Halo "Mister Chief" Painting Fetching Over $4000 On eBay

Bungie's community manager, content monkey and, now, accomplished pastel artist Frank O'Connor's piece "Here Lies the Last Sip of the Bourgeoisie Malaise Consommé" featuring the infamous Mister Chief from Halo (sort of) is currently going for thousands on eBay. Price tag at time of publish? An impressive $4150. With three days to go, there's plenty of time for the original artwork to skyrocket in price.

Why should you care? Proceeds from the auction will go to the Brian Morden Foundation to help fund Ewing's Sarcoma and childhood cancer research. Bust out your checkbook and your goodwill if you've got the cash. If not, read the artist's statement at Bungie.net. It will haunt you.

Heart of Dorkness [Bungie]
Bungie Charity: Original Mister Chief Art [eBay]

The Rocky Explores Halo's Appeal

It's obvious from reading the comments posted after every Halo 3 story that some of us don't understand the appeal of the series - after all, it's just an FPS, isn't it? Over at The Rocky Mountain News, some guy named Brian Crecente discusses the broad appeal of the franchise with Bungie's Frank O'Connor, breaking the whole thing down into five, easy to understand categories. The article explores how story, character, AI, gadgets, and approachability combine to form Captain Planet make Halo the huge hit it is with fans across the globe. Keep in mind that Crecente is a freelance contributor to The Rocky Mountain News, so the article might not be up to the publication's high standards. I suggest he stick to his day job.

FIVE WAYS HALO HAS REDEFINED GAMING - [The Rocky Mountain News]