I am a comic fan. While I would never claim to be an expert on them, I enjoy them, and buy some every month, usually in compiled trade paperback (TPB) or hardcover (HC) form. That said, I have never found myself interested in comics based on video games. While there have been commercial successes like the Street Fighter and Tomb Raider series, and while the art within these types of comics are usually satisfactory, I have never found anything I enjoyed on a story level. When I heard about the Halo Graphic Novel (HGN) though, my interest was piqued but I still was not too optimistic about it. HGN is based on the universe that Bungie created for its Xbox/360 game franchise, Halo. The book is the result of a team-up with comic giant Marvel, the company responsible for comics like the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man. I am a big fan of the Halo games, especially the first, but in the same way with comics, I would never think of myself as a hardcore Halo devotee.
The “Graphic Novel” moniker used to title the book is a misnomer; HGN is actually a compilation of four separate, unconnected stories, with an art gallery collecting contributions from various artists to end the book. The book retails for $24.99, which may seem pricey for 128 pages (a normal comic book runs about 24 pages for $2.99, so the pricing for HGN is about $5.00 for a normal book’s worth of content.). In terms of physical book quality, the pricing fits; the book features a beautiful cover and sleeve and has been constructed for repeated readings. The paper and print quality are outstanding as well.
The stories inside, however, are a different matter. As I read the introduction of the book, it sounded like Bungie agreed with me about previous video game comics, and I might be pleasantly surprised reading these stories. Unfortunately, the stories are lacking. The story I was most interested in reading about beforehand was Sergeant Johnson’s escape from Halo, a story that takes place during the events of the first game. What I found was a series of panels showing Johnson shooting and running until he is rescued. Literally, that is the story, panels of action, little text, nothing of interest going on. There is nothing more to know than what I have told you (and I do not consider this a spoiler).
For the rest of the book, one story is about testing out the Spartan armor (what Master Chief wears), another is about an Elite Spec Ops Commander’s with the Flood, and the final story is about New Mombasa, the Earth city that Master Chief protects in Halo 2.
Of these, the New Mombasa story is probably the most interesting, but still, there is nothing worth remembering from it.
As you can guess, I was very disappointed in the book. It is really not worth purchasing, to the point where it is not worth reading. I would guess that only hardcore Halo fans (people who buy Halo shirts, read the novelizations) would be interested in it. Ultimately, HGN fails to break the pattern other comics have established before it: good artwork paired with uninteresting storytelling.
I love video games. I just don't play too many of them. I grew up always having to learn about games through my (incredibly cheap) subscription to Video Games and Computer Entertainment (10 years later, this magazine is now known as Tips And Tricks). I'd read through each issue several times, remembering all the screenshots and details, but it was rare that I'd actually to get play any of the games featured just because I didn't have the money to do so. Now, I'm lucky enough to work in the industry, at a position that requires me to be a video game expert. Apparently I really did learn something from all that reading back then! I still don't play a lot of games though.
I enjoy virtually all game genres, except for PC war strategy, which I'm sure I just can't handle in terms of sophistication. My true calling in gaming is the PC FPS. It's the only genre where I'm willing to overlook major flaws in a particular game, finish it, and enjoy it anyway.
I also have a fascination with digitized video games (Fox Hunt, Psychic Detective, Angel Devoid), a now-defunct genre. Back when full-motion-video was all the rage, these games were supposed to be the next step in bringing Hollywood to the gamer, but most of the time, these efforts resulted in hilarious (and ridiculous) "interactive" movies that, instead of bringing innovation to the industry, only paved the way for the bad voice acting that the industry still suffers from today.
