Among the obnoxious Saturday crowds congregating around the Dark Horse booth at New York Comic-Con, Joey Davidson and I got a chance to chat with Mac Walters, writer architect of the entire Mass Effect universe--both in gaming and comics. Mac was at the convention to talk about his latest Mass Effect comic mini-series, Mass Effect: Evolution, but that’s not all we touch on in a conversation that ranges from comics, to character building, to the Mass Effect Wiki page.
CraveOnline: Can you tell us about this comic, where it fits into the Mass Effect continuity and how it's been shaping up?
Mac Walters: You know, a lot of our comics are character based. Obviously. As are all the stories we try to tell. They build around strong characters and one of the big characters in Mass Effect 2 was the Illusive Man. Given the way he’s set up in the games, there wasn’t too much we could do in the time-frame of the games. So we wanted to go back and show a little snippet of time and show what the Illusive Man was doing, say, 30 years in the past. During this time Cerberus was still very “pro-human,” and so was the Illusive Man. He’s very much about humanity’s interests. So we took it to a time when humanity was first stepping onto the stage.
CraveOnline: So when humans were still the “rebel underdogs?”
Mac Walters: Yea, exactly. So we set it during the time of the “First Contact War” where humans were fighting the Turians. The image we got behind us [Mass Effect: Evolution promo banner] shows a much younger Illusive Man dealing with a Turian threat in a very hostile manner.
CraveOnline: You mean badass.
Mac Walters: [laughs] Yea.
CraveOnline: Now it’s interesting you used the word “snippet” before because a big draw of the Illusive Man character is that he’s so mysterious and, well, illusive. So you can’t reveal too much.
Mac Walters: Exactly. The time-frame this comic takes place in is very small. It definitely answers some questions people have. I think the character is very dynamic and fun. And since this takes place 30 years in the past, there’s another 30 years after this moment which is left up to the reader’s imagination. You’ll see how the ball gets rolling on Cerberus, but we don’t give it all away.
CraveOnline: Like you said, the Mass Effect universe is about fleshing out characters. I mean, the storyline is huge, I don’t want to take away from that, it’s about building characters and relationships. Is the series made to have more understanding or sympathy for the Illusive Man?
Mac Walters: I don’t think so. The character is suppose to be very gray, very morally ambiguous. And this series isn’t meant to skew you either way. I think we’ve done a good job keeping him morally ambiguous throughout.
CraveOnline: Mass Effect, the games, have always been about freedom of choice. So if you push something in one direction or the other, it might change how people make choices in the game.
Mac Walters: Exactly. Earlier you used the term “badass,” and you definitely see the start of that. The Illusive Man is all about how he gains and uses information. But we also have action, kind of like how Donald Trump used to throw down before he became who he is. We just want to go back to those days with the Illusive Man character.
CraveOnline: Now is the Illusive Man kind of an anti-hero in this series? Cerberus has been presented in the past as quasi-xenophobic terrorists. And the Illusive Man is behind them. So is it a struggle to find the right balance to not make him come off as a villain in his own comic series?
Mac Walters: I think “anti-hero” is a good term. There are strong heroic qualities about him. He’s just very principled. And Evolution is dealing with how those principles are set in motion and built upon. He’s a character that went out into the greater universe and had to figure out what it’s going to take for humanity to survive and be powerful.
CraveOnline: What about those not familiar with Mass Effect, is this series being written with those people in mind?
Mac Walters: Yea, but we’re very careful about it. We really rely on Dark Horse’s expertise to say, “let’s make a great story that will work great as a comic first, and will appeal to everyone.” There’s a lot of action right off the bat to draw people in, and if we reference something from Mass Effect it’s explained well enough that you can pick it up and be fine. But also that it’s not over-explained for people who are already familiar. What I did was try to tie-in a lot of background, or things you just heard about in the past. For the average reader they’re like, “Yea, that’s cool.” But for the guy that knows Mass Effect 1 & 2, he’ll be like, “Oh, awesome!.”
CraveOnline: What’s the plan for this? Is it on-going, 6 issues, unannounced?
Mac Walters: Well, right now it’s 4 issues. But as long as it’s successful we’re going to keep doing them. I love doing them. Dark Horse has been great. Redemption seemed to be successful [Mac’s previous ME comic mini-series]. So as long as this one’s successful, I don’t see any reason to stop. I love telling stories in the Mass Effect universe in a different way.
