:

: Halo: Initiation (#1)
: Writer: Brian Reed
: Art: Marco Castiello

: Initiation kicks into high gear straight away. This three-issue series
: pairs 343 Industries writer Brian Reed and artist Marco Castiello together
: to chronicle the early days of the UNSC's fourth-generation supersoldier
: program and the men and women who shaped the fledgling Spartan Branch in
: its infancy. Leading Initiation is the young Marine, Sarah Palmer, then
: only an ordinary grunt on the frontlines in the war against the Covenant.
: In this first issue alone, Initiation brings home two missing heroes
: once believed to roam endlessly in past stories.

: Story
: The pacing is intense and concise, and with only 24 pages bound together,
: Reed makes due with this hindrance. Sadly, this to-the-point pacing
: betrays what could've been possible. Initiation is separated into three
: acts spanning four months and Earth's celestial empire, and much to my
: surprise, seamlessly melds together into an opera just as well as any
: game. However, It's this broad inclusivity that allows the series to
: suffer from an exciting, yet mediocre kick off.

: Each act contains colorful dialogue that will continue to linger in the minds
: of Halo fans and casual readers alike. Captain Musa, the first act's main
: voice and founder of Spartan Branch, presents himself before the Admiralty
: with a heartfelt speech on the tragedies of Dr. Halsey's acts all those
: years ago, he himself being crippled by them. These words hit characters
: and myself to the core, just as he intended. Sadly, the dialogue following
: in subsequent acts sinks to a conversational tone with little substance.
: One might read it with the impression that each of the characters is
: trying to get the final word in, or the best zinger.

: Set five years before her deployment as Infinity Spartan Forces' commanding
: officer, Lance Corporal Sarah Palmer stars as a Helljumper of the elite
: 105th Division in this inaugural issue. This boisterous young woman brings
: back her typical charms, confident as ever, never to let her limitations
: overwhelm the cocky facade she holds dear. It's very easy to find yourself
: reciting her words with Jennifer Hale in mind, Palmer's voice actor on
: Halo 4 , and lends itself well to Reed's ability to differentiate
: characters. Palmer's abilities as a warrior are defined with great
: intensity in the second act, charging without abandon at her adversaries.
: For an unaugmented human, alone without her comrades, it is a bit
: over-the-top, but it's still a fun sight.

: Jun-A266 makes his first appearance since being marooned on Covenant-occupied
: Reach at the end of the 2010 prequel game. This veteran Spartan's chat
: with Sarah Palmer is quite succinct and faithful to both their
: personalities, yet I couldn't hear Jun's unique accent emanating from the
: pages. It's early to tell, but I feel his inclusion in Initiation was
: one of fan service. Jun's appearance felt like a tip of the hat to people
: holding onto him. It doesn't seem like we'll be seeing any more of him
: beyond this reintroduction into this new era in the Haloverse. That being
: said, Jun and Sarah appear to have good chemistry and denying readers of
: this relationship going forth would be very displeasing.

: Secondary characters give little back to this first issue. The Admiralty in
: the first act provides a counter to Musa's proposals and entrenched
: Marines are killed off to highlight danger. The lone Covenant character
: with a speaking part, a Jiralhanae Chieftain, is nothing but grunts and
: roars. Enticing Sarah Palmer with something more would've let her
: character in battle shine above explaining her actions to Admiral Kovalic.

: Art and spazz
: Full page spreads, single-panel close ups, and ordinary action shots are all
: equally presented with beauty. Curves on armor plating are defined with as
: much intensity as a focused stare in the heat of combat.

: Action between Marines and Covenant soldiers is frightening. Some panels
: display highly-detailed advances and blows, others highly-stylized shots.
: These scenes bring back the fondest memories of fighting the Covenant in
: first-person, even if Palmer's exploits as a Lance Corporal are slightly
: over-exaggerated to spark intensity. Most of it flows well from
: panel-to-panel, while occasional bouts of confusion will set in.

