Chronique:Canon Fodder - Preview of Autumn
BY GRIMBROTHER ONE - 8/19/2016
ISSUE 85
Recently on social media, your playful penman has been teasing Halo lore-lovers with scattered snippets of a very special upcoming project: Halo Mythos – A Guide to the Story of Halo. While we announced the project initially back in Issue #55 of Canon Fodder, we’ve received countless queries from curious fans eager to know much more about the impending piece. So, let’s talk about it a bit…
Did you Myth me?
So what is Halo Mythos exactly? A media guide? An encyclopedia? Over-sized poster collection? Adult coloring book? Actually, that last one would be cool. Put simply, Halo Mythos tells the story of the Halo universe – from ancient ages to more “contemporary” times. For the first time, stories from the games, books, comics, and more are told throughout a single continuous narrative, allowing for a more seamless flow of major events that help tie together an incredible array of narrative threads in a more manageable fashion.
For the new fan, it’s an awesome way to learn more about the deeper story of the Halo universe, and gain a grasp of the bigger picture in an easy-to-digest experience. For the grizzled Halo veteran, the book offers a great refresher that connects old dots in new ways, and provides brand new insights into the Halo narrative that even the most learned lore liaison will delight in devouring.
Accompanying the main storyline will be fifty new art pieces commissioned specifically for Halo Mythos that depict a huge variety of scenes, events, locations, and characters – including a few that are being properly visualized for the first time. These pieces were done by an awesome team of incredible artists, including Jean-Sebastien Rossbach, Leonid Kozienko, Benjamin Carre, Halo-veteran Isaac Hannaford, and members of 343 Industries’ concept art team – Darren Bacon, Jeremy Cook, David Heidhoff, and Chase Toole.
Sewn throughout the primary narrative will be a variety of supplemental art pieces, sketches, schematics, and more – complete with encyclopedic callouts, stat boxes, and fiction details. We can’t wait for Halo fans to have their own chance to pore over it all.
The primary narrative for Halo Mythos was authored by 343 Industries Franchise Writers Jeremy Patenaude, Kenneth Peters, and Jeff Easterling (hey, that’s me!). We also wrangled in another human Halo encyclopedia – Mr. Stephen Loftus – who helped lend his expertise through invaluable quality assurance exercises.
Since Fodder-faithful are already used to hearing from yours truly, I wanted to gather a few additional thoughts from the other Halo hierarchs in the Mythos writing triumvirate on the experience.
- “We just got a sample in earlier this week and it’s easy for me to say that this is one of the most impressive and visually compelling Halo books I’ve ever had the opportunity to work on. From the origins of the Forerunners to the opening scenes of Halo Wars 2, this book tells the story of Halo—easily the fullest and most robust telling we’ve ever had for the public. It actually required new additions to the Halo story bible as we worked to fill in gaps and connect dots for fans that had remained unanswered for years.
- Hats off to the incredible crew at Egmont and to our own team who spent long hours and weekends working through this book, as well as Stephen Loftus, our community friend and Halo expert who joined us in the trenches. This book should be a treat for anyone who has enjoyed Halo’s story as it’s been told over the last 15 years.”
- - Jeremy Patenaude, 343 Industries
- “Seeing the physical artifact, with words and art made tangible, was really something special for me as a Halo fan and writer. Even after months of blood, sweat, and tears, I still get “wow!” moments when flipping through it. Make no mistake: condensing the Halo story into a single volume for a general audience was a herculean task, but here we are! There are those who said this day would never come. What are they to say now?”
- - Kenneth Peters, 343 Industries
Needless to say, the opportunity to take on such a mantle of responsibility – especially alongside folks that are as much wonderful friends as incredible colleagues – has been an incredible experience and honor. We can’t wait to have Halo fans across the world dive in, dissect, and discuss, and we also hope that the book helps inform and inspire a brand new generation of Halo fans, introducing them to this universe we all know and love.
If you haven’t already, you can preorder your copy of Halo Mythos right here, and stay tuned to these pages for more news on upcoming projects happening in the Halo universe.
That’s all for this One. Until next time… Live well, play Halo, and remember – fate may have had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers.
-Grim