 = Halo : Uprising = 
 
 Halo : Uprising is a four @-@ issue American comic book limited series set in the Halo universe . The series was written by Brian Michael Bendis , illustrated by Alex Maleev , and published by Marvel Comics . Uprising tells a story set between the ending of the 2004 video game Halo 2 and the beginning of its sequel , Halo 3 , as Earth is under attack by a collective of alien races known as the Covenant . The series was intended to be released and concluded before Halo 3 shipped on September 25 , 2007 , but the final issue did not appear until April 2009 . 
 The series was brought together by Ruwan Jayatilleke , Marvel 's Vice President of Development . He attained the license to publish Halo comics , including the single @-@ volume The Halo Graphic Novel , in 2005 . The graphic novel 's critical and commercial success prompted Marvel to announce a new Halo limited series in 2006 with Jayatilleke serving as the series ' editor . Bendis , a long @-@ time Halo fan , was excited about adding to the franchise story . 
 Reception to the series was lukewarm . The series ' artistic style was generally praised . However , the lack of Master Chief @-@ focused action and character development — as well as the delays in publishing — led to average reviews . The series was commercially successful and appeared in the top slot of The New York Times Graphic Books bestsellers list . 
 
 = = Publication history = = 
 
 Marvel Vice President of Development Ruwan Jayatilleke contacted game developer Bungie about extending the Halo franchise to comics . Jayatilleke noted that Bungie 's dedication to creating a <unk> world compelling to both hardcore and casual fans made the series " an attractive fit " for Marvel . In 2005 , Marvel learned that Bungie had already created an original graphic novel , entitled The Halo Graphic Novel , but needed a publisher and distributor . <unk> , Brian Michael Bendis and Jayatilleke visited Bungie to take up the offer of publishing the Halo Graphic Novel as well as to discuss the possibility of a tie @-@ in comic book series . 
 The Halo Graphic Novel proved to be a critical and commercial success ; the comic debuted at the number two position on the Diamond Comic <unk> ' sales charts and more than 100 @,@ 000 copies were published . Marvel Comics and Bungie announced the first Halo limited comic series , Halo : Uprising , at the San Diego Comic @-@ Con 2006 . 
 Brian Michael Bendis , writer for the series , said in an interview he was " honored " to add to the Halo lore . He noted that the graphic novel brought " humanity and perspective " to the franchise , something not easily imparted through the games . Bendis described himself as a longtime player of Halo and had " done [ his ] Halo <unk> " , reading and playing everything Halo . Bendis stated that Bungie was open to the Marvel team exploring lesser @-@ known elements of the Halo universe or even bringing up new ideas , as opposed to sticking to a script or set of <unk> ideas from Bungie or Microsoft . The Philadelphia Daily News suggested that a Halo comic book would attract readers who had never picked up a comic book before . Bendis said that drawing casual gamers to the comics was a major goal for the series . While using established characters meant that Bendis had to cooperate with Bungie and Microsoft , he said he did not feel it was a restriction . " You can get pretty <unk> and <unk> with total autonomy all the time . " The Bungie team allowed Bendis to explore lesser known areas of the Halo story , which he enjoyed . Writing the dialogue for the Master Chief , who is faceless and normally silent during gameplay , was a challenge ; Bendis scrapped much of the drafted dialogue to allow Maleev 's work to define the character . 
 Originally , Halo : Uprising 's entire four @-@ issue series was to be published before the September 25 , 2007 , release of Halo 3 . Bendis suggested that the series might be delayed unexpectedly due to the close cooperation between Marvel and Bungie . For unspecified reasons , the release of all issues of Halo : Uprising were pushed back . Issue # 1 's original date of August 15 , 2007 , was pushed back a week to August 22 . Issue # 2 's original date of August 29 was pushed back and released on November 21 . Issue # 3 was originally slated for a September 2007 release but was pushed to a final release date of nearly a year late in August 2008 . The constant revisions of the date became a running forum joke at the fan site <unk> Issue # 4 also saw multiple delays , pushed from a scheduled October 31 , 2007 release to March 4 and then March 18 , 2009 . Claude <unk> of <unk> noted that , given the series ' track record and the fact that the issue 's release had been moved more than a dozen times by that time , its appearance in March would be unlikely . In announcing two new Halo comic series from Marvel in February 2009 , Jayatilleke informed IGN that the final issue was in the process of being colored . The final release date for the issue was April 15 . The series was collected into a single volume released in May 2009 ( ISBN 0 @-@ <unk> @-@ <unk> @-@ 9 ) . The collected hardcover features a variety of bonus art and " making of " materials . