Review:
Mass Effect: Redemption Issue #3

Those of you who have been following the Redemption miniseries (and my reviews of it) have something to look forward to in addition to the newly released issue #3. Apparently the comic has been so well received that Dark Horse has decided to continue past the Redemption miniseries with a full ongoing Mass Effect series.

I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s awesome news to me. This (mini)series has been consistently excellent and issue #3 is no exception. Taking place right after T’Soni’s botched rescue attempt, the story picks up with our renegade Asari nearly frying her Drell companion Feron for his incompetence. What makes this particular scene suspenseful is that neither the reader nor T’Soni knows for certain if Feron’s accident was just that - an accident - or if it was intentional. It’s a motif that runs throughout the entire issue and comes to a (cliffhanger) head in the last page.

I’ve noticed these issues have the ability of presenting the appearance of more story than there really is. All that really happened of true merit in issue #3 was a conversation between T’Soni and the Shadow Broker. The rest of the issue was merely getting these two players in the same room together. When they finally did meet, T’Soni grunted and threatened in true Neanderthal fashion while the Shadow Broker justified his theft of Shepherd’s corpse with the clichéd “it’s not personal, it’s business” line. Pretty formulaic stuff all things considered, yet somehow so much more as a collective issue.

Looking back on it all I really shouldn’t have enjoyed this issue as much as I did. I suppose that’s what genuinely sets the average material apart from truly great issues and series. They find a way of rising above the restrictions of limited pages and telling a story that feels epic even if it’s anything but.

This entire miniseries has so far been an excellent example of just such a thing. It’s earned the right to continue on as a full-fledged series, and personally I’ll be on top of issue #4 the day it releases.