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| This is a forum topic dedicated to discussing the comic series ''[[Halo: Escalation]]''. | | <center>''This is a forum topic dedicated to discussing the comic series [[Halo: Escalation]]. For discussion on earlier issues, see '''[[Forum:Halo: Escalation Thread 1 (Issues 1-17)|the first thread]]'''.''</center> |
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| ==Issue 8==
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| [[File:HaloEscalation8.jpg|thumb|250px|Wait... this never happened in the issue proper.]]
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| Thought I'd share some late thoughts/ramblings on the newest issue because it's the first one that delves into the series' primary plot line and characters and will probably matter the most going forward.
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| After the more subdued, character-focused Issue 7 which was a pleasant surprise coming from Reed after the underwhelming display that was ''Initiation'', [[Halo: Escalation Issue 8]] was mostly a disappointment. The biggest question in my mind is ''who thought it was a good idea to tell this story in comic form?'' There's just so much depth and complexity that could've been gained if this had been a novel (or perhaps even a CGI film?). Did they not have a novelist on hand? Did ''someone'' in a key position (say, in the writing staff) have a preference for the comic format for one reason or the other?
| | ==Issue 18== |
| | {{#widget:YouTube|id=1AX_Pm9idlo|width=300|right}} |
| | {{Clear}} |
| | ==Issue 19== |
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| For one, the pace is uncomfortably hectic — what should be defining character moments, like John's reunion with his closest friends and comrades after so many years, are shrugged off in a couple of panels. And it's not like the subtleties of the Spartans' body and sign languages ("Spartan smiles", etc.) could be appropriately pulled off in a comic anyway. What's going through John's head after his loss of Cortana, or when he sees Osman (who I presume he hasn't seen for decades and didn't know was even alive) in the Security Council? What are the Spartans thinking seeing their comrades slaughtered? None of that comes through here. Comics can be a great medium for storytelling but the strengths of the format are all absent here. Everything that we see would've been better presented via prose.
| | ==Issue 20== |
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| It doesn't help that the art is [http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/Chronarch7/aah_zps773e54dd.png frankly underwhelming] for a series of this scope and story importance. I stress the latter because ''Escalation'' is no longer a side story about tertiary characters but a proper continuation of the series' primary storyline. Microsoft has no shortage of money, so why not make sure they have a top artist illustrating their flagship comic? I know ''Halo'' has had those in the past (''Blood Line'' stands out for its vibrant, crisp illustration) or was that just a Marvel thing? (though to be fair the art in ''Fall of Reach'' was pretty sketchy too).
| | '''Bold text'''==Issue 21 Preview== |
| | The Spartan on the cover looks an awful lot like the leftmost one in Locke's team, complete with the blue/turquoise metal rails. I'm betting she's Tanaka. Also, ''damn'' Isaac Hannaford is good. --[[User:Jugus|<font color="MidnightBlue"><b>Jugus</b></font>]] <small>([[User talk:Jugus|<font color="Gray">Talk</font>]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jugus|<font color="Gray">Contribs</font>]])</small> 01:57, 15 May 2015 (EDT) |
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| On a side note, what's with the Spartans' identical light blue eyes? This is a weird visual media thing that first appeared in the ''[[Birth of a Spartan]]'' trailer and was repeated in ''Forward Unto Dawn'' but never came up in the novels.
| | :The cover looks magnificent, and I really like the sound of, well, all the standalone stories. Plus, I already like this Tanaka, and would be happy for her to join Locke in Halo 5. I just...I wish the faces didn't give me the willies when I see some of them. -- [[User:Morhek|<b><font color=indigo>Qura 'Morhek</font></b>]] [[halofanon:user:Specops306|<u><i><font color=blue><sup>The Autocrat</sup></font></i></u>]] [[User talk:Specops306|<u><i><font color=purple><sup>of Morheka</sup></font></i></u>]] 02:57, 15 May 2015 (EDT) |
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| Spartan Black's demise has been discussed to death both [[:Forum:Subtracting Canon - Brian Reed, Catalog, etc.|here]] and on other forums, so I won't delve too much into that. Though one can make reasonable guesses on why 343i decided to get rid of them, I still disagree with the way it was handled. The same Prometheans which supposedly slaughtered Black like animals barely seem to pose a threat to Blue, and if the Didact was involved we get no indication of this. It doesn't raise the stakes or make the Prometheans feel more threatening, it just shows that our main characters are protected by the plot, at least for the time being. As an interesting thought experiment, I wonder how people would've reacted if Black had been replaced by [[Kilo-Five]]?
