Harbinger #24

The latest of issue of Harbinger features an event which fans of the series have been waiting for since the beginning of the series – the battle between Peter and Harada for the future of the world! Well, that’s only partially true, but this issue does not fail to deliver an amazing conclusion to the latest arc.

The Story

Dysart has done an amazing job with this series and very neatly ties up a lot of the story elements in this issue, while also providing some great hints at what is to come. The issue starts off with the showdown between Peter and Harada and has some great dialogue between the two, really showing the reading that this is really the ultimate showdown between good and evil. Things take a turn as the Bleeding Monk enters the story and positions himself as the ultimate strategist and Peter and Harada as nothing but pawns in a much larger game. We’ve seen hints of this throughout the series run, but it isn’t until this issue that we really start to see the monk as much more than his a casual observer and it is truly a satisfying twist.

The back half of the issue deals with the fallout of recent events, especially the recent death of Flamingo and how that has affected each character. Peter’s projection of himself into each character’s mind to provide each a bit of psychological resolution is a nice touch, and a great way to show just how much his character has grown since the first issue. This arc has been amazing and I can’t wait to see where Dysart takes these characters into the Omegas miniseries and beyond.

The Art

The current art has been action packed and this issue is no exception. Clayton Henry continues to outdo himself with his composition of the panels and provides some great action scenes and does a great job at showing off the emotional aspects of Dysart’s story through art. The images of deformed Peter and Harada post-battle are both creepy and telling of where the characters end up mentally at the end of this arc.

Final Words

Harbinger is consistently one of the best books Valiant is putting out and this issue is no different. Being the penultimate issue before the end of this volume – before the release of the Omegas miniseries – this is not a good jumping on point for new readers, but it certainly provides good payoff for current fans. There are some interesting revelations made by the Bleeding Monk as well which could be setting things up for the next volume of the series. Overall, this was an action packed and very emotional issue so pick it up!

[author-post-rating]