Halo Uprising ImageThink I was only one of three, maybe four, fans sitting in today's Halo Universe panel at Comic-Con International who'd never had the interest or opportunity to play the seminal video game. I know this because two of the braver comic book fans in the audience who'd stepped up to the mike to ask a simple question about the Halo Universe got booed loudly by the gamer-centric crowd, to the consternation of ace comic scribe Brian Michael Bendis and his artistic muse Alex Maleev, the former team on Marvel's Man Without Fear.

So, why did a few comic folks dare brave the gamer-infested waters just to put up with a little abuse? I suspect, they were as intrigued as I was to hear why, possibly, the best writer/artist duo on any mainstream superhero book in recent memory (methinks since the days of Miller and Mazzuchelli) would want to create stories for a video game universe in the first place.

Besides, the batting average of most licensed properties repurposed for the comics world has been historically poor... at best. Then again, Clayton's recent Halo post, comparing the comic quality of the Master Chief and Marcus Fenix, intrigued me.

The good news for both gamers AND comics fans: Both Bendis and Maleev are gamers, with the latter being a master Halo player. (Bendis admitted asking for the visuals for the second half of Halo 2, because he couldn't finish it!) And, both fully realize the Halo Universe is just as awesome and interesting and important to fans as Star Wars.

If the gorgeous sample artwork Maleev and Bendis shared with us for the upcoming Halo miniseries is any indication, fans in both camps have nothing at all to worry about, except finding it. The only bad news: You'll have to wait two more weeks to pick up Halo Uprising at a comic book shop near you... but I believe it'll be worth it for gamers and comics geeks like me.