Classic Battlestar Galactica #12, “Days Without End,” gives a day in the life of the Galactica from Boxey’s point of view. He is on the lone battlestar in a fleet fleeing the Cylons, one of the pitifully few survivors of the attack. He is also a little boy looking for a place to play, a child who idolizes his father and grandfather and wants to be just like them (only better) when he grows up.
It’s a low-key lull in the midst of the conflict. The crew has time to rest a bit. Boxey, meanwhile, wants someone to play with and somewhere to play. That’s hard to find on a ship full of warriors. There’s also a couple of moments where Abnett shows how a small boy living among adults just might pick up a few words that, as Colonel Tigh puts it, are “Pretty grown-up…for someone who isn’t at all grown-up to be using.” Details like this make this a look at the dynamics of friends and family in the Galactica, a place never meant for raising children.
There’s an odd note out here: One part of this story features Boxey discovering and grappling with the finality of death. It is rather sweet, as handled. It seems churlish to complain about this, but it’s hard to believe that this is Boxey’s first real encounter with death. He saw his planet destroyed, he’s been traveling with the Fleet for quite a while, and, most importantly, he lost his mother in a Cylon attack. That’s the sort of thing likely to stick with a small boy.
This is another issue of Battlestar Galacticawhere facial and body expressions are important to telling the tale. Razek draws superb space-battles, but on emotional portrayals, things are more hit and miss. When characters stand together, their relationships are clear–Boxey with his grandfather, for example, as they survey the wonders and terrors of space (one of Razek and Townsend’s strengths) serve as a strong representation of the qualities that keep the fleet going. Some of the other interactions need more subtlety to fully sell the concept.
Those who have followed the story so far will enjoy this gentler, more retrospective entry in the Galactica‘s quest.
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Cezar Razek
Colorist: Vinicius Townsend
Covers: Livio Ramondelli
Letters: Simon Bowland
