Mass Effect: Evolution #1

For my first review I chose this book because it's a number one issue and that it encompasses two medias which I thoroughly enjoy, comics and video games.     
 
A tale of who and how The Ellusive Man becomes who he is from the Mass Effect 2 video game. The Illusive Man is someone that wants what is best for humanity and the ways that he goes about to accomplish his goals could be thought of as wrong or too harsh. Playing the game Mr. Illusive comes off as someone that can not really be trusted but tells you just enough to lure you into his plan, whatever that maybe. He is looking to destroy a whole race? Is he trying to help humanity reach its full potential? Does he think humanity should be the leader of the counsel which runs the government that encompasses all the races withing its sector? I would say he does think so but are his methods justifiable? Depending on who you speak with he is either a terrorist or a great visionary. In all, if you are a fan of the games rich mythology and great characters this book should be in your list of reads.   
 

THE GOOD

This book begins with action. Right away you see the conflict between the humans and Turians. The Illusive Man is shown to be a strong leader and a smart man, as shown when he is able to use an alien data log of sort with no problems. Understanding that people join a fight for varying reasons the writers John Jackson Miller and Mac Walters use his friends in battle to express those motivations. The weapons used and vehicles are a great copy from the game. I was able to recognize the weapons and was surprised at their detail. The art is good and Omar Francia along with Manuel Silva do a good job in capturing the mood of the fight sequences and what happens at the end of the issue. All of this is captured very well with colors by Michael Atiyeh. 
 

THE BAD

The dialogue sounded forced and did not click for me. I may have been looking for something else but it just manages to distract me from the overall flow of the issue. The story felt rushed, I guess this being a 4 issue mini-series most have forced them to hurry to the ending sequence which really sets up the next issues well. At times the art seemed rushed leaving characters looking pretty bland even with the heavy use of colors to bring life into the panel. The main problem would be for readers which have no idea what Mass Effect is because they don't spend much time explaining what this world/universe is. It is all done in the back of the cover page in four small paraqraphs.  
 

VERDICT

3.5 out of 5 
So in all, Good but not great. Maybe it is because I was hoping for more being a big fan of the game and other media in which Mass Effect has appeared in. In all the issue sets up the story for who The Illusive Man is and how he becomes who he is. With the last couple of pages some questions are answered on why he looks the way he does in the game. It also seems to me that is why he thinks and acts the way he does, like he has this very far reaching and complicated plan for humanity to reach its top potential in the galaxy. Get this issue and the series if you are a fan of the Mass Effect universe for sure. If you are not this may hold enough interest to you if you are a sci-fi fan to continue reading and maybe looking into more of the Mass Effect lore.