, Panels 2-3: Flores is a badass. Not only can she stab a Cylon to death, she also does it from at least ten feet away. Take that, Starbuck!

Page 9, Panel 2: One of the most important things in this series was making Deacon as human as possible, but also limiting his humanity. I conveyed him being more than just a machine through one thing: His loyalty to his friends. That's what motivates him and makes him alive, and while he doesn't contain more dimensions than this, you have to wonder if he needs more. Like I said above, loyalty to your brothers/sisters in arms is a pretty powerful thing, and if Deacon experiences this the same as Flores, Spark, and the rest, how different is he?

Page 10, Panel 1: I hated killing Flores. Granted, there was nowhere else for her character to go—as a person, this is what she needed to do, in a way, and sacrificing herself for the people she loves gives her the closure she needs. She lost her people before, and while she may have made peace with that, she could never forgive herself. But here, she's getting her atonement and finding the reconciliation she needs—all while serving the greater Colonial good, which is paramount to her. Still, I hated seeing her go. She's such a great character in the BSG mythos.

Page 12: If we all had dads like Adama, this world would be a better place. I've written a lot of existing characters, but Adama, for me, was one of the easiest. He's tough and tender, has high expectations but is fair at all times. And all he wants is to protect his people. No matter what. It's the bond he shares with Flores—it's what he knew existed within her and needed to be drawn out. And he did that, and they both were better because of it.

Page 14, Panel 2: Breno has such remarkable style. His flourishes are so amazing.

Page 15, Panel 2: I don't think Cavil's death is this gory in the script, but I'm glad Breno decided to go all in! Cavil gets what's coming to him, at last. And I love that Deacon gives it to him.

Page 16, Panel 5: My Terminator homage.

Pages 19-20: I like that, in the end, everyone's found their reconciliation and purpose, as well as their drive to continue to fight. And they don't fight just to win, just to destroy the Cylons because that's their enemy. They fight for each other. It's what keeps Chief risking his life on the ground and Adama holding out hope that he'll be able to rescue his people in time. It's what kept Flores inside with the bombs. They live, fight, and die for something, and that's what makes the BSG story so perfect. It's the humanity that comes through the context of galactic war.

Also, I want to take a moment to thank Breno, Dijjo, Taylor, Brent, and Kevin for their tremendous work on this book. It was an honor working with you all.

And everyone who read the series—thank you so much!

SO SAY WE ALL!