Editing Realm Press

'''Realm Press''' was a comic book company that published comic books based exclusively on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], starting in 1998. 

Realm Press brought [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Battlestar Galactica]] back to comics again beginning with their "Battlestar Galactica Search for Sanctuary" single issue special. Other one shots were subsequently published. Later, Realm introduced a monthly comic titled "Battlestar Galactica Season 3". Unfortunately, this series only ran for three issues before it was canceled, and shortly thereafter Realm abandoned the project altogether.

The Realm series was notable for its use of airbrushed art and its attempts to remain faithful to the look and feel of the original series.

== Mission and Relaunch ==
The revival of ''Battlestar Galactica'' comics in the late 1990s was driven by a team of creators who were fans of the original 1978 television series, led by [[Chris Scalf]].<ref>''Battlestar Galactica'' (Realm Press), vol. 1, issue #3: "Prison of Souls, Part 1", p. 32</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #1: "No Place Like Home", pp. 26-27</ref> In addition to ''Battlestar Galactica'', Realm Press attempted to begin a non-''BSG'' line called''The Drakkon Wars'' written in collaboration with [[Richard Hatch]], who portrayed Captain [[Apollo (TOS)|Apollo]] and attempted to resurrect the storyline with [[Revival Attempts|a continuation effort]], but the story did not proceed beyond issue #0. 

When a new ownership group took control of Realm Press in 1999 under Mark L. Haynes' JMJ Media Group, LLC., their explicitly stated mission was to create a "Season Three" that would function as a direct narrative continuation of the original show, picking up after the final episode, "[[The Hand of God (TOS)|The Hand of God]]."<ref>''Battlestar Galactica 1999 Tour Book'' (Realm Press), p. 18</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica'' (Realm Press), vol. 1, issue #1: "The Law of Volahd, Part 1", p. 34</ref>

The new publisher acknowledged inheriting a "credibility deficit with its readers and the retailers" from the company's previous ownership.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 26</ref> To address this and ensure the series' financial viability, a decision was made to relaunch the primary ongoing series with a new #1 issue, titled ''[[Battlestar Galactica Season III|Battlestar Galactica: Season III]]'', to capitalize on the sales boost a first issue typically generates.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 26</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica 1999 Tour Book'' (Realm Press), p. 18</ref> To avoid confusing readers by starting a new volume mid-story, the publisher announced that unresolved storylines from the previous run, such as the ''[[Search for Sanctuary, Part 1|Search for Sanctuary]]'' arc, would be concluded in a new companion anthology series, ''[[The New Millennium|Battlestar Galactica: The New Millennium]]''.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica 1999 Tour Book'' (Realm Press), p. 18</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 31</ref>

== Production and Scheduling ==
The production of the Realm Press comics was consistently affected by significant scheduling challenges, which the editors frequently and openly discussed in the editorial columns of the books.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 25</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 30</ref> In the editorial for ''Season III'' #2, the editor apologized for the issue being "about a week later than we would have liked," and in the following issue acknowledged further delays, while assuring readers, "we've got this under control now."<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 25</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 30</ref>

A primary source of these delays was the difficulty of producing a high-quality, fully painted comic book on a monthly schedule.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica Special: Centurion Prime'' (Realm Press), p. 29</ref> This led to frequent changes in the artistic team. For the ''Season III'' series, original artist [[Chris Scalf]] was unable to complete the first issue on schedule, which required [[Robert Scott]] to be pulled from his work on issue #2 to finish it. When Scott subsequently fell behind on issue #2 and was unable to complete issue #3, Scalf had to step back in to finish the assignment.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 25</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 30</ref> This constant state of flux led the publisher to adopt a "team approach" for the art, bringing in additional artists such as [[Michael Malbrough]] and [[Dan Parsons]] in an effort to balance their commitments to both "quality and timeliness."<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 30</ref>

== Marketing and Fan Engagement ==
To ensure the financial survival of the comic line, Realm Press utilized several market-driven strategies. This included the frequent use of variant covers for single issues, as well as offering special autographed editions for collectors. The editors explained that these measures were taken "with the goal of being able to keep doing these comics."<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", p. 26</ref>

The publisher also maintained a high level of transparency with its audience. The editorial pages in each issue, such as "Greetings From Earth" and "View from the Pub," served as a direct line of communication to readers. In these columns, the creative team candidly discussed production struggles, announced future projects, and published and responded to fan mail.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #2: "Hades Hath No Fury", pp. 25-26</ref><ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", pp. 30-31</ref><ref>''Galactica: The New Millennium'' (Realm Press), issue #1, pp. 19, 38</ref> As a further gesture of goodwill to the established fanbase, the new ownership also committed to honoring all outstanding subscriptions from the previous incarnation of Realm Press.<ref>''Battlestar Galactica: Season III'' (Realm Press), issue #3: "Fire in the Sky", p. 31</ref>

