Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

It had to happen. We all knew it would and there was never any choice in the matter. Halo had to become a comic book. It just makes sense. Geeks play the game. Geeks read comics. Put the two together and Bam! Instant hit. But just because it looks like it should fit together doesn't mean it does. And even though I love comics and video games like I love hamburgers and ice cream, I'm not completely sold on this combination just yet.

The comic starts off where Halo 2 stopped, with the Master Chief stuck on a...oh, wait a minute. Should I explain the entire Halo thing to you guys? Yeah, I might as well. Alright, The Halo games are about the Earth being at war with an Alien collective of races called the Covenant. The Covenant believes that Humanity is an offense to their gods and has been trying to wipe out the whole human race. The Master Chief is a cyborg built by the human forces. The Covenant calls him "The Demon" and, basically, the Master Chief is the biggest badass in the universe. At the end of Halo 2, the Master Chief was on the alien Covenant ship that was heading straight to Earth. I would explain why the game is called "halo" and all that, but that would take all day and I have other stuff to do. Just go play the games. They are rad.

Anyway, the comic starts with the Master Chief shooting a lot of aliens and being a complete huge bag of awesome. While, in another part of the ship, a marine reveals a vital secret as the Covenant tortures him. The key is on Earth. Not just any key. The key of Osanalan! And it is in Cleveland! The Covenant occupy Cleveland while a hotel clerk and a girl with facial tattoos run for their lives. And, in space, the Master Chief is wounded! Dead? Find out next time.

This is pure Bendis all over the place. Most writers would want to focus just on the Master Chief and have the readers follow him as he kicks all sorts of ass. Instead, Bendis pulls the camera in another direction and has the reader follow two humans as they are dealing with the Covenant occcupation. How would you feel if Eight-foot tall monsters were storming down your street, blowing up everything they saw? Bendis simulates the emotion a person would have. Not just fear, but confusion and genuine hatred towards the attackers. It's also nice to see the other side of the confrontation. Halo only lets you see what the Master Chief is doing, usually. I've always been curious as to what the humans are busying themselves with. Granted, we don't see much of Earth. But what we do see feels right and matchs with the Halo canon. And, of course, Maleev is wonderful. Amazing even. He might be one of the most under-praised comic artists right now. The Brutes and the Fore-runner technology look like they came right out the game. He obviously studied up and knows his Halo. Well done and hats off, sir.

What I don't buy is that the translation from video game to comic is a good one. Maybe its because, when you translate from video game to comic, you are taking something moving and stopping it, sticking it into single frames. What makes more sense is that the Halo universe, when you stop and think about it, really isn't that detailed. There are tons of cool things about Halo, but they are only cool if you are shooting something. The weapons, the vehicles, the base designs, and the enemies are in the game and you interact with them. It is very strange to see the Master Chief from the outside, doing things and you not controlling him. In a comic, you are watching him or reading about him. That sort of makes it a bit less exciting. I'm not saying that Halo: Uprising is boring. There are plenty of great things about it. But, in this first issue, we don't see enough to make it really uber-interesting. There are better comics on the shelves right now. And this is coming from a die-hard Halo fan.

It might be because the book is focusing on different characters and not the same ones we've known from previous Halo installments. It could be that revisiting all Halo stories like the Halo graphic novel is more appealing. I'd want to see the next issue of the series before I locked down a super-serious judgment. But if you're a Halo fan, even a little bit, this will be a hard comic not to buy.

RATING: 4/5

Writer and Artist: Sam Kieth
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99

One is the Dark Knight. The scourge of Gotham. The World's Greatest Detective. The other is, uh, a drunk? With guns? Mix a whole boat load of Sam Keith's mental problems and you've got the makings of the craziest comic since Keith's Maxx series. Man, has this guy got issues.

Here's the run down: Batman is summoned by a mysterious force 7.2 light years away. There is some sort of plague on a space station that only infects women. The plague makes them do terrible things like dress provocatively and carry really big guns. But Batman doesn't lose any of his cool until he sees that crazy bastard of the skyways, Lobo. Of course they fight, that is, until crazy women try to kill them, aliens try to eat them, and alien telepaths try to infect their minds. And one woman with the virus jumps in ship and makes a bee line straight for, you guessed it, Earth.

