Halo: Blood Line

Halo: Blood Line, formerly known as Halo: Spartan Black, is an upcoming five-part comic series about a team of stranded SPARTAN-II commandos before the Battle of Reach in mid-2552. . The first issue was released on the 23rd of December 2009, with the fifth and last issue having a set release date of April 2010. Blood Line is written by Fred Van Lente; Francis Portela has signed on as the series artist, with coloring by Ulises Arreola.

Official Synopsis
"Blood Line is also a pre-"Halo: Combat Evolved" story, focused on a small Black Ops sabotage and intelligence fire team of Spartans assigned to the ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence. While on a top-secret mission in enemy space, their ship crashes on a remote moon along with a Covenant cruiser. When a mysterious entity that has lurked on the moon for millions of years threatens both groups, Spartans and Covenant have to forge an uneasy alliance to take down the common threat ... but not all humans and aliens can suddenly start treating the other like allies.."

- Fred Van Lente

Issue #1 Summary
"Based on the Best-Selling X-Box Game! The Spartan team codename: Black is the top-secret unconventional warfare unit of the United Nations Space Command's Office of Naval Intelligence, engaging in sabotage and assassination missions deep inside Covenant space. But when this quartet of super soldiers is shot down over a desolate moon along with a Covenant Cruiser, humans and aliens will have to forge an uneasy alliance against a common foe before an eons-old threat destroys them both!''"

- IGN article

Issue #2 Summary
"Greetings! I am the monitor of Line Installation 1-4. I am 6-8-6 Ebullient Prism. My function is to collect and inspect any and all specimens captured within this sector for evidence of immunity to infestation by The Flood. I require your assistance. Please do not move while you are dissected and all your tissues are properly analyzed and cataloged."

- Marvel.com

Issue #3 Summary
"The Elites and Spartans' uneasy alliance to rescue their captured comrades from the depths of the ancient complex is pushed to the breaking point when a traitor is revealed in their midst. But is the turncoat human, Covenant...or something even more terrifying?"

- Marvel.com

Issue #4 Summary
"Time is running out for Spartan: Black. Their commanding officer is about to be dissected by the psychotic monitor of The Line. Their AI Iona has been infected by Forerunner technology. One of their own has turned against them, pushing their already uneasy alliance with the Elite to the brink. A massive Covenant armada is converging on their position. Only a desperate gamble will save them -- but that's why you always bet on Black."

- Marvel.com

Issue #5 Summary
"THE ACTION-PACKED SERIES BASED ON THE BESTSELLING X-BOX GAME COMES TO ITS WHITE-KNUCKLE CONCLUSION! Spartans, Covenant and Forerunners engage in a furious three-way battle for control of the mysterious Line installation, the power of which rivals the fabled Halos themselves! Will Spartan: Black be able to heal the rifts within their unit long enough to secure The Line for the forces of Earth...or is this their last stand against overwhelming alien forces?"

- Marvel.com

Characters

 * 686 Ebullient Prism
 * Black-One
 * Black-Two
 * Black-Three
 * Black-Four
 * Iona
 * Reff 'Talamee
 * Thon 'Talamee

Locations

 * Unnamed Moon
 * Line Installation 1-4

Organizations

 * Covenant Empire
 * Forerunner
 * United Nations Space Command
 * UNSC Navy
 * Office of Naval Intelligence
 * Red Team
 * Team Black

Species

 * Human
 * Mgalekgolo
 * Sangheili
 * Unggoy

Vehicles

 * Assault Carrier
 * M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
 * Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage
 * UNSC Frigate

Weapons

 * Assault Cannon
 * M41 Vulcan Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * M6D Personal Defense Weapon System
 * MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System
 * Sniper Rifle System 99D-S2 Anti-Matériel
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-51 Carbine

Other

 * Gatherer
 * Sentinel

Trivia

 * The armor the Spartans wear in the series appears similar to the MJOLNIR Mk. VI, which was not in use by the time the comic takes place. As stated by Frank O'Connor, this armor is a "skunkworks prototype" produced in Songnam, Korea, explaining its unique appearance.

Internal

 * Halopedia Interview with Fred Van Lente