Story: Mac Walters
Script: John Jackson Miller
Art: Omar Francia
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Cover Art: Massimo Carnevale
Designer: Stephen Reichert
Asst. Editor: Brendan Wright
Editor: Dave Marshall
Publisher: Mike Richardson
Let’s skip the formalities and get straight to the point, shall we. The cover is a dead giveaway for how utterly sub-par this comic is. I was tolerant before, but now I’m beginning to lose patience. I don’t care whose fault it is; whether it’s the colorist, the editor, the cover artist, etc., I just. Don’t. Care. Aria should not be purple. Why is she purple? Does anyone else notice? Gosh, it’s from the lead writer of Mass Effect 3? Wow, did he bother to tell anyone what color one of the most memorable side characters is, or what color her entire race is?! It’s absolutely baffling.
So right now you must be thinking, “Okay, everyone knows how odd it is that her color is completely wrong. It’s the writing that really matters though, right? How is the writing?” I’m not glad you asked, because I hate being the bearer of bad news. It hasn’t improved at all since the last issue. Once again, I constantly get the feeling that Mac prefers writing games, and just wants to get the mini-series done as quickly as possible. Every conversation not only feels like filler, it feels like filler that is shouted during panels of forgettable combat.
Speaking of combat, I may be wrong, but I’m almost certain that when Aria uses her biotics against the Reaper Adjutants (Halo IRIS campaign anyone? Adjutant Reflex?), she throws a singularity at them, which should only cause them to be useless and suspended in the air. Instead, they disintegrate. Now, don’t hold me to this, but I did go back to the game and check, and it looks a heck of a lot like a singularity. It may be a bit on the nit-picky side, but if it bothered me, it should bother the creators making an official adaptation of a video game. Technically, biotics aren’t even supposed to be visible in the Mass Effect universe, but since the game gives biotic energy a blue color, I can’t hold that against Mass Effect: Invasion. What I can hold against them is the fact that they do in fact know that the color blue exists, so I have to rule that out as a reason for messing with Aria’s pigment.
If you’re a fan like me, you’re going to read this anyway. If you think I was overreacting to Aria’s color, just remember how preposterous it is to put a quote from the character on the cover that the publisher needs to censor. Strike two.
Alexander Lorenzen
alex@comicattack.net
@A_Lorenzen
