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| Cover by Frank Miller |
Continuing with my Unity event read-through...
The geomancer Geoff interrupts an important admission from Kris Hathaway to ask the team to accompany him to the Lost Land. Soon Peter, Kris, Faith, and Flamingo stand on a hill beside Solar and other Valiant heroes. Then Erica Pierce's forces attack.
Amid the fighting, Peter senses that Solar, Man of the Atom, is dead. The next day, he discovers that Kris is pregnant. But when he asks Geoff to send them back home, the geomancer says that he can't without Solar's help.
Magnus is keen to cut the kids some slack, but Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, sees Peter's request as a betrayal. The team then sit out the fighting for three months, living in seclusion while Kris' pregnancy grows increasingly visible.
As with other Valiant stories written by Jim Shooter, Harbinger #8 makes for a long, exciting, and compelling read. Under artist David Lapham's skilled hand, the bionosaurs have never looked more menacing. Ironically, it is Maria Beccari's coloring that stands out for me most though. The intense light and mix of colors she evokes bring to mind the way colorist Rico Renzi shows Peter and the psiots using their power in Valiant's recent series The Harbinger.
For the first time (for me) in this crossover event, the fight scenes evoke Shadowman's earlier description of the Lost Land as a merger of Star Wars and Jurassic Park. Faith's lighthearted comments--and commentary--keep this story from growing too dark. Still, given the intense nature of this issue, you may wish to take Armstrong's advice, and not drink a six-pack of your favorite beverage before reading Harbinger #8.
Dragon Dave
