THE HARBINGER #2 – Review

THE HARBINGER #2, available from Valiant Entertainment on November 24th, 2021, shows events in Psiot City escalating out of control when word gets around that Peter Stanchek has returned. Will he become a reluctant savior or the city’s worst nightmare?

The Details

• Written By: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
• Art By: Robbi Rodriguez
• Colors By: Rico Renzi
• Letters By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
• Cover Art By: Robbi Rodriguez (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: November 24, 2021

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Was It Good?

Well, it’s not bad, but it is a little lot confusing.

The challenge with a series, like The Harbinger, that’s been gone for so many years is the reliance on readers to remember what happened before and to “get” what’s happening now. For seminal storylines that become part of the culture (e.g. Batman’s origin story), remembering is easy. For niche titles or titles that made a less dramatic impact on popular culture, memories fade and “getting” what’s going on takes work.

THE HARBINGER #2 mixes pieces that make sense without any backstory or explanation with others that don’t quite feel familiar or make sense. For example, the narrative follows the same path as issue #1 with Peter Stancheck (presumably) having a disembodied one-on-one chat with another character who we never see, is introduced, or is identified in any way. If Peter is talking to someone from his past, it’s not clear. If it’s someone Valiant readers should already know, it’s not clear. The lack of clarity increasingly makes the narration tedious. It’s like watching a movie while two people are having a separate but related conversation about the movie next to where you’re sitting in the theater.

The other component that doesn’t quite jive is Peter’s powerset and his ability to use it. The disembodied narration/conversation sets up that Peter is effectively a god. He can do anything, be anywhere, and there’s no force on Earth that’s his equal. Yet, Peter is quickly disabled by a team of technologically enhanced humans called the Warning. Yes, Peter latches on to the trope of throttling his powers because he’s afraid of what might happen, but it wouldn’t take much to hold the Warning and simply fly them to another country or make them go to sleep or something just remotely creative. Throttling powers doesn’t mean throttling imagination, and there’s definitely too much throttling happening as a plot device to manufacture conflict that should have been easily won.

With a character like Peter Stanchek, why go out of your way and expend three pages describing how godlike he really is to then immediately turn around and make him seem mediocre when his powers are needed. You could argue that a character so fundamentally overpowered needs to be restrained somehow or else the issue would be over in two pages, but again, the imagination is lacking.

The art is good. Rodriguez gets to flex some psychedelic muscle when the “Psiot versus Warning” fight gets under way. It looks cool and there’s plenty of visual interest, so you’ll have plenty of eye candy to stay engaged.

The one, minor down point is the same criticism brought up in the last review. The art team uses an excessive amount of flat purple colors on nearly every page. Purple is a soothing, calming color, and while that may be good in certain circumstances like a dentist’s office, it severely dampens the pop and energy of the issue. The is one of those rare cases where the colors work as designed to the detriment of the story.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

If you want to know how Peter Stanchek found himself in Psiot City without his memories, first go back and read our THE HARBINGER #1 review.

We begin where issue #1 left off with Peter Stanchek fighting in an alley against a withered figure dressed in rags. It’s implied/inferred/hinted that this withered person is also Peter Stanchek or a version of him or something. In an explosive display of power, the withered figure is gone and Peter wakes up later in a crater created by the battle.

Later, back at Cici’s apartment, Peter is trying to make sense of it all when they hear a commotion outside. The police have arrived en masse, wearing riot gear, looking for Peter. A young psiot named Young Ago, who’s ability seems to be something about captivating an audience with whatever he says, confronts the police and stirs the crowd. It’s clear that the potential for a riot is quickly approaching. Peter, fearing innocent people will be hurt in his name, goes down to the street and surrenders himself.

Handcuffed, the police don’t take Peter in but disconnect all recording devices so they can call in the Warning, a group of tech-enhanced humans, to do “something”. Lethean, one of he Warning members, has the ability to take memories, and Peter concludes she’s the one who wiped his mind. Despite the fact Peter has the powers of a literal god, they stop Peter from getting to Lethean, briefly stun him, and simply leave with a few psiots from the crowd.

What was the point of making a big show out of searching for and arresting Peter Stanchek only to call in the Warning to kidnap/arrest a few low-level psiots and then walk away leaving Peter mildly stunned? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Later, Peter vows to get Young Ago and the other psiots back but he can’t do it as Peter Stanchek because he’s concerned the police will return to Psiot City in retribution. We conclude the issue with Peter asking Cici for some fashion advice, a demonstration of the power called ‘Activation’, and another look at the withered figure in rags.

Final Thoughts

THE HARBINGER #2 is an uneven mix of intriguing developments and confusing character actions. While the creators clearly have a story to tell, it relies too much on expecting the reader to do the work to figure it out. The art is generally good, but the odd color choices tamp the energy way, way down.

Score: 6.5/10

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