Harbinger 3: Harbinger Wars

Comic Info

Harbinger #13 8-Bit Variant

Reprints Harbinger (2) #0 and #11-14 (February 2013-August 2013).  The Renegades are no going on the offensive.  When Peter learns from the Monk about a group of psiot children being raised by Project Rising Spirit, he and the Renegades head toward Las Vegas where a group of the escape children have holed up in the Bellagio with hostages.  The Renegades team-up to help the children against their nightmare attacker Bloodshot as Toyo Harada and his Harbinger Foundation begins its ultimate attack against Project Rising Spirit in a war that has been raging for decades.

Written by Joshua Dysart and illustrated by Khari Evans, Trevor Hairsine, Mico Suavan, and Pere Perez, Harbinger Volume 3:  Harbinger Wars follows the lead up to the Harbinger Wars in Harbinger Volume 2:  Renegades.  Harbinger Volume 3:  Harbinger Wars is a tie in title to Valiant’s first crossover event title Harbinger Wars and Bloodshot Volume 3:  Harbinger Wars.

I am not a huge fan of how crossover events are handled in modern comics.  In older comics, big events like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Secret Wars were always solid stand-alone series that were enhanced by the accompanying titles…you didn’t have to read all of them to understand any of them (if that makes sense).  I was curious how the newly launched Valiant would handle a crossover event like Harbinger Wars, and I am mildly pleased.

The first beneficial thing about Harbinger Wars is that it only ties into three titles:  Harbinger, Bloodshot, and Harbinger Wars.  It isn’t a huge investment.  The second advantage is that Dysart keeps a rather cohesive narrative going in Harbinger which is good since the series has been building to Harbinger Wars.

Harbinger (2) #14

This does have some disadvantages however in that if you read Harbinger Wars and Bloodshot, there feels like there is a lot of overlap.  All three titles kind of blur together at points and lose the focus of the Harbinger Wars (which is essentially Harada and Project Rising Spirit battling over psiots that are being protected by both Bloodshot and the Renegades).

Another sad side effect from almost all crossover series is that the storylines (usually emotional) often lose focus.  I suppose this is true in life during big events, but comics are supposed to be escapism, and I have enjoyed watching the Renegades slowly become a team.  There are some nice moments within the story (like most of the Harbinger series, they revolve around the optimistic Faith), but much of the story is a battle.  I also feel that the story feels a little uneven in that I care more about the Renegades than I do about Harada and the Harbinger Foundation.

Harbinger 3:  Harbinger Wars is a good stand-alone story and an average tie in.  I look forward to seeing where the comic goes from here, and I would like to see more distinction between Harada and the Renegades which often makes this book feel a bit heavy and unbalanced (I almost wish they were different titles).  The book might have some failings but it shows a slight improvement over the previous entry by giving the characters more direction and purpose.  Harbinger 3:  Harbinger Wars was followed by Harbinger 4:  Perfect Day.

Related Links:

Harbinger 1:  Omega Rising

Harbinger 2:  Renegades

Harbinger Wars