Halo Escalation #14 Comic Book review (Spoilers inside)

DarkHorseComicsLogo Halo Escalation #14 is now available for purchase. Folks, this is a “must not miss issue”. There is a chain of events that happen in this issue that most certainly are going to set up HUGE happenings for future issues and possible the next game as well.

As always, I suggest you buy form your local comic book shop. I’m a firm believer in supporting your local businesses.

If you don’t have one close, then go to Darkhorse’s site to order.

 

Now on with the book review. (Again, SPOILERS are ahead, you’ve been warned).

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With Jul ‘Mdama on the cover, I just KNEW this issue was going to be big. And it certainly did not disappoint in that area.

In Escalation #13, we saw the UNSC Infinity have it’s slipspace capacity crippled…

Story Synopsis
In issue #14, we find Spartan’s Palmer, Thorne and Ray, along with Dr. Glassman exploring the location on the planet that they believe is the source of the disruption.

There is a small band of Covenant protecting the Forerrunner location that has been found and the Spartan’s dispatch of the effortlessly.

In the meantime, aboard the Song of Retribution, Jul ‘Mdama’s flagship, there are traitors found. An Elite named Sali ‘Nyon looks to depose Jul as the true hand of the Didact, one of his minions admits.

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Back on the planet, Glassman discovers a Forerunner artifact very similar to the one that they found on Requiem. This one however has a slot that just so happens to fit the half of the KEY that the Infinity has. This is a set-up planned by Dr. Halsey to draw Glassman into bringing that half of the key down to the planet, so that she can reunite both halves.

Glassman acts as predicted and asks for the key to be brought down to the planet to see how it might interact with the artifact, even going so far as to say that it might be the cause of the disruption to Infinity’s slipspace problem.

An Covenant ambush is awaiting the drop, until…both the Pelican and escort Broadsword are blown out of the sky. Jul didn’t order the hit, and is left wondering who started the conflict.

Palmer and her Spartan’s are pinned down and have to take cover in the Forerunner site with Dr. Glassman and await a rescue.

In the meantime, the rogue Elites responsible for the destruction of the UNSC vessels scours the crashed ships and finds the other half of the key. One of the Elite’s is none other than Sali ‘Nyon, the would-be usurper of Jul ‘Mdama.

And the issue ends there.

Book discussion
Okay,  so now there is yet another Elite who is making a grab for power. Infinity is still locked to the planet and can’t escape by slipspace. As well, now the Covenant have BOTH halves of the Key. This is a very dangerous time for the UNSC. Not only could it’s flagship be destroyed, but the key has fallen into enemy hands. Will Halsey be able to reunite both halves? If so, will she betray Jul as we all suspect? Will Jul kill her? How will Sali ‘Nyan’s role in all of this play out.

The story is pretty strong. Lots of action as well as drama going on. The art in this issue is on par with the other issues in this series. I’d even go so far as to say it’s above average for this series. The only issue I have is with how human faces are drawn. Lasky and Glassman could have been done better. The Covenant though have been well drawn.

Panel movement and pacing is good. I never felt like the book was moving at a slow pace. From page to page panel positioning is different which keeps your eyes excited for the visuals.

If the subsequent issues in the series are like this one, Halo Escalation is certainly going in the RIGHT direction.

I highly recommend picking this one up folks. It’s a decent starting point if you haven’t bought into the series yet. On that note, if you want to get caught up on issues and can’t find them at your local comic book store, Darkhorse has either/both hard copy and digital version for purchase. So you can easily get all the back issues to date.

Have you got this issue yet? If so, what do you think of the events in it? Do you like the artwork? Let em know your opinions about Halo Escalation #14. Reply below.

-Sal

 

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About Sal

I’ve got tons of experience with Halo gaming and collecting. I feel I have something to offer to the greater Halo fan community. Posts along the way will be about tips and tricks in the games as well as collecting and many more Halo related things. I’ll also repost interesting articles from the official site, Halowaypoint.com, or from fellow Halo fan sites. As I continue this blog, I hope to help gamers who want advice on the games, as well as any collectors with regards to where to find collectibles as well as deals, coupons and so on. You can also follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/HaloFanForLife or Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/halofanforlife11. Welcome to my blog and I hope you’ll come back again and again. -Sal

2 thoughts on “Halo Escalation #14 Comic Book review (Spoilers inside)

  1. Nice write up Sal, this is a really cool issue. On top of the comic, I wish we got some in-game gameplay of this. I do not have a comic book store and I can not read this online for a long period of time. Hopefully in halo 5 we get a continuation of spartan ops and firefight. Once again, good job and I like this series.

    • I don’t know about making a game of this but having a Season Two of Spartan Ops featuring parts of Halo: Escalation would’ve been cool.

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