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Halo: Uprising

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Halo: Uprising
Promotional poster for the limited series depicting the Master Chief against a backdrop of alien vessels. The art was also used as the first issue's cover (art by Alex Maleev).
AuthorBrian Michael Bendis
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherMarvel Comics
Publication date
August 22, 2007 (#1)
November 21, 2007 (#2)
August 13, 2008 (#3)
March 4, 2009 (#4)
Publication placeUnited States

Halo: Uprising is a four-issue American comic book limited series set in the Halo universe. The series was written by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Alex Maleev, and published by Marvel Comics. Uprising tells a story set between the ending of the 2004 video game Halo 2 and the beginning of its sequel, Halo 3, as Earth is under attack by a collective of alien races known as the Covenant. The series was intended to be released and concluded before Halo 3 shipped on September 25, 2007, but the final issues have not yet been released.

The series was brought together by Ruwan Jayatilleke, who landed the license to publish Halo comics, including the single-volume Halo Graphic Novel in 2005. The graphic novel's critical and commercial success led to Marvel announcing a new Halo limited series in 2006; Jayatilleke served as the series' editor. Bendis said he was "honored" to add to the Halo lore.

Reception to the series was lukewarm. The series' artistic style was generally praised. On the other hand, the lack of Master Chief-focused action and character development—as well as the delays in publishing—led to average reviews.

Background

Brian Michael Bendis struggled to create a proper tone for the normally-silent protagonist, the Master Chief.[1]

Marvel's Vice President of Development, Ruwan Jayatilleke, was responsible for contacting game developer Bungie to extend the Halo franchise to comics; Jayatilleke noted that Bungie's dedication to creating a believable world compelling to both hardcore and casual fans made the series "an attractive fit" for Marvel.[2] In 2005, Marvel learned that Bungie had already created an original graphic novel, entitled The Halo Graphic Novel, but needed a publisher and distributor. Interested, Brian Michael Bendis and Jayatilleke visited Bungie to take up the offer of publishing the Halo Graphic Novel as well as to discuss the possibility of a tie-in comic book series.[2]

The Halo Graphic Novel proved to be a critical and commercial success, debuting at the number two position on the Diamond Comic Distributors' sales charts,[3] and with more than 100,000 copies published.[4] Marvel Comics and Bungie announced the first Halo limited comic series, Halo: Uprising, at the San Diego Comic-Con 2006.[5]

Brian Michael Bendis, writer for the series, said in an interview he was "honored" to add to the Halo lore, noting that the graphic novel brought "humanity and perspective" to the franchise, something not easily imparted through the games.[6] Bendis described himself as a longtime player of Halo and had "done [his] Halo homework", reading and playing everything Halo.[7] Bendis stated that Bungie was open to the Marvel team exploring lesser-known elements of the Halo universe or even bringing up new ideas, as opposed to sticking to a script or set of preplanned ideas from Bungie or Microsoft. The Philadelphia Daily News suggested that a Halo comic book would attract readers who had never picked up a comic book before,[8] which Bendis stated was a major goal for the series.[7] While using established characters meant that Bendis was not able to do everything he wanted in Uprising, he said he enjoyed the challenge. "You can get pretty bloated and sloppy with total autonomy all the time," he said.[1] Writing the dialogue for the Master Chief, who is faceless and normally silent during gameplay, was a challenge; Bendis scrapped much of the drafted dialogue to allow Maleev's work to define the character.[9]

Originally, Halo: Uprising's entire four-issue series was to be published before the September 25, 2007, release of Halo 3.[10] Bendis suggested that the series might be delayed unexpectedly due to the cooperation between Marvel and Bungie.[11] For unspecified reasons, the release of all issues of Halo: Uprising were pushed back. Issue #1's original date of August 15, 2007, was pushed back a week to August 22. Issue #2's original date of August 29 was pushed back and released on November 21. Issue #3 was originally slated for a September 2007 release but was pushed to a final release date of nearly a year late in August 2008. The constant revisions of the date became a running forum joke among fans at Halo.Bungie.Org.[12] Issue #4 has also seen a number of delays from its original October 31, 2007, release, to its current expected release on March 4, 2009,[13] but Claude Errera of Halo.Bungie.Org noted that given the series track record and the fact that the issue's release was bumped more than a dozen times, its appearance in March would be unlikely.[14] In announcing two new Halo comic series from Marvel in February 2009, Jayatilleke informed IGN that the final issue was in the process of being colored.[15]

