Review: Harbinger #22 by Joshua Dysart and Clayton Henry

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harbinger-22-cover-by-michael-walsh

Review:  Harbinger #22

“Death of a Renegade Part 1″

Published by Valiant Entertainment

Written by Joshua Dysart

Art by Clayton Henry

Coloured by Brian Reber

The Plot

The issue begins with a dream version of the accident, which claimed the lives of Faith’s parents.  Faith wakes up with Torque in bed after being in the throes of…uh, activity.  Torque is in his normal appearance (really skinny and not all jacked up) and they decide to make some pancakes (literally making pancakes, this isn’t a euphemism).  They see that Ax is awake and invite the others to join them.  Kris goes over the plan to get to the Server Room in order for Ax to get as much data on Harada as possible.  Unfortunately, Harada uses his resources to learn about the plan and he decides to deal with them.  Afterwards, there is an awkward moment with Torque, Faith, and Flamingo who sees a difference with Torque.  A little while later and Harada is ready to intercept the Renegades in Oklahoma.  However, not everything is as it seems.  The Renegades’ real target and plan is revealed as they attack the Pittsburgh location.  Torque faces down with Ion, but he is experiencing difficulties with his powers.  The issue closes with Ion definitely having the upper-hand on Torque and very pissed off Harada racing to confront Peter.  

The Breakdown

This was a good issue, but I’m dreading to see who gets killed.  They are hinting at various characters being the one to perish and although I have a slight idea who it’ll be, I really don’t know.  It’s nice to see Torque finally becoming a whole person, but I hope that he is able to find a balance with his powers.  I really enjoyed seeing how much the Renegades have grown and how much they have learned.  They were able to really put one over Harada (which is no small feat) and continue misleading everyone after they discovered they were being mislead.  Peter’s abilities have continued to grow and grow and this time I’m really looking forward to seeing how he’s going to match up against Harada.  I’m also looking forward to seeing the Renegades throw down with the psiots from the Harbinger Foundation.  The action next issue is going to be really intense.  I enjoy Faith’s relationship with Torque and how it’s impacted the both of them.  At the same time, I like that Peter’s actions in the first couple issues have continued to impact his relationship with Kris.  Henry does a really nice job on the art and I think he’s the right guy for this arc.  Some of his panels flow very well and I like how he gives the characters a distinct look.  Reber’s colours are pretty sweet as usual.  Damn this guy must have an insane turnaround rate.  This issue did an effective job at setting up the rest of this arc.

BUT…

I’m on the fence about how Flamingo is being a bit of a sh@^ disturber.  It makes sense with her character, but I don’t know where it’s going yet.  I enjoyed this issue, but my dread of whoever is going to die kind of impeded how much I enjoyed it.  It’s nothing against the creative team, I just dread when any character I like dies. 

Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?

Buy It.  Overall, I’ve enjoyed this series since the beginning.  Dysart has done a good job of showing how much these characters have grown.  They were so out of their depth before and now they are smart enough to put the drop on Harada.  I’ve lent this series out to various people (regular comic readers and new readers) and it has stuck with them more than other series that I’ve shared.  This has been a well told journey thus far and there are many relatable elements to it.  Valiant is such a damn good publisher and I’m really anticipating/dreading next month’s issue.

I have been both an avid and casual comic reader over the years (depending on the quality of books). I have been reading Comics Nexus even prior to it becoming Comics Nexus and am glad to be a columnist. In addition, feel free to leave comments whether you agree or disagree because it always leads to discussions.