Written by: Mac Walters 
Art by: Eduardo Francisco
Colours by: Michael Atiyeh
Letters by: Michael Heisler
Cover by: Anthony Palumbo
Published by: Dark Horse
Cover Price: $3.50 (USD)
Contains some minor plot based spoilers…
There have been a number of comic book tie-ins to the Mass Effect video games and this newest series, Homeworlds, is going to focus on four different characters and their home and life away from the Normandy. This first issue features one of the characters new to Mass Effect 3, James Vega.
Regarding accessibility, I have only played the first Mass Effect game, though I have seen a lot of the second and third, and I had no problem understanding the events of this comic. However, this series is obviously geared towards fans of the games and I’m sure they’d enjoy the chance for a little more backstory.
The comic itself is decent enough. The story follows James and gives a little insight into his relationship with his father, though it really is a little. With only 22 pages to tell a story, it seems strange that so much space is taken up by a standard chase sequence. This leaves little room for character development. Basically, James’s father is a bit of a d**k.
The art is fairly good too, but nothing spectacular. The panel arrangement is well done and white space is used to good effect, but there isn’t really anything to get excited about. There’s nothing in here to be especially disparaging about, but nothing particularly inspiring either.
Overall, this comic is a little underwhelming. The creative team don’t have a lot of space in which to manoeuvre and tell an interesting story, but they fail to make best use of what space they do have. Fans will like the extra story, but will probably have been expecting a little more, especially as Mac Walters was the lead writer on the Mass Effect 3 video game. Hopefully the remainder of the series will improve.
6/10
