Halo: Escalation Graphic Novel Review

As a fan of Halo it’s always good to see the game continue in any shape or form. When the game Halo 4 came out I was excited (till it got so repetitive my excitement dwindled to nothing) and when I heard about this graphic novel Halo: Escalation, the collection of comic 1-6, I knew I had to read it.

Following the events that unfolded in Halo 4, Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer and Captain Thomas Lasky lead the UNSC Infinity into battle against some familiar foes but then must deal with some two faced shenanigans within their own ranks at the same time.

Basically, the humans are organizing a sit down between some alien species to try and stop all the bickering and infighting that threatens to spread and affect them all. Of course, it’s never that easy and conspirators on both sides threaten everything.

I was impressed with the way Chris Schlerf wrote the story behind Halo: Escalation. He throws the reader right into the action but in a good way, then dials it back a bit to explain basically the how’s and why’s of what is really going on. He gives you characters with just enough background and description for you to understand what their place is (or should be) in the story without overdoing the details. He very deftly describes the main points and moves on, leaving the longer descriptions of backgrounds and details to later on in the novel. It is a smart man who knows when to stop talking and let the visuals take over the story.

So let’s talk about the visuals and the artwork. Sergio Arino and Ricardo Sanchez do some solid work here and there can be no denying the overall look and feel is all about Halo. However, because this is Halo and the bar has been raised so high, good or solid artwork just doesn’t seem enough. Success brings high expectations and I was hoping for something more, panels or just individual images that would make me go ‘Wow!’

This didn’t happen but that’s not to say the artwork is bad. In fact, there are some wonderfully drawn expressions and fight seems that have a great sense of realism to them, but there’s simply not enough of those moments. This causes more than a few uneven moments during the story where the plot line or arcs begin to overpower the artwork.

The layout of the panels is good and follows along with the story line quite well. This is no small accomplishment as the story at times is a bit overwhelming, especially to those not familiar with the Halo mythology.

This brings me to another potential problem for this book. While I’m pretty up to speed on the Halo story, I had to re-read many parts to keep up with both everything that was going on and everything that had gone on. I wouldn’t recommend a newcomer to the Halo universe pick up this book without first familiarizing oneself with the basic story. If ever there was an excuse to go play some Halo video games, this is it.

Even though the story is bit complex at times I found it interesting and in turn, found more than a few of the characters more than simple background noise. They had a voice and made the pages worth turning, a credit to the writing style and talent of Schlerf.

Overall, I did enjoy Halo: Escalation and would recommend it as a read however, as I previously stated, probably only for those with experience with Halo in some shape or fashion. While I wasn’t overwhelmed with the artwork, it was good and the story is above average. A strong addition to the Halo universe and I am interested to see where they intend to take the story next.