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 Uprising 's story begins after the events of Halo 2 , in which the alien collective known as the Covenant discovers the location of Earth and begins a full @-@ scale invasion of their enemy 's homeworld . The <unk> Master Chief is <unk> away aboard an ancient Forerunner ship . On a course set for Earth , he is overwhelmed by a Covenant strike force and rendered unconscious . In the next scene , Colonel James Ackerson is being tortured by Covenant forces on Mars , to whom he betrays the existence of something called " The Key of <unk> . " Ackerson admits the Key is located in Cleveland , Ohio . In Cleveland , the narrative follows the point of view of a hotel concierge named Ruwan as the city falls under attack by Covenant forces . In the <unk> he meets a woman named <unk> Tyla . Tyla remains calm even as Ruwan edges towards all @-@ out panic . The pair are captured and with other residents <unk> into a sports stadium . The Covenant declare that the humans must give up the location of the Key to save their lives ; Tyla is confused , but Ruwan states he knows exactly what it is . 
 On board the Forerunner ship , the Master Chief is captured and interrogated by Covenant forces , but manages to escape using a concealed weapon . On Earth , Ruwan and Tyla escape detection by the Covenant and appropriate a vehicle in an effort to escape . Ruwan reveals that the Key is in fact a fictional object that he and his brother James Ackerson made up as children ; James told the Covenant about the Key in order to prevent the outright destruction of Cleveland . After fighting Covenant forces , Ruwan and Tyla are rescued by marines and leave the city . The Master Chief attempts to kill the Covenant 's leader , Prophet of Truth , but is discovered as he takes aim ; Truth escapes as the Chief is left to kill the Prophet 's guards and find a way off the ship . Learning that there is no way to change the Forerunner ship 's destination , the Chief jumps to Earth using a piece of the vessel as a heat shield . 
 After informing the <unk> about the true nature of the Key , Ruwan volunteers to " give " the Key to the Covenant . He is captured and brought aboard a Covenant ship . While the Covenant believe he is to be rescued due to a <unk> embedded in him , Ruwan reveals he is actually a target . A <unk> takes aim at his position and destroys the ship . Upon learning that the Key is a fake , the <unk> on Mars behead Ackerson . In a relief camp , Tyla writes a song about Ruwan . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 Halo : Uprising was a commercial success . The first issue sold out within 24 hours , leading Marvel to reissue the installment . The collected hardcover edition was the best @-@ selling hardcover graphic book for the week ending June 13 , according to The New York Times . 
 Reception to the miniseries varied . Reviewer Kevin Powers for Comics Bulletin and Richard George of IGN praised the action sequences and Maleev 's visuals . The balance between action and story was also positively noted ; Powers said that the first two sequences of the opening issue " <unk> capture the spirit of the game " . On the other hand , IGN 's Jesse Schedeen , reviewing the second issue , stated the series ' appeal was mostly superficial : " try as they might to replicate [ Halo 's ] visceral moments , Bendis and Maleev just can 't replicate the same feeling on the printed page . " 
 Reviewers criticized the lack of Master Chief as a main character , similar to the response to The Halo Graphic Novel ; Schedeen said that " Master Chief is barely a guest star in his own book " , and that he was reduced to blasting aliens for much of the series . Schedeen felt that there was a lack of connections between the Ruwan plot and the Master Chief 's adventures , which was never satisfactorily resolved . The comic 's focus on Ruwan and <unk> 's subplot was also seen as a major fault : Comics Bulletin 's Geoff Collins , in a review of the second issue , said that " as a comic book fan I ’ m interested [ in Ruwan and <unk> ] , but the Halo fans I know could [ sic ] care less about them . And the story in this issue centers around them . " Schedeen was surprised to find that he only began to care about them in the final issue . The many delays in publishing were a frequent point of frustration as well . Schedeen summed up his reviews by saying that he was hopeful the production teams behind the upcoming Halo books " will learn from the mistakes made here and craft stories that can consistently capture what makes Halo fun . At the very least , let 's hope we don 't have to wait a year between issues anymore " . 
 
 