Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis ended a long time ago, leaving us with only fond memories of Rodney McKay, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, John Sheppard, Teal’c, Teyla Emmagan and Ronon Dex.
Sometimes one can’t help but pine for the good old days of classic science fiction TV, when Stargate, Star Trek and Babylon 5 ruled the air. And please don’t tell me shows like Terra Nova are just as good, because they aren’t, even if the CGI is truly amazing.
Fortunately, you just can’t keep a good writer down, which is why two of Stargate’s scribes – Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie – have penned a 4-issue comic series known as Dark Matter (art by Garry Brown and colors by Ryan Hill).
Now I know that some of you will find it difficult to make the transition from watching science fiction shows to buying comics and graphics novels. Fair enough, I think a lot of us had reservations about that once upon a time, whether due to budgetary constraints or an understandable reluctance to become an uber-geek.
Still, with devices like Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, jumping headfirst into the world of graphic novels/comics has never been easier. Just think about some of the cool artists and writers you can find there: Robert Crumb, Ralph Bakshi, Neil Gaiman, just to name a few, I mean, I obviously know there are dozens of other worthies.
But getting back to Dark Matter. If you are interested in learning more about the project, here is an official description of the 4-issue series.
“A derelict ship floats in space, its troubled crew awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got on board. .. Their search for answers triggers the vessel’s deadly security system: a relentless android bent on their destruction. Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, redemption, betrayals, and hidden secrets best left unknown.”
For those of you who just can’t see yourselves reading comics, don’t despair quite yet, because Mallozzi says he is attempting to pitch Dark Matter as a cable television series.
“I was telling my agent yesterday that we really need to position Dark Matter as the SF equivalent of a Sopranos or a Breaking Bad, a premium series with twists, turns, and serialized potential,” Mallozzi wrote on his blog.
“Sound crazy? Well, three years ago, the notion of an ongoing zombie series may have seemed ludicrous to most and yet, now, it’s one of the hottest shows on cables.”
The first issue of Dark Matter can now be ordered directly from Dark Horse Comics, accessed on TFAW, or purchased via Apple’s iTunes or Google’s Android market.
A brief preview is available here.