| | ::The faces are great! On another note, this issue's description mentions "a powerful new combatant enters the fray". I suppose the combatant is either the Spartan shown on the cover or Locke's team altogether. I'm glad "The Absolute Record" arc is continuing, though I worry for the lives of Jul and Halsey. - [[User:NightHammer|NightHammer]] ([[User talk:NightHammer|talk]]) 12:00, 15 May 2015 (EDT) |
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| Another issue I have is that while the Didact's return was probably a surprise for no one at this point, I just can't take him seriously whenever he appears in a visual medium. His design is so cartoonish, over the top and injected with the average preteen's idea of "cool" it might easily pass for something scribbled by a 13-year old. He looks like a villain from an 80's kids' show, and the [[:File:Halo Escalation Ur-Didact.jpg|evil throne]] isn't helping things. I always thought he looked like a comic book villain, and I guess he literally is one now.
| | '''@NightHammer''' No need to fear for Jul or Halsey, as they have already been confirmed for Halo 5. In the last segment of the Halo 5 E3 reveal, it shows for a spic second, Agent Locke engaging Jul with an energy sword, with Halsey in the background. So they'll definitely be alive by Halo 5, but afterwards, who knows. |
| | | Siphon 117 02:42, 8 July 2015 (EDT) |
| Now, the book Didact is another matter entirely — I'm starting to think only Greg Bear could make 343i's version of the Forerunners ''work'' by adding the appropriate levels of weight and nuance to their characterizations whereas at the hands of their in-house writers like Reed here they just come across as flat cartoon characters. Unlike some people I'm mostly fine with the Forerunner Saga and even some of its more esoteric aspects: it draws from a long tradition of "sufficiently advanced" technology in science fiction with some thought-provoking themes running in the background, as opposed to more superficial Hollywood and comic book ephemera.
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| And that's another thing: a lot of recent developments seem to be geared to making ''Halo'' less like the gritty, technical military sci-fi it used to be and more like the Marvel universe with the Spartans being turned from an elite special operations outfit into something more closely resembling a [[Spartan (branch)|superhero team]], a brooding godlike general of an immensely complex ancient civilization becoming an over-the-top cartoon villain, or zero concern to physics or technology with pulp silliness like [[:File:Composer's Abyss.jpg|tormented souls popping up from walls]] or ships no longer having to abide by the previous limitations of slipspace travel. I don't like to point fingers, but I do wonder if all this has to do with 343i's current lead writer's Marvel background. Now, despite not being much of a comic reader, I love pretty much all of the MCU movies which are filled with this kind of absurdity. But I'd rather they kept the Halo universe's tone as it was rather than molding it into something it's not. --[[User:Jugus|<font color="MidnightBlue"><b>Jugus</b></font>]] <small>([[User talk:Jugus|<font color="Gray">Talk</font>]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jugus|<font color="Gray">Contribs</font>]])</small> 03:14, 13 August 2014 (EDT)
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| :Couldn't agree with you more. And kind of amusing - "''tormented souls popping up from walls''". The whacky "composers abyss" is just out of place in the Halo universe and makes it seem as though I reading a hairy potter comic. You already know my stance on these science-fantasy elements that 343i implemented since Halo 4. Anyway, I definitely agree that the latest entry in this comic series was a major let down especially compared to the previous issues. Its almost as though everything was rushed and there was little emphasis placed on anything really. Like I said in "subtracting canon" (I know everyone disagrees with the title but it came from lack of better wording, plus I wanted an interesting forum title) the reunion between John & blue team was insignificant, the slaughter of black team was unnecessary & uneplained, and then there's the didact in his great cartoony glory. Basically, when it came down to this issue, my main problem with it was execution and irrational decision making. Now some people may say that "developers may not want to revisit certain characters". If that's the case why bring them back in the first place only to kill them off rendering them nothing more than a skid mark? Leave it alone, leave them where they lay, leave well enough alone. Bringing them back only to immediately kill them off seems more like a slap in the face to most fans than if they just left them a mystery (and you don't want to disappoint the fans since they account for majority