The next issue of Halo Escalation is out today!

Where will the issue take us? Continue reading →

Halo Escalation is an ongoing series from Darkhorse comics that details stories after the events of Halo 4. After securing a source link for this, I’m happy to show the cover of issue #10.

Halo: Escalation #10

Brian Reed (W), Ricardo Sánchez (P), Rob Lean (I), Michael Atiyeh (C), and Anthony Palumbo (Cover)
On sale Sept 24
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Ongoing
The Master Chief returns in “The Next 72 Hours” part 3! What happened to the Master Chief immediately following the events of Halo 4, and what do those events mean for the future of the crew on the UNSC Infinity? Halo lead writer Brian Reed (Amazing Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel) and Ricardo Sánchez reveal all in the thrilling conclusion to this Halo event!
• From Halo lead writer and comics veteran Brian Reed!
• An essential addition to the Halo canon!

Now what makes this cover interesting is the inclusion of Blue team. Let’s take a look at this by breaking down some of the components of the cover.

Here each of the Spartans are identified. Master Chief is of course easy to pick out. Knowing that Kelly has rocked the EVA helmet before (see Halo Legends), we know that’s her. That leaves Fred and Linda. Fred’s helmet is similar to Master Chief’s so we know the Spartan top left is Fred. Linda, as you can see by the helmet ‘callout’ has a very different helmet. With the extra scopes it’s safe to assume she’s using them for an added advantage for sniping. Without those scopes the helmet reminds me of the Halo 4 C.I.O. helmet. Not the same of course, just similar. (See below)

So it appears we will indeed see the return of Blue team! Hmm, now this makes me curious. Will they be the four playable co-op campaign characters in Halo 5 Guardians?

OMG, that would be freakin’ AWESOME!!!

What is very interesting is that they seem to be wearing the upgraded armor that just Chief had in Halo 4.

Source Link

So what do you folks think of the cover, the news and the potential for them in Halo 5 Guardians???

-Sal

Okay, after having read Halo Escalation #6, I have to say I’m a bit underwhelmed.
SPOILERS AHEAD. If you plan on reading the comics, do not read further as this article will spoil the story for you…

So the cover really has nothing to do with the story inside. It is however part of a two-part cover, in which issue 7 will complete the picture.

In this issue (#6), Admiral Hood is lamenting on his career and hoping he can make things right. At first it looks like he’s going to die, but ultimately is just wounded. Honestly, I think it would have made for a better story if a character dies. Hood, while important to the overall Halo story line is NOT that important that he can’t be killed off.

The Infinity has been hit by THREE shots from a glassing cannon. It’s dead in space at the moment. Commander Bradley of the Infinity is dead. Enter the Spartans.

Sarah Palmer leads Fireteam Majestic into battle with Booster Frames to board the Rebel station. The glassing cannon has overheated so the rebel station and more importantly it’s leader Daniel Clayton , son of Captain James Cutter of the UNSC Spirit of Fire, have to wait until it’s cooled down enough to fire upon Infinity again.

Clayton orders his Sangheili mercenary force to take out the Spartans. That force’s leader, ‘Gajat, complies temporarily, but not before questioning why Clayton doesn’t just finish off the Infinity. ‘Gajat goes to his crew and instead of ordering them to attack the Spartans, he orders them to bring their ship to arms against the Infinity.

Now at this point, I already know what’s going to happen. I’m a little disappointed that I was right too. It’s a logical outcome, but I wouldn’t mind a little flare here. More on this in a moment.

After Palmer and Majestic avoid incoming missiles from the station, they board it and take it over. Just in time as the glassing cannon was just about to come online again. Clayton is knocked out by Madsen and taken prisoner.

In the meantime, ‘Gajat does as many villains do in classic stories, he is about to tell the station what his real plans are…When will villains learn, just go with your plan, then talk later. James Bond films are abounding in this respect. Anyway, as he has his ship radio the station, Palmer cuts in on the transmission, knowing what ‘Gajat has planned and tells him they are going to burn. Upon which, the station blasts the Covenant ship with the glassing cannon, destroying it.

