Harbinger Wars #4

The Team
Writer Joshua Dysart Artist Clayton Henry, Pere Perez, Mico Suayan

Harbinger Wars ends with a boom, and an issue with a lot of fighting. Even though there is a lot of people punching each other in this stuffed issue, it all feels deserved. Most of the things introduced in this series are kind of swept away for most of the characters. In reality this is only a crossover between two actual titles and not the massive event, some readers may be hoping for. To those that could be disappointed by the lack of huge game changing revelations, I would advise them to look at what has changed about the Valiant Universe over the two respective comics series. Most of the characters in this story all met at the same time and there are a lot of completely new factors now at play. The best part about Harbinger Wars as a whole, is the fact that this series did not overstay it’s welcome. These four issues had enough plot make for a slightly stuffy, but entertaining conclusion to the smaller event series. In comparison the big two have never quite paced any of their events in a proper order. It is really tricky to pull of a series like this one.

One detail that seemed completely out of place here, was the fact that Toyo Harada was still alive after a major beating previously. Hopefully there is an explanation for this slightly bizarre plot point in another issue somewhere. It is also interesting to see the new status quota for Bloodshot, as his book is set to completely change going forward. His character is also largely redeemed in this space of this series. Another weird piece of the story was the fact that Renegade member Faith suddenly disappeared, but is firmly on the cover of the next issue of Harbinger. It is also fun to think about how this comic is still a serialized story, as shown in the very back of this issue. There could be some massive seeds being planted for the future of these characters. Hopefully going forward More of the Valiant characters will cross over into each others titles. It keeps the Universe fresh and their respective readers on their toes.

Clayton Henry delivers some stellar pencils in the span of 27 something pages in the series. Facial expressions are so important in comics, and it is great to see an artist really understand that part from a writing perspective. Henry also plays with some seriously fantastic layouts in the span of this issue. Characters bleed out of the page with a serious emphasis on storytelling. Some of the crazier parts populating this issue like dinosaurs are also drawn with some heavy precision. The creatures look surreal in the way that the reader would want them too. While fight scenes mostly populate the issue, there are still many talking heads that are also crafted carefully by the penciller. Brian Reber does a great job with Flamingo’s fire on the colors. There are also three artists credited on the title, it is a testament to the quality that they seem to work together quite nicely.

The first big crossover from the company is now out of the way, and for the most part proves to be a pretty strong success. Readers should take their time and enjoy this summer spectacle.