Extra pages in comic 4: Before the Storm?

All right, it’s time to solve this mystery.

Whilst prowling Biomedia project a few years ago, I found that the scans of the fourth Bara Magna comic had four new pages I had never seen before:

(Pages 5-8)

I have the original version of comic that I got with the lego magazine, and it does not have those four pages. Pages 4 and 9 are on the front and back of the same page, so there is nothing between them.

However: while the comic is the same number of pages as all the other ones from 09, the centerfold ad is actually off-center. However, it would be in the center with the two missing pages(four front-and back).

I also have Graphic novel nine, and can confirm it does not have these four pages either

Also worth noting is that the narration is different. In the Biomedia scans, Mata Nui introduces himself in the four pages. The physical version I have has him introduce himself on page 10 instead. The graphic novel, however, has the same text as the biomedia version, despite missing the pages biomedia has. This would indicate that Biomedia’s version is legit(i.e. it wasn’t just drawn by a fan to fill in the gap).

Anyone know what happened here? Anyone else have the comic and can shed some light on this issue?

Pics

The comic version with v1 of the dialogue:

The Graphic Novel page, with v2 of the dialogue:

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I’m having a hard time grasping what’s going on here from the explanation.

From my understanding - and correct me if I’m wrong - it sounds like there’s potentially three versions of this issue? The original LEGO Magazine version, the gaphic novel version, and the version that the Biomedia scan is from?


Anyways, I can make an educated guess as to what’s happening.

I believe, from the looks of things, that the original LEGO Magazine version cut those 4 pages because they’re direct spoilers for The Legend Reborn. The Mata-Nui scene and all of its dialogue is ripped straight from the film.

The change of dialogue in the v1 page seems to be accounting for the cuts. Since Mata-Nui and Metus weren’t introduced as their pages were cut, those first two narration boxes are just exposition letting us know that Mata-Nui is our narrator, why he’s here, and who is explaining the battle to him.

Another consideration might be that the LEGO Magazine had a page budget and couldn’t fit the entire comic, and so chose to exclude those four pages for space and budget reasons.

It’s much easier to adjust some text than to reformat the entire comic.

The Biomedia scan version might have been one of the individual printed issues. I have many of these such issues, but I can’t access them at the moment to confirm. It’s possible those extra pages were created/re-introduced to coincide with the release of the film. In fact, the actual PDF download is titled “Movie Premiere.”

Why the graphic novel version would opt to cut those pages as well despite keeping the “newer” text? That I can’t say for certain, unless the movie premiere version was a limited or exclusive run.


Just a side note to mention too, but it also looks like the graphic novel version adjusted the size and placement of the narration boxes, as well as some of the art.

This appears to be due to the change of aspect ratio of the page.

Just goes to show how much the format of the media can change the presentation and the experience.

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Very interesting topic. It wouldn’t be the first time a different version of the same comic had extra pages.

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