In addition to ''Battlestar Galactica'', the JMJ-owned Realm Press repackaged [[Matt Busch]]'s ''Daria Jontak'' comic serials, originally published as in ''Hustler Comix'' as well as reprinted in various ''[[w:Hustler_(magazine)|Hustler]]'' magazines including ''Brown Sugar'', into a single volume. This 18+ adult genre saga follows Jontak, an intergalactic con-artist, whose appearance is inspired by 1990s CE American sex symbol, [[w:Pamela_Anderson|Pamela Anderson]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://comicvine.gamespot.com/daria-jontak/4005-67039/|title=Comic Vine - Daria Jontak|accessdate=4 July 2025}}</ref>

== Publication ==

====Battlestar Galactica, Season II====

#Issue 1: ''[[The Law of Volahd, Part 1]]'' (2 alternate covers)
#Issue 2: ''[[The Law of Volahd, Part 2]]''
#Issue 3: ''[[Prison of Souls, Part 1]]'' (2 alternate covers)
#Issue 4: ''[[Prison of Souls, Part 2]]''
#Issue 5: ''[[Prison of Souls, Part 3]]''

====Battlestar Galactica, Season III====

#Issue 1: ''[[No Place Like Home]]'' (3 alternate covers)
#Issue 2: ''[[Hades Hath No Fury]]'' (4 alternate covers)
#Issue 3: ''[[Fire in the Sky]]'' (3 alternate covers)

====The New Millennium====

#''[[The New Millennium|Fear of Flying]]'' / ''[[The New Millennium|Favorite Son]]'' / ''[[The New Millennium|Tales of the Pegasus: Chapter One, Daddy’s Girl]]'' (3 alternate covers)

====Eve of Destruction====

# ''[[Eve of Destruction#Prelude I: Nostalgie De La Boue|Prelude I: Nostalgie De La Boue]]'' / ''[[Eve of Destruction#Prelude II: Daughter of Elysium|Prelude II: Daughter of Elysium]]''

====Search For Sanctuary====

# ''[[Search For Sanctuary, Part 1]]''
# ''[[Search For Sanctuary Special Edition]]''

====1999 Tourbook====

# ''[[1999 Tourbook|Dark Genesis]]'' (3 alternate covers)

====Battlestar Galactica Special Edition====

# ''[[Battlestar Galactica Special: Centurion Prime|Centurion Prime]]'' (2 alternate covers)

====Gallery Special====

# ''[[Gallery Special|The Care and Feeding of Your Daggit]]'' / ''[[Gallery Special|Masquerade]]''

====Cancelled one-shots====

# ''[[Colonial Technical Journal, Volume 1]]''
# ''Dire Prophecy'' (2 alternate covers)
# ''Darkest Night'' (2 alternate covers)
# ''Battlestar Black and White'' (2 alternate covers)
# ''Cylon Dawn'' (2 alternate covers)
# ''No-Man’s Land'' (2 alternate covers)
# ''Minor Difficulties'' (anthology of short tales)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== See also ==

* [[List of Comics]]


[[Category: A to Z]] [[Category: Comics]] [[Category: TOS]] [[Category:Realm Press Comics]]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Realm Press - Comic publicity poster.jpg|thumb|[[Chris Scalf]] artwork featuring the Realm Press logo.]]
+'''Realm Press''' was a comic book company that published comic books based exclusively on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], starting in 1998.
-'''Realm Press''' was a comic book company that published comic books based exclusively on the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], spanning between 1998 CE through 2000 CE.
-Following the end of the [[Maximum Press]] run, Realm Press began its own run of [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|''Battlestar Galactica'']] comics, beginning with their ''[[Search For Sanctuary Special Edition|Battlestar Galactica: Search for Sanctuary]]'' single issue special. Other one shots were subsequently published. Later, Realm introduced a monthly comic titled "''Battlestar Galactica'' Season 3." This series only ran for three issues before it was canceled, and shortly thereafter Realm abandoned the entire franchise altogether.
+Realm Press brought [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Battlestar Galactica]] back to comics again beginning with their "Battlestar Galactica Search for Sanctuary" single issue special. Other one shots were subsequently published. Later, Realm introduced a monthly comic titled "Battlestar Galactica Season 3". Unfortunately, this series only ran for three issues before it was canceled, and shortly thereafter Realm abandoned the project altogether.
-Realm's foray was notable for its use of airbrushed art and its attempts to remain faithful to the look and feel of the Original Series, unlike its predecessor. Character likeness were altered in order to avoid legal likeness issues regarding performers.
+The Realm series was notable for its use of airbrushed art and its attempts to remain faithful to the look and feel of the original series.
 == Mission and Relaunch ==