On a distant planet colonized by corporations, combat rages over precious resources, survival, and glory. As one man rises to power, another is tragically ruined in the process. But who will truly emerge victorious in the end? Based on the Free-to-Play online mech shooter Hawken, this original graphic novel serves as both prequel and sourcebook for the game world, offering players a glimpse of what came before the game, and what might come in the months ahead.

I’ve been reading the Hawken free digital comics on comiXology, and have really enjoyed them. Though short, they gave a great feel to the world, they were teasers and acted as such. They did so in a really solid way. So, going into this graphic novel, I knew the general setting (I’ve also been checking out the video game at the same time). I like mechs, a lot, so the setting and battle scenes already had a cool factor to me. But, when I read the graphic novel, I was in for so much more.

The story is a prequel and how the world Hawken is based in got the way it is. The story is fairly simple in rival corporations battling things out over resources and something goes wrong in the arms race. It’s pretty cool sci-fi, but we’ve seen it before.

What really stands out to me is the details and how this graphic novel is put together. In between each chapter (each chapter has a different artist) there’s small tablets or computer screens or cell phones with more details on the world around it. Instead of just getting chapter breaks with some pin-up image, we get richer detail on this world. And it’s a cool world, so I dug learning more. It’s a great touch that adds to the overall package. And since this ties into a video game, that synergy of “technology” helping advance the story works well with the fact it’s a video game. Something just feels right about that.

In fact, I want to see more of that. I’d like to see more synergy of this product. More comics, maybe push a text based story or snippets to fans. There’s so much potential here. But, that seems like something for another post.

Overall, if you’re a fan of giant robots, future worlds, battles between corporations, or a fan of the video game, absolutely check this graphic novel out.

Story: Jeremy Barlow Original Concept: Khang Le Original Story: Dan Jevons Art: Kody Chamberlain, Federico Dallocchio, Nathan Fox, Michael Gaydos, Bagus Hutomo, Sid Kotian, Khang Le, Christopher Moeller, Alex Sanchez, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Francisco Ruiz Velasco

Story: 8.35 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

Archaia provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review