The Harbinger #3 Review

 

The Harbinger #3 Cover B by Adam Pollina

Many publishers don't do much with their title pages. Some even fill up two full pages with author and artist credits, and a brief synopsis. Valiant Entertainment, on the other hand, works hard to make every page count. 

That includes their title pages. I won't reiterate all the little artistic touches they used to create a beautiful inside front cover last issue, but I will say that they've made at least two changes for The Harbinger #3. One references an important theme. The other announces Peter Stanchek's mission for this issue.

He intends to take on the superteam known as The Warning. He intends to rescue Ago, a young psiot they kidnapped, before they can harm him.

But first, it's time for a new image. A new identity that won't drag down Peter with the baggage that normally follows him, wherever he goes. He wants to become known for the good he intends to do in the future, not the wrongs he's committed in the past.

Cici aids him in this. The young woman with psiot powers that have not yet been activated. She--alongside Peter--suffered from an attack by The Warning in The Harbinger #1. 

So Peter's doing this for her too.

Cici, young Ago, and every denizen of Psiot City--activated or unpowered. All their lives hang in the balance. Can Peter control his incredible powers, and unleash them only in a controlled manner to protect them?

The stakes couldn't be higher as Peter flies above Chicago. With his incredible psiot power, he could listen in on every inhabitant's thoughts, in order to detect Ago's location. The old Peter Stanchek would have chosen that path.

 

In the Valiant universe, there's a technology called HARD Corps. It refers to how the military used technology to imbue soldiers with certain psiot abilities for limited periods. You can learn more about them in the first series of Bloodshot produced by Valiant Entertainment, as well as the miniseries Harbinger Wars.

Peter has recognized that The Warning employs HARD Corps technology. So he finds a way to tune into it, to find the group's location. As per usual, this involves the dizzying--but ever impressive--talents of letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

Writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly have a mission in The Harbinger #3: to reform Peter Stanchek, while forcing him to confront the mistakes of his past. One mistake was in his handling of the super-villain Toyo Harada. As Peter ruminates in this issue, he could have handled those confrontations--particularly the first one--far better.

It not only matters that you win a battle, he now realizes. It also matters how you win it.

Colorist Rico Renzi colors this issue so brightly and powerfully that it's easy to miss out on all the detail that penciler and inker Robbi Rodriguez builds into each panel. Yet it's all there, if you look at the artwork long and hard enough. 

It may take you a few read-throughs to notice all the members of The Warning in the panel below, but they're all doing something in reaction to Peter. Some publishers would make this a two-page spread. But the battle at The Warning's stronghold is made all the more intense because each and every panel is filled with action, dialogue, and thought-provoking drama.

The Harbinger #3 is many things. A five-minute read, it is not.

Now, if only Robbi Rodriguez would concentrate on one page at a time, instead of tracking the panels horizontally across two pages! But that's a personal preference, and a small quibble. That is, assuming Valiant doesn't staple the extra Pre-Order Edition pages smack in the middle of his two-page layouts.

 

 

Along the way, Peter will muse upon the mistakes of his youth. He will wonder about the rightness of the actions he takes--that he deems necessary--to rescue young Ago. He will worry how others will perceive his actions, and what he can do to become a leader in Psiot City.

Can he communicate essential truths? Can he rally people to his cause? Can he become someone viewed as good and responsible by many, instead of just a few?

The Harbinger #3 is not just a rejuvenation of Peter Stanchek. It's a celebration of the entire Harbinger franchise. It doesn't get bogged down with the protagonists' infighting. Nor does it dwell on all the little differences and irritants can break up a group of likeable heroes.

Let television dwell on all the defects in basically good people that can only serve to hurt each other. Let The Harbinger series continue to amaze, delight, and inspire us with all that we can achieve, if we choose to act responsibly, and for the good of all.

Dragon Dave

P.S. The Harbinger #3 is currently available digitally, or at your local comic shop.