Now here is where I’m crying foul. The Infinity is LOADED with guns. Even if they can’t fire their main laser, it has dozens of turrets mounted on it’s hull on all sides. You’d think those would be blasting away at the station, in defense. The only thing I can see why not is that Hood may have ordered them not too, in order to try to take the station and it’s people, instead of blasting it to smithereens. Hoping to get some valuable information instead.

Captain Lasky returns from his fact finding mission, empty handed. He and Palmer briefly talk then break for some alcohol. Meantime, a wounded Admiral Hood in a wheelchair (where are the hovering chairs? Thought we’d have that 500 years in the future…) pays a visit to the now prisoner Clayton. He tries to press Clayton for information on Admiral Drake, of the New Colonial Alliance. Clayton does not submit, rather stating that his (Hood’s) empire will fall.

We’re now at page 21. We see a nebula in the background with a ship moving left to right. Move to page 22 a two page spread. It’s the Spirit of Fire! But it’s still a derelict ship…then…

On the last page we see a frightening detail. It seems the crew had to abandon ship. Why? Well there are a couple of Flood carrier forms within the panels. UH-OH!

Now THAT is a very interesting plot twist at the end. Where is the Spirit of Fire headed, as clearly we see a planet in the distance. Where is it’s crew now? How did the Flood come to board the Spirit of Fire? All very interesting questions. With the title of the next issue being “New Phoenix” I think those questions may not yet be answered.

Okay, so the story all the way up to page 21 is predictable. It does continue to establish that Spartans, even Spartan IV’s, are badasses, and get the job done. Beyond that though, nothing really much is answered from previous issues. I find that bothersome. I’m going to keep coming back and reading it of course, but I’d like at least a couple of questions answered. I don’t like to be strung along. That is precisely the feeling I’m getting now with the story. They do not need to wrap up each thing in each subsequent issue, just give us a tease of an answer.

The final few pages do help somewhat in that. We know a scant bit more than we did before about the fate of the Spirit of Fire. Those details, especially the presence of the Flood on her raise yet more questions.

The art itself within very well done. I’d have to say, I think it’s the best so far of all six released issues in the series. It looks like the artists are becoming better acquainted with Spartan armor, which is a very good thing. The lighting and shading on the faces, especially that of the glow from computer screens is handled nicely.

I do recommend getting this issue. If not so much for the story, then for the art, especially that of the Spirit of Fire!

-Sal

Looking at the first 6 pages released by 343, on the fourth page, there is something rather peculiar.

I’ve cropped the page to show exactly what I’m talking about:

Anyone notice what’s wrong here?

Why is Palmer’s Booster Frame numbered ’69’? That’s very sexist and something that should not be in Halo. Now either 343 missed this when proofing it, or they saw it and approved it anyway, or the artist changed it after 343 having looked at the final proof.

Perhaps someone needs to say something to Darkhorse. I’ve enjoyed the series and as an adult, this isn’t as jarring to me. However, there ARE kids who read these comics. No doubt given the culture these days, they know what that means. So is that something either/both 343/Darkhorse want to have in the comic book?

Look, I’m not trying to take the high road here. I cuss all the time when I’m gaming. But in the context of this being in a comic book, which have throngs of kids who read them… Well, I just hope it doesn’t happen in the future.

-Sal

Waypoint was kind enough to post these on the official site.

Here are the first 6 pages from Escalation #6:

Hmm, interesting. Will there be mutiny? And where is the Spirit of Fire?

-Sal

A friendly reminder that issue #6 of Halo Escalation comes out tomorrow. If you’re looking for a print edition, check your local comic book store.

Otherwise, you can order the digital edition direct from Darkhorse comics, HERE.