: A unique contrast can be seen in the facial expressions in all three acts.
: The first, starring Captain Musa and the Admiralty, is very reserved. The
: artist's unique style inhibits readers from seeing their distinctions,
: whether they be of confidence, contempt, sorrow, or hatred. Jun and Sarah
: are shown in stark contrast, however. This third and final act is almost
: entirely close up shots and you're genuinely able to feel what they're
: thinking.

:

: Oh my lord look at Sarah and her murderous curves! Why would she ever give up
: being a normal human with mile-wide hips to become a giraffe? I held back
: my spazzing when this bald man walked into her hospital room and his
: fistful of arrows was out for the world to see. Jun's bright blue orbs he
: claims are his eyes are incredibly striking and that bone structure is
: flawless. Damn. On the other hand, Jun wearing the same cut of suit and
: tie human males wore 540 years in the past threw me a little. Per The
: Commissioning , formal wear for men has evolved beyond it. I'm not saying
: it doesn't look good on him. It looks rather sexy, I must say. But this is
: the far future and the fashion needs to reflect this. Anyhoo, I digress...

: Many "older" elements of the Haloverse make their return. Very
: little of Halo 4 's artistic liberties are given light in Initiation ,
: the only notable things being Jul 'Mdama's retrospective panel and the
: Navy working uniform. Marines in the infantry and those who enjoy dropping
: from orbit have been reverted to their Halo 3 armor and I must say that
: they look quite dapper. This comic shows the evolution from the war-time
: elements to their current post-war incarnations. The new highly stylized
: UNSC logo has already replaced the iconic, minimal eagle we knew for so
: long by January 2553.

: For your consideration...
: Halo has always prided itself on giving you a remarkable sense of importance.
: Every enemy soldier you kill or high ground you seize livens events on a
: galactic scale. Initiation has none of that. Palmer shows reckless skill
: in defeating a hammer-wielding Chieftain, yet unlike the Master Chief, her
: victory proves she's nothing but a brain behind the trigger. Her inclusion
: into the Spartans doesn't conclude in a ticker tape parade, but with a
: whimper and doubt. Initiation captured these Spartans in an ordinary
: light, not a shining beacon of hope, and I couldn't be happier.

: I've held Sarah Palmer with serious contempt these past few months, her
: attitude was disgusting, her actions deplorable. I now posses a brief
: sense of where she was coming from with Initiation . While a great many
: things about her still irk me in the wrong way, I look forward to seeing
: how she evolves as a person, one that I'm now void of discouraging to
: learn about.

: Castiello's art was gorgeous, but at times it seems like there was little
: collaboration between Reed and himself. Character dialogue and their
: presentation rarely meshed well until the final act.

: The story left me wanting so much more with its fast pace, leaving much to
: question than was answered. Initiation is already filled with more
: content than can reasonably fit within three 25-page issues and promises
: have gone unfulfilled because of this limitation. Ideally, I wouldn't have
: gone with the comic medium to tell this story, or at least not with this
: limited series. These characters aren't going anywhere, so taking the time
: to flesh out their history would be oh so sweet for everyone.

: Initiation #1 was fun and insightful from the start. It wasn't a lasting
: dive into these people's lives, but instead a sweet glimpse. While much of
: this comic has been revealed to the public in the previews, I still
: recommend reading it for the full picture from beginning to end.

: I'll give it a...
: 3.5 outta 5

The "every character trying to get a parthian shot in" is I think one of the dangers of a writer who's good, but not that good; sometimes you need to hold back on the clever lines in order to make them work better (and while I know of no one who really likes characters who speak like "normal" people, having everyone talk in a completely foreign way to logic gets old too.)

In terms of design styles you forgot to mention the frigates are Halo 4-style cigars too, although if they hadn't retconned the Dawn I wouldn't have cared; they're attractive space cigars.

Hopefully they'll put out the trade at a decent interval. In the meantime I look forward to your reviews on the rest of the series, if you so choose to englighten us :)