It's funny because, inherently, I don't particularly like books like this. The entire story is completely confusing or almost totally and purposely abnormal. The thing is, Sam Kieth made a name for himself doing books just like this, and doing books like this extremely well. It saddens my heart that Marvel hasn't collected and realized his entire run on Marvel Comics Presents. His Wolverine and Hulk stories were amazing and way ahead of their time. And the Maxx is still a critical masterpiece, only dented by its early attachment to Image. Sam Kieth is a genius and he is the only person that could be able to pull off a book like this.

I'm worried, however, if newer readers would be interested in checking this book out. Batman is a draw, but Lobo? I'm not sure. And its hard to exactly pin-point what this story is about right now, or what the pay off will be. The pricing, six bucks, is steep for a book by a guy that hasn't done a lot of work recently. So my main concern is that people won't buy this book in the first place. They should. It's great. But there are a lot of book on the market competing with the money that Batman/Lobo would be taking. Having this book come out without the hard cover or the slick pages may have been wiser than the thicker format. Time will tell.

Fans of Sam Keith should and will love this book. I talk much in these reviews about publishers taking risks and it warms my heart that DC is constantly pushing the envelope of progressive and interesting publications. Marvel might have a solid, comprehensive universe right now. But DC is much more well rounded, aiming for all types of readership. Grab this book if you can.

RATING: 4.5/5

Writer and Artist: David Petersen
Publisher: Archaia Studios Press
Price: $3.50

It's when you read a great comic that all the bad comics become that much more visible. And good comics aren't rare. There are plenty of them. But great comics? Comics that a comic book fan simply has to read? That is the good stuff. That is the reason why we love the medium. David Petersen has crafted a masterpiece with his Mouse Guard concept. It's even better than Booster Gold! And that's saying something!*

The story is simple enough. The Mouse Guard's matriarch, Gwendolyn, has sent eleven of her finest Guardmice as ambassadors to gather supplies form different neighboring territories. It is the middle of winter and the snow and cold is difficult for the mice to push through. There is also the threat of predators, like foxes and owls. On top of that, there is tension between some of the Guardmice. The leader of a group, Kenzie, has power issues with an older and more experienced guard, Celanawe. The supplies they do find are few and far between and tragedy could be anywhere. Back home, Gwendolyn struggles to keep her kingdom intact under such difficult circumstances.

The thing that makes this comic powerful is the extremely light hand Petersen uses to tell the story. The author knows that hinting at action, or hinting at the potential of action, is just as good or better as actual action. The stress of the story is based on the need to find supplies and get it back to the people that need it the most. Food and medicine. Its much more interesting to see characters fight for something truly important than something the comic tries to make important. Even the scenes where the situation isn't exactly clear still feel compelling. We as readers automatically root for the matriarch and the guard and the situation from the get go. Such empathy is hard to artificially create and Petersen does an amazing job.

I think the artwork is what really sells this piece. It is absolutely stunning. Just stunning. There is love on every page. The mice look small, but still noble, still able to convey emotion through their facial expressions. And scenes like the outpost of Sprucetuck being inside a pine tree, with all the wood being engraved and detail, bring you into the story. This is obviously a thought out world that Petersen has completely committed too. The coloring is aptly done and subtly enough not to take away from the brilliant line usage and panel set up. The story flows without flaw one page after the other.

I really can't say enough about this comic. I plan on getting Petersen's previous works, just so I can catch up. It's an utter treat that you can not miss out on.

*About Booster Gold...

I've been writing critiques and reviews for about three years now. One of the things I've learned is that controversy is a good thing. Cyrus disagreeing with my Booster Gold review doesn't bother me in the lest. Part of reviewing anything is to generate a conversation. And any time that a bunch of guys can get together and talk about comics is a great time indeed. That being said, I'm right and Cyrus is wrong. Sucker.

[Editor's Note: No, you are.]

RATING: 5/5