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| The Harbinger #1 Cover A by Robbi Rodriguez |
In The Harbinger #1, writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing introduce us to Peter Stanchek. Or at least, the man once known as Peter Stanchek.
He awakens in a ruined skyscraper, drained of his memories.
He remembers his name. He seems to remember that he's powerful, and that he's done bad things. And a mantra spins through his head, courtesy of ever-innovative letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
At the sight of an old flag adorning the ruined skyscraper, he remembers the name associated with it.
Harbinger.
Artist Robbi Rodriguez and colorist Rico Renzi enhance the story without making the writers spell out what's happening, and thus slowing the pace. For example, Peter has only to look at the old flag, and it pulls itself off the flagpole, and wraps itself around his body.
Rodriguez and Renzi also convey how traumatized Peter is when he realizes that all the voices and conversations he's hearing are actually thoughts of nearby people.
The fact that he has this power gives him the strength to calm down. The realization that he can read minds also brings with it knowledge of another ability.
After flying to a nearby building, Peter runs up its side. Again, the artist and colorist show him taking what he needs from his surroundings, without requiring the writers to spell out what's happening.
Peter lands in the street, only to discover that he is a wanted man. People fear him.
Some want him dead.
At least he can fly away.
In another section of town, Peter meets up with a Chinese American woman named Cici. The fact that she wears overalls with C squared written out, and spells her name for him, makes me wonder if it isn't one she's chosen for herself.
It seems that everyone in this section of town is like Peter. While they may retain their memories, they are psiots with unique mental powers. Either that, or they were identified for their psychic potential, but their abilities were never unlocked, or activated.
Unpowered, normal people can enter this district, which the psiots have done their best to make their home. But the authorities mostly stay out, and leave them to rule themselves.
The Harbinger #1 is a beautifully told, multi-layered story. Despite its very different look, this debut issue honors the legacy of the former series while also setting up Peter for a new and different adventure. This time, he's been given a chance to forge a new beginning, one not limited by the drugs and neuroses that once plagued him, or defined by what Toyo Harada did to him and other psiots.
I, for one, am glad the citizens of Psiot City, as they call their community, are allowing me to peer into their world. Their conflicts and struggles intrigue me. I'm also rooting for Peter to remake his life, recover his memories, and discover a potential never before realized as he strives to follow his new mantra, and...
BE BETTER
Well done, creative team. Way to excite me about a series I thought could never be bettered!
Dragon Dave
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