The Halo Graphic Novel
by Brett Lewis, Jay Faerber, Lee Hammock, Tsutomu Nihei
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Book Reviews of The Halo Graphic Novel
Book Review: Bungie Proves Itself Once More
Summary: 5 Stars
As the book is a collection of stories, rather than a single graphic novel, a brief review of each is warranted:
The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor
This first story, the longest of the group and centerpiece of the book, recounts a mission of a Covenant Spec Ops squad, lead by the Sangheili commander "Half-Jaw" that the player fights alongside in Halo 2. As the Master Chief flees from the newly-released Flood menace on the first Halo, a hijacked Covenant dropship crashes its way into an agricultural ship and proceeds to infect the crew. The Spec Ops squad is dispatched to find out what happened, retake or destroy the ship, and rescue the Prophet who is trapped onboard.
I'm not a big connoisseur of comics, but I do read through them from time to time, and I think I can tell when the artist is into his work. He was here. The art may not be the most realistic, sacrificing clean lines for the gritty and even hideous imagery that derelict corridors and Flood monstrosities entail, but it is very engaging nonetheless. Though Bisley takes some artistic license with Covenant aesthetic and look of the Flood, their essence is preserved. Especially well done are the Sangheili warriors, both while in repose and engaged in blistering death duels with the marauding parasites. And the extensive usage of dual energy swords is a very cool touch, and never overdone.
My only issues with the story was the dialogue early on, which seemed rather clunky, but that cleared up quickly, and the plot was quite easy to follow. The bits of background on the Covenant included and the expansion of the Flood were welcome additions as well.
Armor Testing
This short depicts, as the name suggests, a field test of the new Mjolnir Mark VI armor Master Chief receives at the beginning of Halo 2, conducted at the Songnam research facility also mentioned in the game. The art used for this story couldn't be more different from that of Infinite Succor, clean, clear lines and vibrant colors, but it suits the more familiar human setting. I really liked the art in this one as well, and the action was depicted well. Indeed, my only problem with Testing is the odd depiction of the Spartan at the center of the tale, and I'm not talking about gender. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable read.
Breaking Quarantine
Essentially a retecon for a controversial part of the novel First Strike, this piece recounts the unkillable Sgt. Johnson's escape from near-certain doom after Captain Keyes accidentally releases the Flood from stasis. Its short and completely free of dialogue, but both of those factors only heighten the desperate and confused mood the story is trying to convey. A mid-ground between the previous two styles, with a good deal of Japanese influence (the artist is a manga author, after all), I think that this piece had the overall best art of the collection.
Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa
The last and most original short in the book, Second Sunrise shows the Covenant invasion of Earth from the point of view of a photographer working in ONI's (UNSC Intelligence) propaganda department. The piece follows him as he attempts to balance artistic credibility and the demands of the military (his job is essentially filtering and editing remote news footage of the war to make it seem as though thing aren't going as badly for humanity as they really are), and then his desperate flight through embattled streets as the Covenant descend upon the city. It also contains a brief lead-in, if a rather obvious one, for Halo 3.
As much as I liked the story of this one, I couldn't really get into the art. Although it shifts from place to place, the overall style is very modern, urban-abstract, a artisitic method I've never been very fond of. Nevertheless, it never gets to over-the-top, although it comes close in places. Another small issue I had was with the portrayal of Covenant weaponry and of the soldiers themselves; it didn't really distract, but I think the artist drew a little too much from older Scifi imagery (although the homage to a Martian tripod was neat).
The collection is completed by a gallery of twenty or so stand-alone pieces of art, each from a different artist, among them Craig Mullins. It was an unexpected touch, and really helped fill out the book. Among my favorites was one by Bungie artist Lorraine McLees (who also wrote the foreword), of the Chief surrounded by a truly formidable arsenal of human weaponry.
Overall, the graphic novel is a must buy for any Halo fan, or anyone with a appreciation for high-quality comic artwork. I have high hopes for the future of the franchise (and Bungie proves that it's the best company ever. Again.)
Book Review: VERY disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
First, let me say that I am a huge Halo fan. I've played the game and bought the merchandise religiously. So when the Halo graphic novel was released, I purchased it and read it right away. I was deeply disappointed with what I saw. All the stories are way too short and lack any story telling depth. There is absolutely nothing new revealed to the reader.
The first story involves a team of Elites and Grunts boarding an infested Covenant ship to clear and reclaim it. The group is led by the Elite Commander that was seen wearing white armor in Halo 2. We're told that the story explains how he can "smell the flood" and how he got his mandable injury. Neither of these are explained or seen. The entire story is just a trip from A to B with visuals that are hard to tell what's going on. It's all fighting and no substance. The worst part is the ending, which really doesn't exist. You expect to turn the page for more but are left with an unfinished story. Very disappointing.
The armor testing story is just what it sounds like. Another too short process about how the new armor for Halo 2 was tested. This isn't a story so much as it is an excuse to quickly and inadequately explain the introduction of the new MJOLNIR armor. The artwork is clearer and crisper, that's the one good thing. In the end, the armor doesn't go through enough training and what the Spartan says in the end totally clashes with everything we've learned about Spartan soldiers.
The story with Johnson and how he escapes the flood was the most disappointing "story" in the entire book. Visually, it is the best. In this "story," not a single word or explanation is given. It just shows Johnson getting from A to B and the flood that he destroys in the process. Weren't we led to believe that Johnson escaped because of a genetic defect from the Halo games? Yeah, well that's not covered.
