Mass Effect: Foundation # 7 by Mac Walters and Garry Brown (comic-book review).
Finally, it’s the of ‘Mass Effect: Foundation’ comic I have been waiting for. Number seven or Jack’s issue. Jack is a companion and possible love interestfor the main character, Commander Shepard, in the game ‘Mass Effect 2’. She also appears in ‘Mass Effect 3’.
Jack, formerly known as Subject Zero, is a powerful biotic with a tortured past. She was ‘acquired’ as a child by Cerberus and subjected to terrible experiments aimed at producing a human biotic with exceptional power. A biotic has an element in their bloodstream that allows them to move matter with a gesture and a thought.
In the comic, Jack breaks into a Cerberus training facility. After dealing with the administrator, she attempts to liberate the students, most of whom believe they are orphans. Given Cerberus’ tactics, they probably are. Jack shares a snippet of her past in order to motivate the students to move.
Kai Leng and Agent Rasa are dispatched by the Illusive Man to pick her up. Rasa notes the Blue Suns have been sent in as back-up, which seems unusual, until she discovers exactly what she is up against with Subject Zero. In ‘Mass Effect 2’, Kai Leng proves a difficult and annoying foe. In this comic, Jack tosses him around like a toy and there’s a certain sense of satisfaction to be gained from seeing it.
I’m not sure how this snippet of Jack’s past ties in with the overall story arc of the series. Perhaps there will be some mention in a later issue.
On to the art. I like the cover, but the first image of Jack inside makes me cringe. She looks too baby-faced and unless you know her torso is covered in tattoos, you’d think she’s wearing a chaotically patterned jumpsuit. Granted, her tattoos are hard to draw and quite often throughout the comic, artist Garry Brown suggests rather than paints. That seems indicative of his style, in fact. A lot of the panels lack details such as faces and attitude engraved with thicker lines. I don’t mind the style, it suits the busier panels and with the features of so many characters being less distinct, there is less fault to find.
Overall, this is one of the least satisfying issues in the series, thus far. I learned nothing new about my favourite companion, Jack, and the adventure did not advance the greater story arc. Still, I will doggedly continue with issue number eight in the hopes my persistence will pay off.
Kelly Jensen
February 2014
(pub: Dark Horse Comics. 32 page comic. Price: $ 3.99 (US). UPC:7 61568 20462 9 00711)
check out website: www.darkhorse.com/Comics/20-468/Mass-Effect-Foundation-7