of revenues by the way). Just because 343i has the power to do something doesn't mean they should do it. Yes, you're not going to please the fans everytime but at least if they took the time and safest approach to doing things than at least you can lesson the damage. And some may say "what 343i does counts regardless of what the fans prefer". But again, just because they can do it doesn't mean they should. There is a such thing as reviewers, opinions, forums, etc...If 343i properly executed this story w/ proper explanations for things, less rushed plot lines, and better artwork, than there'd be a lesser chance of displeasing fans. And like Jugus said, if you can't do it in a comic, than reserve it for a book, game, or mini-movie like "Nightfall", rahter than trying to stuff and shorten things in a tiny 20 or so page comic.--'''''[[User:Killamin7|<span style="color:Black; font-family: Arial;">Killamin7</span>]]''''' <small>['''''[[User talk:Killamin7|<font color="Red">Comm</font>]]'''''|'''''[[Special:Contributions/Killamin7|<font color="Black">Files</font>]]''''']</small> 09:38, 13 August 2014 (EDT)
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| :I agree. What annoys me about the art style is that it can go [[:File:Escalation - GammaHalo Longsword.png|from]] [[:File:Tek threatened.png|pretty]] [[:File:Oaxaca Station.jpg|decent]], then all of a sudden, [[:File:Tek.PNG|it]] [[:File:Escalation - Composer's Abyss2.png|becomes]] [[:File:New Phoenix population composed.jpg|horrid]]. I wonder if the artist knows how to draw humans, or what the alien species actually look like sometimes. I feel like the poor pacing of these comics has to do with the shortness of each issue. There isn't a lot of room to explore the story or add emotion unfortunately. [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Maul%E2%80%94Son_of_Dathomir Darth Maul's ''Son of Dathomir''] comic series (also created by Dark Horse) has forty pages per comic and a great art style. This gives each issue enough time to explore entire battles. I realize that ''Star Wars'' is more well-known than ''Halo'', but still I would expect Mircosoft to put some money into ''Escalation'' to make it a better comic series. Although the series has made several mistakes (mostly due to art style) and has not accurately portrayed some of the characters, I still think it's one of the better comic series we have seen so far and explores interesting parts of the ''Halo'' universe, such as the Ealen peace treaties or New Phoenix's reopening. And I wouldn't mind if it continued beyond November.
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| :However, I think my biggest problem with this series as a whole so far is how it ends stories. While I know that this is partially due to the length of each issue, a lot of the stories featured in ''Escalation'' are poorly wrapped up or forgotten. 'Gajat seemed to be an interesting character. He was a mercenary that was working with human insurgents, Kig-Yar, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae, and then he was killed off and his organization was forgotten about (I know it's a longshot, since the comic covers have been rather unreliable, but I hope the Kig-Yar on the cover of issue 11 is from the mercenary group and Tek has now taken over or something). The ''Spirit of Fire'' was advertised to be appearing in one of the issues, but only had a small cameo. Petra was kind of forgotten about. The Ealen IV storyline ended pretty well, especially compared to the others. I think that if the length of each issue and the art style was improved (maybe on par with ''Son of Dathomir''), ''Escalation'' would benefit greatly.
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| :And I agree that 343i is starting to portray Spartans as superheroes (especially Blue Team/Palmer/Majestic). I think it would have been better if the Didact never changed from his [[:File:H4-Terminal-Didact.jpg|original appearance]]. It isn't over-the-top cartoon villainy, and I actually like his appearance/armor better. I really hope ''Halo'' doesn't begin to drift into the deep sci-fi/fantasy genre. As much as I love ''Star Wars'', I've never been a fan of the hardcore fantasy elements like "Dathomir magic" or Force ghosts turning alive again. That's one of the reasons I prefer ''Halo''. The science is kept relatively realistic and is more based on some form of actual science (real or not). However, some of the Forerunner abilities, like imprints, seem to be coming from the fantasy genre. Nonetheless, I'm excited for November and all of the upcoming ''Halo'' content. ''Broken Circle'' will hopefully be a refreshing read with the lack of Halsey hate (although I am still waiting for more news on the novel or some sort of preview). - [[User:NightHammer|NightHammer]] ([[User talk:NightHammer|talk]]) 11:10, 13 August 2014 (EDT)
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