Harbinger - Probably the greatest team book since...well....

[ComicAficionado]

I'm currently re-reading early Harbinger TPB's (currently on vol 5) and I've got to say that this is one of the best team book runs I've ever read. It reminds me of the excitement I'd get back in the early to mid 90's when I was actively buying X-Men titles and discovering Chris Claremont's Sovereign Seven for the first time (a guilty pleasure of mine). I'm enjoying the characters and their interactions with eachother, and the issues where they were letting loose in Venice Beach California were fantastic. I wonder if anything becomes of the kiss between Kris and Charlene? Anyhow, the action, the characters, the writing, the art, it's all coming together to make one of the most riveting stories I've read in team books in decades.

I'm hoping that this success continues as I make my way through more of the Harbinger TPB's, but I did realize that there is currently NO Harbinger book on the market. Is there any plans for future series based on The Renegades, or is it a title that Valiant doesn't plan on revisiting anytime soon? I truly hope we see more of this amazing ground of characters someday soon, they're simply too good to ignore and let sit on the shelf.

[DirtbagSailor]

Here is an admittedly quick product I just made to breakdown the direction that the Harbinger story will take you.

[jmatt]

... but I did realize that there is currently NO Harbinger book on the market.

Yeah, that's a problem. But to be honest, I'm almost afraid of what the new crew would do with it. I am wary of the new management bringing in their pals rather than the best writers money can buy. I don't care how much money they have to spend, get Josh Dysart back on the title.

DBS, great flow chart!

[hawkeyeps]

... but I did realize that there is currently NO Harbinger book on the market.

Yeah, that's a problem. But to be honest, I'm almost afraid of what the new crew would do with it. I am wary of the new management bringing in their pals rather than the best writers money can buy. I don't care how much money they have to spend, get Josh Dysart back on the title.

DBS, great flow chart!

+1

[kjjohanson]

Here is an admittedly quick product I just made to breakdown the direction that the Harbinger story will take you.

One small note: Armor Hunters was a 3-issue mini.

[depluto]

Harbinger has always been at the heart of my Valiant fandom. I've loved those books every step of the way and Dysart's runs are among my favorite stories of all time. We need more of this.

[jmatt]

Harbinger has always been at the heart of my Valiant fandom. I've loved those books every step of the way and Dysart's runs are among my favorite stories of all time. We need more of this.

Heisserer was a good heir apparent, imo. He knows how to write characters well. And that's critical to this kind of a team book, where the character interaction and motivation is as important as everything else. Perhaps moreso.

[syzhang28]

Harbinger has always been at the heart of my Valiant fandom. I've loved those books every step of the way and Dysart's runs are among my favorite stories of all time. We need more of this.

Heisserer was a good heir apparent, imo. He knows how to write characters well. And that's critical to this kind of a team book, where the character interaction and motivation is as important as everything else. Perhaps moreso.

Definitely agree about Heisserer. I feel like without Dinesh though he's not going to work at Valiant again...

And with Warren and Dinesh gone we probably wont see Dysart working there either.

But we do get one last Josh Dysart story with Life and Death of Toyo Harada...and one Dinesh and Warren worked on too!

[betterthanezra]

Harbinger has always been at the heart of my Valiant fandom. I've loved those books every step of the way and Dysart's runs are among my favorite stories of all time. We need more of this.

Heisserer was a good heir apparent, imo. He knows how to write characters well. And that's critical to this kind of a team book, where the character interaction and motivation is as important as everything else. Perhaps moreso.

Definitely agree about Heisserer. I feel like without Dinesh though he's not going to work at Valiant again...

And with Warren and Dinesh gone we probably wont see Dysart working there either.

But we do get one last Josh Dysart story with Life and Death of Toyo Harada...and one Dinesh and Warren worked on too!

+1

Dysart will most likely NOT write another story for VEI so we just have to enjoy this last story

-Brian

[ComicAficionado]

What happened between Dysart and Valiant that would cause them to not work together again? I don't necessarily need Dysart to write Harbinger, it would be nice, but as long as we get something of quality regardless of who the writer is I'd be a happy reader.

[nycjadie]

I'm going to assume that when a company treats important people unfairly, and pushes them out, then they won't want to work with them.

[AnarchoMambo]

...but then what happens when the turnover at that company is high, and many of the offensive persons have moved on?

Correct me if I am wrong, but with the tone of the Breakthrough titles and Psi-Lords ongoing, doesn’t this seem to be a tacit admission from DMG that VEI2 was not working, and doesn’t this appear to be a return to the Dinesh approach to Valiant? Robert Meyers was present for almost the entirety of VEI1.

I predicted FVLs return, and I am also going on record saying that some of the once-aborted concepts of Eric Heisserer will return and he will even likely return to write more stories for print, and that Joshua Dysart will accept more projects for what I consider to be VEI3. The naming is only significant for what appears to be a remarkable difference from the short-lived VEI2 (and its similarities to VEI1!)

