Given out as part of a Battle Of The Planets promo packet by Top Cow Comics at the 2002 San Diego Comic Con, this mini-DVD - the most recent (and possibly last) Battle Of The Planets DVD release - contains the two-part episode Invasion Of Space Center - and nothing more. Unlike the commercial releases, this disc doesn't include the Japanese equivalents from the original Gatchaman series, nor does it include the equivalent episodes from the Turner Broadcasting-butchered G-Force series. The menu is significantly simplified.

Left to right: a trading card with Alex Ross artwork of Princess, the mini-DVD, and a button, also with Ross' art.

Also included in Top Cow's promo packet were unpainted prototypes of Battle Of The Planets vehicle toys, a button, and a sketchbook of artist Alex Ross's character studies of G-Force, their allies and their enemies. Given the conflicting reports of the Battle Of The Planets DVD range being abandoned and/or revived, it's unknown if this two-part episode - concerning Spectra agents infiltrating Center Neptune, G-Force's top secret undersea base of operations - will see a general release outside of this limited edition.

I give it good marks for just existing, bringing two more episodes of Battle Of The Planets to my DVD shelf than I would've had with the six existing commercially-released volumes, but the lack of equivalent Gatchaman episodes (hopefully not a harbinger of future developments should this series return to DVD) and the persistent problem of unrestored picture quality knock a few points off the final score. Really worth having more for its collecitibility than its contents.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com webmaster / editor-in-chief