I’m REALLY looking forward to this issue. You could say there is a certain spirit of fire about this moth’s issue…

-Sal

All I have to say is WHOAH!

(on sale August 27, 2014)

-Sal

As reported yesterday, Halo Escalation #5 is out today.

Darkhorse has a 3-page preview of it, which I’m reblogging here for your convenience.

So it looks like the action is heating up for Spartan Ray. Hopefully Lasky can diffuse the situation and the party can go on about finding the information they need regarding the attack on the delegation.

-Sal

For those of you who are collecting the series (as I am), the next issue of Halo Escalation is out tomorrow. You can pick up a copy at your local comic book shops. If they don’t have it in stock, you can buy direct from Darkhorse. As well, you can get the digital copy, HERE.

Here’s the text blurb form Darkhorse about this issue:

Missing for thirty years, a legendary UNSC warship is discovered deep behind enemy lines. As Infinity plans a rescue mission, however, Admiral Hood’s past with the ship’s captain threatens to jeopardize the mission. The investigation into the UNSC saboteur continues as the journalist infiltrates an Elite holy land in search of answers.

-Sal

The story is definitely starting to rev up in this issue.

We find that Thorne has indeed been given command of Fireteam Majestic. (Not a surprise to me really, when given the events of Spartan Ops in Halo 4. I still think he’s going to be the one who bears the torch after Master Chief.

Lasky and Spartan Ray go on a mission to obtain information on the UNSC mole who gave up the location of the diplomatic meeting between the Arbiter and the Brute Chieftan.

Lord Admiral Hood wants to try out the Forerunner engines of the Infinity and gives Roland (ship’s A.I.) the “wheel” so to speak. However, just before they are about to go into slipspace, the Infinity receives a transmission from an old UNSC signal…

A ship called the Pilgrims Pride is found and is about to be brought aboard the Infinity. However, before that happens, the Infinity comes under attack from old UNSC Vultures and Sparrowhawks. Puzzled, but determines, Spartan fire teams are deployed. We learn of two Spartan fire team names. Colossus and Fenrir. The Spartans come under attack within the ship and the Infinity finds out that the core of the Pilgrims Pride is about to explode. With little time to spare, the order is given to evacuate the Pilgrims Pride, however the Spartans are too deep in the ship and Thorne makes the decision to have the core ejected from the ship. The core is ejected successfully, though damage was taken to the Pilgrims Pride.

Meanwhile, Lasky and Ray meet up with one of Lasky’s old friends from his childhood who has become a journalist. The journalist wants information in return. Not anything simple easy. She want info on the Master Chief!

Back aboard the Infinity, crew bring in the wreckage from the quick battle and track down the I.D. numbers of the ships to the originating ship…It is indeed the UNSC Spirit of Fire!

The crew informs Lord Admiral Hood and prepares to put a report of the ship together for him, when he states he knows all there is to know of the ship as he is the one responsible for the reason it went missing almost 30 years ago!

This issue contains lots of action and intrigue as we only just begin to find out the whereabouts of the Spirit of Fire, Lasky’s past, and the future of fire team Majestic.

Do yourselves a favor folks, if you haven’t bought into this series yet, DO IT! If you can’t find the physical copy of the comic books, don’t worry, you can always buy the digital versions direct from Darkhorse!

-Sal

Halo Escalation is coming in TWO days. Here are a couple of pages from the book:

What’s interesting to note of the two-page spread is that it’s Majestic team, sans DeMarco. (To find out about him, get Escalation #3). It’s certainly good to see 4/5 of Majestic intact!