Finally, the last story covers what is supposed to be a politically and dramatic story of the inhabitants of New Mombasa when it is first attacked by the Covenant. It's just a bunch of political commentary on war and media relations that makes you ask, "what does this have to do with anything?" The ending tries to be poignant, but after being bored with the story for so long you really don't care.
100 pages of "story" and the remaining pages filled with artwork and meaningless self praise. Being a huge Halo fan, this book was a huge disappointment. It seems like the emphasis was on making the whole thing a visual experience and cranking it out fast rather than taking the time to write good stories and dialogue and making a book of substance. This book should have been at least twice as long as it actually is. I now find myself questioning Bungie and their motives towards their franchise. So if you want a bunch of pretty pictures to look at, buy this book. If you were hoping for in depth, revealing story lines, don't waste your money like I did.
Book Review: A good effort, but leaves a LOT to be desired
Summary: 3 Stars
If you're a Halo fan, this is a must read. If you're not a Halo fan and would like an easy introduction to the Halo Universe, short of actually playing the games, this isn't the best way. Read "The Fall of Reach" first, it's much more interesting.
I hate to criticize after all the work they apparently went to in order to make this book happen, but there are a lot of obvious flaws. It seems their almost 'indie' approach to this project actually caused the quality to suffer (though, doing it the same way as all other video game comics would've resulted in a far inferior product, so some slack cutting is in order.)
On the one hand, the art in the first and fourth stories is excellent. The dialogue lettering in all the stories (that featured dialogue), I'm sorry, looked like it was done in Word in default web fonts, and unfortunately served to distract from the quality of the artwork. I expect that from a webcomic, not something like this. I have an intermediate skill in lettering and could have done a better job. Meanwhile, the sound FX in #1 and caption lettering in #4 were very polished.
Story-wise, again, the first and fourth stories were well done, the middle two did nothing but muddy up the continuity of the novels ("First Strike" has a much better explaination of Sgt. Johnson's escape) and in-game content, not 'add to it' as the hype claimed. #2 and #3 were short and boring (#3 doesn't even have words, while "First Strike" had an entire subplot surrounding Sgt. Johnson's escape. And I was initially surprised by the ending of #2, and then was equally confused as to how it matches up.) #1 and #4, while enjoyable, both ended right when things got interesting, and not in the 'leaves-you-wanting-more' sense. They just... end.
The gallery at the end was a fun bonus, but out of the group of artists they sought out for their reputation, I (who has not only read, but studied comics for over 18 years) hadn't heard of a single one of them. And many of them had the same style, so there wasn't much variety. On a technical level, the printing job and binding were excellent. If you don't care about the quality of the read, this is one good-looking book to have sitting on a shelf or coffee table.
Bottom-line, it's undoubtedly an interesting and somewhat enjoyable read in places, but unless you're a die-hard freak like me, save your money and either request it from the library or ease into the Halo Universe with the novels and games first.
Book Review: Good But Not Grand
Summary: 4 Stars
Greetings,
I have only dabbled in the Halo games because I am terrible with modern first person shooters. I decided to buy the Halo graphic novel because I am a fan of comic books and I wanted to know more about the Halo universe.
This book contains four short stories. It also has a brief gallary of artwork.
The stories are OK, but only OK. Not bad. Not great either.
The artwork ranges from delightfully detailed to confusingly jumbled. Several times, I had to stare at a page for several seconds to understand what was happening in the pictures.
A positive note is the fact that people who are unfamiliar with the Halo game stories can read this book. If you are a fan science fiction on a basic level, you should be able to follow the stories. Plus, there are letters from the creators of the stories before or after the narratives.
To be honest, reading the messages from the creators was more entertaining than the comic stories. Think of it like watching a DVD in which the extras are more entertaining than the feature film.
I would have prefered that the Halo graphic novel feature ONE story, like "The Dark Night Returns." This is supposed to be a novel, after all.
The best story is the tale about a reporter and an attack on Earth. If that story had been developed into a fun saga, the Halo graphic novel would have been truly special.
The Halo graphic novel is nice. Is it worth your money?
If you are a diehard Halo fan, buy this book.
If you are not, find a diehard fan and borrow his book.
Book Review: Graphics.
Summary: 3 Stars
First and foremost, I'd like to say I'm not the biggest comic book fan. I'm more of a Halo fan - played all the games, read all of the books, and there was basically one thing left - the graphic novel. It's not much of a novel with emphasis upon plot or story or even character developments but more about the Halo universe and art. You really have to be a Halo or a graphic novel fan to enjoy it, otherwise I would recommend that you pass this up.
There's four stories overall, the first one having to do with an Elite Special Operation to destroy a ship infected with the mysterious parasitic race known as The Flood. "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor" expands on events briefly following the first Halo game which was probably my favorite in terms of graphical art and dialogue. The second story, "Armor Testing" follows a deadly war game between Spartans and UNSC Marines (I'm sure most will get a kick out of the ending). Next, what would a graphic novel be without our favorite secondary hero, Sarge? "Breaking Quarantine" attempts to develop Sarge's character without any use of dialogue, simply weapons fire (how ironic). And finally, our last story takes a look at New Mombasa, the city that was fought and badly destroyed in the second Halo game. "Second Sunrise over New Mombasa" deals with a lonely reporter illustrating the humans way of life during the Covenant Invasion of Earth.
In other words, most non-Halo fans won't have a clue on events in this graphic novel, they will just sit back and enjoy the art.