J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Moretti, Michael Netzer and Carlos Garzon, Babylon 5
**
When a TV series is plotted out years in advance, it's not a huge surprise that tie-in media would be able to scoop up some of the leftovers they didn't get around to doing properly, rather than commissioning some hacks to riff impotently on established themes. Coming straight from Straczynski (via some hacks), this four-parter feels authentically like a missing episode. Not a great one, but one we sort of needed, though may end up being summarised in a quick line of dialogue for the benefit of less extracurricular nerds anyway.
J. Michael Straczynski, Tim DeHaas and John Ridgway, Babylon 5: Shadows Past and Present
***
The short-lived comic hits its stride with better writing and drawing of another arc-sowing story by the boss. The plot and character voices are authentic, it only loses credibility as a real episode of the budget series through its la-de-da location shooting. As someone who's reading these in the proper sequence, it kept up the hype nicely. Race through shows and miss the immersion to your detriment.
Jane Killick, Babylon 5: The Coming of Shadows
***
These seasonal guides are less in-depth than they appear when you add up all the blank space, overlong synopses of episodes we've seen and needlessly repeated main cast lists for 22 episodes, and serialising them just a few months apart makes it seem like they're squeezing fans for more than a comprehensive companion would allow. Maybe I was more cynical this time around because of the uninspiring foreword that focuses squarely on the series' economic efficiency.
Eric Althoff and Toshihiro Kawamoto, Cowboy Bebop Anime Guide, Vol.001
*
One of many similarities between this acclaimed anime and Joss Whedon's Firefly is that I've never really got what the fuss is about, so I thought reading along might help me to find that enlightenment. Sadly, after a brief introduction that spells out some of the implicit backstory and cross-genre references, this immediately collapses into childish character profiles and a screencap storybook covering the first five of twenty-six episodes. I won't bother with the rest.
1998 / Ebook / 200 pages / UK
***
As these introductory chapters continue to check off random themes in turn (this time: special effects), these are looking more and more like a full series companion the author was working on that was released slightly prematurely and split down the seasons to bank on the partwork subscription model. They should've included parts of a Starfury or glow-in-the-dark Londo with each one to make them more collectable.
