Peter Stanchek is one of the most powerful psiots on the planet and one of the most feared as well, but now he’s lost his memories. As he confronts the only message left behind when he first awoke, demanding him to “BE BETTER”, Peter begins to understand the people of Psiot City need more than who he was. They need a superhero. With a new group of state sanctioned oppressors called The Warning bearing down on them, an all-new psiot raises his voice and spurs on a confrontation that only Peter Stanchek can hope to face.

I’m a sucker for a good redemption story. I’ve never made a secret of that, and so given the direction that writers Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have taken with this story, it seems like it’s going to be a no-brainer for me to enjoy it. There’s not “but” coming, because I’ve really enjoyed the two issues I’ve read so far. Being able to say that comes as something of a relief given the pedigree of the Harbinger name and the weighty expectations I had as a result.

Robbie Rodriguez artwork is once again fantastic. The artist has a quality to his work that pulls you in and then throws you around. The comic looks like it is barely controlled chaos at times, reflecting what’s occurring in the story as Stanchek struggles to hold himself together. Colourist Rico Renzi enhances everything about the chaos, whilst also being able to soften the art as the story’s pacing slows down. The Harbinger #2 is a visually stimulating journey from beginning to end, and while there may be the odd page where you’re trying to make out what’s going on that really only adds to the book’s story. It’s strange to say that, because usually that’d be something I’m not a fan of, but here we are.

Stanchek’s superhero origin story continues, edging toward the inevitability of a new costume and mask emphasized by the reaction people within the story are having to his name alone (though how he’ll hide his identity with his powerset remains to be seen, so I’m curious just how much I’ll need to suspend my disbelief). So far, however, the story has been solid, and the new memory-free Stanchek means there’s a blank slate for the writers to create a new version of the Psiot without necessarily needing to keep to previous characterization.

The Harbinger as a series has delivered two really good issues so far, which is giving me a lot of excitement for to see how the creative team (rounded out by letterist extraordinaire Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou) continue Peter Stanchek’s journey. As I said, I’m a sucker for a redemption story, and so far this is delivering in every way.

Story: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Art: Robbie Rodriguez
Colours: Rico Renzi Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 9 Art: 8.8 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Can you make the world better if you can’t be better? A telepath with no memory. A city of superpowered teenagers suppressed. Redemption. Destruction. Rebirth. A new era of HARBINGER begins here.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Harbinger is one of Valiant’s flagship titles dating back to the original iteration of Valiant from the 90’s. Joshua Dysart’s 2012 reboot Barbinger and the follow ups Imperium and Life And Death of Toyo Harada are widely heralded as one of the best runs that has come from the modern era of Valiant comics, so it’s no understatement to say that there are some fairly high expectations for this comic purely because of what’s come before.

The Harbinger #1 acts as both a continuation of Peter Stanchek’s story after the events of Harbinger Wars 2, and also as an entirely new entry point to the world of psiots and the Harbinger corporation. Writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing bridge the gap between the old and new by introducing Peter as an amnesiac who knows his name but little else; while this serves as a way to introduce new readers to a character with a mysteriously dark past to atone for, readers will (presumably) be as in the dark as to exactly what that involves as Peter himself until they’re comfortably in the series. Older readers will also benefit from the approach because they’ve either forgotten details of Peter’s life (guilty) or are waiting for the realization to dawn on him just how much of a mess he’d made of things.

Kelly and Lanzing frame the story as the beginning of a redemption arc, and perhaps even a superhero origin story, and for me it works. The writers don’t ignore anything that has happened before, nor do they spend a page an a half specifically repeating why people are afraid of Peter; it’s very much a case showing and not telling in a fairly frantically paced comic book.

Robbie Rodriguez artwork is revelatory; there’s a sketchiness to the style that’s used and, coupled with Rico Renzi‘s colouring work, it fits the narrative perfectly. The panels, colours and feel of the comic lends a sense of speed to a book that touches on atoning for past sins (even if you don’t remember them). At its heart, The Harbinger #1 is about whether a person can change without first acknowledging past wrongs; I’ve always been a sucker for redemption arcs, and this is no different.

Time will tell if The Harbinger will live up to expectations, but the creative team (rounded out by letterist extraordinaire Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou) are off to a cracking start.

Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Art: Robbie Rodriguez
Colours: Rico Renzi Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 9 Art: 8.8 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW