Mass Effect: Redemption

The Normandy is destroyed and Commander Shepard is feared dead. However his body, regardless of its condition, is the prize in a contest pitting the Illusive Man against the Shadow Broker. Between them is Dr. Liara T’Soni, formerly part of Shepard’s crew, who’s gone rogue to uncover the mystery surrounding Shepard’s disappearance.

Reading like a space opera with a noir twist, the Dark Horse graphic novel finds Liara at Omega, a massive space station in the Terminus system acting as the dark parallel to the Council-run Citadel. Here gangs rule, kept in check only by Omega’s pirate queen Aria. Like any good noir, it’s tough to tell who’s on which side keeping Liara (and the reader) on her toes.

If you wondered about Liara’s personality change in Mass Effect 2 and her obsession with the Shadow Broker, Redemption sets it all up. This is a Liara who blames herself for Shepard’s demise and who lashes out quickly and violently at anyone who gets in her way – displaying a range of biotic powers which would have been really useful in the first game.

The story is by Mass Effect 2 lead writer Mac Walters, making this more than a marketing tie-in and the art by artist Omar Francia and colorist Michael Atiyeh is impressive – especially the numerous action scenes and displays of biotic ability.

Check out Mass Effect: Redemption.

Wednesday Comics

Wednesday Comics was a 12-week experiment DC Comics ran last summer.  Every week a new newspaper-sized comic was released with each page continuing a character’s story from the week before.

Of course major characters like Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern were featured, but some of the more compelling stories featured Kamandi, the last human on a future world inhabited by sentient animals; and Metamorpho, whose ability to transform into any element is lampooned by writer Neil Gaiman.

Since it was experimental, results vary.  Deadman, a character I’m not typically interested in, has a great story and the team of Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck make excellent use of the oversize page.  On the other hand, the Wonder Woman story by Ben Caldwell reads like a layout nightmare.

My favorite stories were the Metamorpho one mentioned above and Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner’s Supergirl.  Those two are easily the most fun in the collection. 

Final word: this is an extremely oversized hardcover so expect it to be huge.