With The Renegade and his Psiot army on the loose in Psiot City, can The Harbinger recover in time to protect the city? If Faith and the others fall, what will become of Chicago and The Harbinger’s legacy? And if that’s not enough, wait until you get to the shocker at the end of The Harbinger #7!
When issue seven left us with The Harbinger being shot in the head, I was really curious about how writers Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing would continue the story from that point; would there be a reunification of the two Peter Stancheks, would the bullet have actually bounced off a hastily erected mind shield, or was it just a glancing blow? The answer to the last two is quickly given as The Harbinger is shown with his mind spreading out on the in an ever widening redness.
The Harbinger #7’s primary conflict comes in the form of Faith taking down the psiot who shot the Harbinger whilst the good Stanchek’s friends do their damndest to pick him up from the edge of death to fight again. It’s a tense book, and the art style of Robbie Rodriguez and Rico Renzi (artist and colourist respectively) and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou only enhances this. Granted, there are times when the visuals aren’t super clear in depicting what’s occurring on the page, but this is actually works in the book’s favour in adding to the panicked moments as the Harbinger’s brain slowly leaves his skull. It’s oddly rewarding to have to decipher the pages at times, spending that extra second to understand and then appreciate the visual design (and I’m saying it this way, “visual design”, because Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering is an integral part of how this book looks, and I want to recognize that specifically).
Kelly, Lanzing et al are certainly consistent issue to issue, and because of that you can always expect at the very least a good comic. The series has had its moments of brilliance, but when it’s not delivering those it’s still a damn fine read. The visual design may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly a style I’m enjoying. The Harbinger may not be my favourite Valiant book on the racks right now, but it’s a step above some of the offerings we’ve had from the publisher over the last year.
Story: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Art: Robbie Rodriguez
Colours: Rico Renzi Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 8.7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy
Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW
Source: Graphic Policy
