Mass Effect, BioWare’s beyond-popular video game series, has come back to comic books with the new miniseries Mass Effect: Invasion. Taking place after the events of Mass Effect 2, Invasion centers around Aria T’Loak and the human survivalist group, Cerberus, as Aria’s space station has come under attack by unknown aliens. It’s a battle for Omega, with three sides all fighting against each other.
There was very little noob friendliness to be found here. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and that is a big loss of interest for me — if I can’t get a feel for anyone, then I have no reason to continue reading. I could appreciate the great sci-fi of the book; I just couldn’t get into the story and not just because I wasn’t really sure who was who. The whole thing was just a long, lackluster fanfic, and I ended up reading more off Wikipedia trying to understand what half this stuff was than in the comic itself. Like, take the great drama and eerieiness out of Alien and you’ll get a feel for where I’m coming from. If it wasn’t for the artwork I’d probably have ignored the comic completely, it’s a bit harsh to say but that’s the truth coming from me. I really did like the overall look of the comic, lines and color, the whole package. It really saved it for me.
Karyn Pinter has been writing for Comics Bulletin since 2008. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and was one of those kids who was raised by TV, babysat by the likes of James Bond, Mary Poppins and Darth Vader. In college she spent her days critically analyzing Dorothy’s need to befriend a lion, scarecrow and man of tin and writing papers on how truth, justice and the American way ultimately lead to Superman’s death.
Karyn gladly accepts bribes in the form of carnitas burritos and/or Catwoman paraphernalia.