THE HARBINGER #6, from Valiant Entertainment on March 30th, 2022, re-introduces Faith to Stanchek’s circle of allies just in time for Renegade to make his next move and push new psiots to uncontrolled heights.
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: March 30, 2022
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Was It Good?
THE HARBINGER #6 is… fine. Not great or terrible. Simply fine. Depending on your point of view, this may or may not be a positive assessment, but we now have a clearer understanding of why this issue (and a majority of the series) doesn’t achieve a super strong response. The series lacks, in a word, emotion.
Okay, “lack” may be a strong word, but it serves as a good description of what’s going on in this issue.
Starting with the plot, Faith made a grand entrance at the end of the last issue by saying hello with a superpowered right hook sneak attack on Peter Stanchek. Now, Faith pauses long enough for Stanchek to explain he’s the real deal and convince Faith to go with him to Psiot city just in time for the Renegade to activate and kidnap more latent psiots. That’s the short description, but we’ll cover more detail in the next section if you want details.
A fair amount of plot progression happens in this issue but through it all, the characters waffle between mildly neutral to mildly annoyed, regardless of what’s happening. Faith attacks Stanchek and he brushes it off as a simple misunderstanding. Renegade attacks Ago and the psiots under his care, and there’s barely an expression of shock or anger. Faith and Stanchek take flight to rescue the innocent, and the only expression you see is a slight frown of determination on Faith’s face. Nearly the entire issue is a series of events and characters saying words, but you never get the sense anybody feels passionate about what’s happening, and the whole issue feels emotionally flat. In other words, it’s fine but no more exciting than watching a news report. There’s no drama or excitement or any emotional hook to draw the reader in.
At least the art is fairly good. Rodriguez does a fine job with character designs (although, we note he had trouble sticking to a consistent body shape for Faith) and the action is well done. We’ve also noted before that Rico Renzi goes overboard with purples and pinks in this series, contributing to the lack of emotional punch, but there is a little color diversity in this issue. Therefore, Renzi earns marks for improvement.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
For a refresher on what happened when Faith arrived, first read our THE HARBINGER #5 review.
We begin with Stanchek raising the proverbial “white flag” after Faith’s sneak attack knocked him out of the sky. Stanchek takes off his mask and convinces Faith it’s him. He offers to explain what’s to explain everything that’s happened since his “resurrection” on their way to Psiot City.
Once Faith sees the city for herself, Stanchek explains he spends most days corraling new psiot awakened by Renegade and stealing supplies to keep the city running. The crowds below spot Faith and begin shouting comments of praise and curiosity questions.
Meanwhile, Ago helps titan talk through his feelings when Renegade manipulates one of the nearby psiots to open a portal so he can come through to the safe house. We conclude the issue with psiots out of control, an old duo reliving the glory days, and an unexpected shot.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
THE HARBINGER #6 is a serviceable entry with decent action, notable plot progression, and generally good art. That said, the characters are almost entirely devoid of emotion to draw the reader in, and while the coloring is improved over the prior issues, the excessive pinks and purples contribute to the neutral mood.
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