Plot

Uprising's story begins after the events of Halo 2, in which the alien collective known as the Covenant discovered the location of Earth and began a full-scale invasion of their enemy's homeworld. The supersoldier Master Chief is stowed away aboard an ancient Forerunner ship. On course for Earth, he is rendered unconscious and captured by an overwhelming Covenant strike force. On Mars, Colonel James Ackerson is being tortured by Covenant forces, to whom he betrays the existence of something called "The Key of Osanalan." Ackerson admits the Key is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

In Cleveland, the narrative follows the point of view of a hotel concierge named Ruwan as the city falls under attack by Covenant forces. In the mayhem he meets a woman named Myras Tyla. Tyla remains calm even as Ruwan edges towards all-out panic. The pair are captured and with other residents herded into a sports stadium. The Covenant declare that in order to live the humans must give up the location of the Key; Tyla is confused, but Ruwan states he knows exactly what it is.

Onboard the Forerunner ship, the Master Chief is captured and interrogated by Covenant forces, but manages to escape using a concealed weapon. On Earth, Ruwan and Tyla escape detention by the Covenant and appropriate a vehicle in an effort to escape. Ruwan reveals that the Key is in fact a fictional object that he and his brother James Ackerson made up as children; James told the Covenant about the Key in order to prevent the outright destruction of Cleveland. After fighting Covenant forces, Ruwan and Tyla are rescued by marines and leave the city. The Master Chief attempts to kill the Covenant's leader, Prophet of Truth, but is surprised as he takes aim; Truth escapes as the Chief is left to kill the Prophet's guards and find a way off the ship.

Reception

Reception to the miniseries varied. The first issue sold out within 24 hours,[16] leading Marvel to reissue the first installment. Publications generally praised the action sequences and Maleev's visuals,[17][18] The balance between action and story was also positively noted, with Kevin Powers of Comics Bulletin saying that the first two sequences of the opening issue "masterfully capture the spirit of the game".[17] On the other hand, IGN stated the series' appeal was mostly superficial, as "try as they might to replicate [Halo's] visceral moments, Bendis and Maleev just can't replicate the same feeling on the printed page."[19]

Publications criticized the lack of Master Chief as a main character, similar to the response to the Halo Graphic Novel; IGN's reviewers stated that "Master Chief is barely a guest star in his own book",[19] and that he was reduced to blasting aliens for much of the series.[20] The comic's focus on Ruwan and Myra's subplot was also seen as a major fault.[20] Reviewers did not understand why there were so many delays in publishing.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Kelly, Seth (2007-11-07). "Web Exclusive: Brian Michael Bendis". Complex. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  2. ^ a b Manning, Shaun (2007-11-22). "Comic Book Resources Interview: Ruwan Jayatilleke". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  3. ^ "July 2006 Sales Reports". Newsarama. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2008-01-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2006-08-16). "HALO GN selling like hotcakes". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2006-07-21). ""San Diego 2006 Comic-Con Announcement"". IGN. Retrieved February 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ George, Richard (2007-07-20). "Halo: Uprising Issue #1 Preview". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  7. ^ a b George, Richard (2007-05-18). "Exclusive Interview - Halo: Uprising". IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  8. ^ Maida, Jerome (2007-09-04). "'Halo' will draw new comic fans". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 39.
  9. ^ Kelly, Seth (2007-11-07). "Web Exclusive: Brian Michael Bendis (page 2)". Complex. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  10. ^ Snider, Mike (2007-09-17). "Lots of hype for 'Halo 3'". USA Today. p. D1.
  11. ^ "CBR". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  12. ^ Errera, Claude (2008-08-11). "Halo: Uprising 3 - less than a year late!". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  13. ^ "Halo: Uprising #4 - Marvel Comics Publishing Catalog". Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  14. ^ Errera, Claude (2009-02-07). "Can't finish what you started? Start something else". Halo.Bungie.Org. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  15. ^ George, Richard (2009-02-08). "The Halo War Continues at Marvel". IGN. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  16. ^ Brady, Matt (2007-08-23). "Halo Uprising #1 Sells out in 24 hours". Newsarama. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  17. ^ a b Powers, Kevin (2007-08-23). "Silver Bullets Review- Halo: Uprising #1". Comics Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-12-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ George, Richard (2007-08-22). "IGN - Halo: Uprising #1". IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  19. ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (2007-11-22). "IGN - Halo: Uprising #2". IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  20. ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (2008-08-13). "Halo: Uprising #3 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  21. ^ Birdie, Benjamin (2008-08-14). "Halo: Uprising #3". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
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