Also, note the UNSC Hawk is also present. Not just one, but SEVERAL! If you’re not familiar with this ship, it was in Halo Wars:

This brings us even closer to the talk of the UNSC Spirit of Fire being in Escalation. Consider this, it looks like UNSC ships are fighting UNSC ships. One might draw the conclusion that Serena, has of course gone rampant and left orders for the ship to attack anything that came in the vicinity of the Spirit of Fire after her death. With the crew of the Spirit of Fire presumably still in Cryo sleep, this would be the only way to protect them while they are awoken. Now, the Hawks and Shortswords should be piloted by humans right? Maybe. It could be that Serena made a way for those ships to be controlled by the Spirit of Fire temporarily, again to give enough time for the crew to wake up from Cryo Sleep and take over. VERY curious this is indeed!

For those of you who need more of a refresher on the Hawk, Mega Bloks did come out with a set for this back in 2010:

 With the prospect of the Spirit of Fire coming into play in the comic book, this series is going to get MUCH more interesting and even BETTER!

Now I always say you should support your local comic book store first, and I hold true to that. However, if you can’t find one locally, you can pre-order this directly from Darkhorse HERE.

-Sal

Okay, once again SPOILERS! I can’t stress enough how this review will have a HUGE SPOILER in it!

Read on at the risk of spoiling the comic book for yourself! You’ve been warned!!!

As the enemy forces move in on the delegation’s location, Spartan Scruggs takes a hostage. He’s quickly dispatched by Palmer. This isn’t even the biggest spoiler…

First, I’m still against a Spartan rebelling. See, this is one of the VERY REASONS why Halsey’s Spartan II’s are and always will be better. They were trained from childhood. Their minds grew accustomed (some would say brainwashed) to protecting the UNSC no matter what. The Spartan IIs loyalty is without question.

Spartan VIs having been recruited as adults have all of those experiences and baggage they bring with them.

This next part however IS the BIG SPOILER!

Palmer needs to get the delegation away. This means having to split up forces. She will go with the delegation while the remaining Spartans are to stay behind and fend off the attacking forces as long as possible so as to allow the delegation to get away.

This includes Paul DeMarco. Yes, THAT Demarco, Fireteam Majestic’s leader from Halo 4’s Spartan Ops. He mans a Covenant surface to air turret and valiantly staves off some enemies. However, his station is overrun and destroyed by a Banshee.

Now some might have thought DeMarco was a jerk in Spartan Ops. However, he proved himself there. I’m really surprised he was killed off. Or was he? We do see several coffins at the funeral ceremony, however they are not named during it, so we readers can not be certain DeMarco is one of them. Regardless, it’s a BOLD move to an albeit minor but important character. I wonder how this will impact the rest of Majestic. Speaking of, I am a little surprised that we haven’t heard about them in the Escalation series. I do hope they are brought into the story.

This is a good read. It’s mostly fast paced and we get to see Spartans at their worst (Scruggs) and at their best (DeMarco) and points in between (Palmer).

I can’t wait for the next issue! Spirit of Fire!!!

-Sal

 The ongoing Halo Escalation series has a very interesting story coming up in issue 5. Now by the preview, we see it moves into issue 6 as well.

Here is the cover without the Dark Horse logo and other text on it, followed by a brief summary of the issue. SPOILERS!

This cover was done by none other than Sparth of 343. It’s a beautiful shot of Pelicans flying over. We know this isn’t Requiem as that has been destroyed. So where might this new Forerunner location be and what is it called?

Issue #6’s title is: A Spy in the Ranks
It’s on sale May 28 for $3.99 and is 32 pages.
Halo Wars of old meets the Halo of the present when the UNSC infinity attempts to gain the Spirit of Fire, a ship thought lost more than 30 years previous, from Vata ‘Gaiat.
Petra’s search for the spy may mean her death and the Haloverse might be thrust into a new war!

-Sal

Dark Horse Comics has release 6 pages of the upcoming Halo Escalation #3 comic book, due to release on February 26. The following is the cover and those 6 pages. Enjoy!

I’m excited for this. UNSC, Arbiter and Brutes! As well, this gets us closer to #5, which promises to be a BIG event in the Halo franchise!

-Sal