What They Say:
Far away from Earth, on Gagarin Station—or “Brain Camp,” as its students call it—a young Kaidan Alenko undergoes his biotic training. During an exceptionally grueling lesson, Kaidan steps in to defend the lovely Rahna from the brutal Commander Vyrnnu—but his rash actions have tragic consequences!
Creators:
Writer: Mac Walters
Artist: Tony Parker
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Cover Artist: Benjamin Carre
The Review:
It’s clear by this point that a significant portion of this series is to give fans back story and history on the Mass Effect world and the characters that made the entire franchise so endearing and close to their hearts. This is all being done while giving us a side of the story we never got to see in the games, which at this point appears to be how this band of incredible characters all came together, but for what reason we are left wondering.
This issue focuses on an event in the life of a young Kaidan Alenko when he is undergoing training for being a biotic. Cut off from their families and forced to train under rigorous circumstances, the young teenagers and twenty-somethings on Gagarin Station face a safe but grueling life. After being caught sending transmissions to earth and loved ones, Kaidan and the rest of the students are forced to endure a taxing and brutal biotics exercise where they must build a complicated structure out of blocks as a team. If a piece falls or the structure isn’t correct, the group starts over from scratch wtih no food, water, or break in between.
The overseeing “teacher” Commander Vyrnnu is absolutely without mercy as students pass out from exhaustion, and he punishes those showing signs of weakness. He even deals a blow to one of Kaidan’s friends that results in a compound fracture to her wrist, and Kaidan lashes back in anger. Seemingly looking for the moment he has been waiting for to break a student, Vyrnnu says “finish what you started boy” and attacks Kaidan, biotic powers and blade in hand. Kaidan does not lack considerable biotic power and potential, and the short, explosive fight results in the death of Commander Vyrnnu and Kaidan’s expelling from the facility.
Kaidan and his father share a beer sometime later and his father makes a note to Kaidan that he learned a valuable lesson on Gagarin, and it’s one that the Mass Effect series as a whole touches on again and again – that even the right choices can have consequences.
The closing panels of the book focus on recurring yet mysterious Rasa reviewing profiles for the Illusive Man and the familiar assassin Leng. Rasa comments that people like Kaidan and Anderson (Ashley as she is more familiar as, who was touched upon in issue #3) are walking P.T.S.D. cases and that she doesn’t understand what the Illusive Man sees in them. Leng comments that Rasa needs to be more aware of her time and commitments before leaving her to continue pouring over these files.
In Summary:
It’s clear at the end of this issue with Leng and Rasa’s brief conversation that the Illusive Man has an eye on many of Mass Effect’s most important and noteworthy characters from before he or their introduction to the game world, and that he is seeking them and almost collecting them – though for what purpose, and how Rasa plays into everything is still somewhat of a mystery to the readers. The formula the series has is a strong one – visiting the past of the core cast of the game series and giving readers insight into who these characters were and events that shaped their lives before they joined Commander Shepard and the Normandy while also telling a slowly building but very interesting plot that ties them all together.
It’s fascinating, and the story is woven together very well, with enough subtleties that create new questions while still giving solid closure to each issue. The artwork continues to hold up, and the covers are all gorgeous. Comics are a medium are overall very short, so it deserves a nod to the writers that they’re able to put so much history, development, action, and emotion into just a few pages and panel of each book.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again – if you’re a fan of the series, then you should run out and pick these up and check each month for when the new issue is due on shelves. But if you’ve not played the games, then a majority of the excitement and subtly of this series will be lost, and therefore will not be as enjoyable to you.
I feel like we’re still a few issues out from seeing what Rasa, the Illusive Man, and all of these characters will have in common with each other before the end of this story. We know where this is going – the events of the games are pretty clear at this point. But how we get there is the really exciting part of this love letter to Mass Effect fans, and if this series is anything like the games, this series will not disappoint.
Grade: B
