1st Impressions: Harbinger #16

HARBINGER # 16
Written by Joshua Dysart

Art by Barry Kitson, Mark Pennington, Brian Level, Ian Hannin, Brian Reber & Moose Baumann

Valiant Comics

FLIPPING THROUGH:

                So, after the shocking end of last issue, we get more crazy in this issue. Honestly, I can’t say much without giving away spoilers but let’s just say that the Renegades are not where they think they are and who lives and who dies is a different story.

ART:

                Kitson does a great job with pencils as there is a ridiculous amount of things this issue. From a hotel room to the insanity that is Torquehalla. Yes. Torquehalla, which seems to be the dream world of Torque and anyone who is into heavy metal and fantasy; a great homage to Heavy Metal from some of the panel work and backgrounds.  The ink work though isn’t the most consistent this issue. That does work towards the books advantage. The smoother inks  for the “real” world while there are harsher inks for Torquehalla.
                The grittier work gave a great texture to Torquehall.  Yet, some of the inks were heavy handed this issue, which worked against some of Kitson’s panels.  Other than that, the colors for the issue were great throughout the entire issue.  Overall, a good job  by the art team.

WRITING:

                Dysart continues to write what could be one of the greatest runs in comics. We get a lot of development of the characters this issue, save for Peter as Dysart lets us get to know more about the Renegades and how they feel about each other. Kris keeps pushing the buttons of Torque. Faith figures out something about Peter. Flamingo is keeping an eye on Kris. And Torque … rather would stay in his fantasy world than in the real one. These set ups continue to mount as the revelations at the end of the issue just hit that much harder.  The pacing was excellent. The characters were relatable. And we got more in depth with Kris and Torque. Overall, Dysart continues to write great comics.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

                Good art. GREAT writing. Character development that is natural and relateable. And some twists that really make you do a spit take in surprise. Besides the inks, a stellar issue.

RATING:

                I give Harbinger # 16 an 8.5 out of 10. Get it this Wednesday!