As long as I’m on a roll, I will also go on to say that Matt Kindt will be back for a new project after perhaps a protracted break. I wish I could be as confident about Jeff Lemire, but this is only because he is as rockstar as comic writers can get right now, and his success at Dark Horse and Image may signal the end for him. Even so, I am really pumped about Tim Seeley on Bloodshot. Does anybody know if he will continue on to write the next Bloodshot title? Or will his FCBD 2019 story be a one-off?

[DirtbagSailor]

...but then what happens when the turnover at that company is high, and many of the offensive persons have moved on?

Correct me if I am wrong, but with the tone of the Breakthrough titles and Psi-Lords ongoing, doesn’t this seem to be a tacit admission from DMG that VEI2 was not working, and doesn’t this appear to be a return to the Dinesh approach to Valiant? Robert Meyers was present for almost the entirety of VEI1.

I predicted FVLs return, and I am also going on record saying that some of the once-aborted concepts of Eric Heisserer will return and he will even likely return to write more stories for print, and that Joshua Dysart will accept more projects for what I consider to be VEI3. The naming is only significant for what appears to be a remarkable difference from the short-lived VEI2 (and its similarities to VEI1!)

As long as I’m on a roll, I will also go on to say that Matt Kindt will be back for a new project after perhaps a protracted break. I wish I could be as confident about Jeff Lemire, but this is only because he is as rockstar as comic writers can get right now, and his success at Dark Horse and Image may signal the end for him. Even so, I am really pumped about Tim Seeley on Bloodshot. Does anybody know if he will continue on to write the next Bloodshot title? Or will his FCBD 2019 story be a one-off?

[kinggirlfriend]

...but then what happens when the turnover at that company is high, and many of the offensive persons have moved on?

Correct me if I am wrong, but with the tone of the Breakthrough titles and Psi-Lords ongoing, doesn’t this seem to be a tacit admission from DMG that VEI2 was not working, and doesn’t this appear to be a return to the Dinesh approach to Valiant? Robert Meyers was present for almost the entirety of VEI1.

I predicted FVLs return, and I am also going on record saying that some of the once-aborted concepts of Eric Heisserer will return and he will even likely return to write more stories for print, and that Joshua Dysart will accept more projects for what I consider to be VEI3. The naming is only significant for what appears to be a remarkable difference from the short-lived VEI2 (and its similarities to VEI1!)

As long as I’m on a roll, I will also go on to say that Matt Kindt will be back for a new project after perhaps a protracted break. I wish I could be as confident about Jeff Lemire, but this is only because he is as rockstar as comic writers can get right now, and his success at Dark Horse and Image may signal the end for him. Even so, I am really pumped about Tim Seeley on Bloodshot. Does anybody know if he will continue on to write the next Bloodshot title? Or will his FCBD 2019 story be a one-off?

The problem I'm seeing going forward isn't just the lack of Dinesh but the lack of Warren Simons. Dinesh had ideas and standards for how he wanted to run the company. Warren was able to secure top level talent that was being under utilized. He was able to do this from working at Marvel during their last truly great era, from the early 2000s through 2010. He worked on Marvel Knights and groundbreaking books like Brubaker's Daredevil and Bru and Faction's Immortal Iron Fist among many other great comics. He had built built relationships with guys like Mico and Larosa with remarkable talent that they were then able to bring over to Valiant. I don't see the new guys doing that. Where did they work previously? On what groundbreaking books have the worked on? I definitely don't see too many of the old talent returning. It has less to do with the interim editors and more with DMG as a whole. Time will tell and while I doubt it will ever get as bad as the Acclaim era I don't think the ship will ever right itself. Although I do hope I'm wrong.

[ShadowTuga]

Although reading this book as it came out was one of the best comic-book "experiences" I ever had... I do envy someone who is just starting to discover what gem Joshua Dysart did. Its just that good.

Its not only the best VEI (or all Valiant, honestly) series that I read but it is the one V book that made me feel stuff I never expected to feel while reading a comic made by a superhero publisher. Its bananas how much heart, smarts, bada**ery, epic confrontations, moral dilemmas, superb characters and character developments, exquisite displays of humor and a honest love for the medium it was presented, that this series displays..

Comics done right. Its just that.

[Ricomortis]

Although reading this book as it came out was one of the best comic-book "experiences" I ever had... I do envy someone who is just starting to discover what gem Joshua Dysart did. Its just that good.

Its not only the best VEI (or all Valiant, honestly) series that I read but it is the one V book that made me feel stuff I never expected to feel while reading a comic made by a superhero publisher. Its bananas how much heart, smarts, bada**ery, epic confrontations, moral dilemmas, superb characters and character developments, exquisite displays of humor and a honest love for the medium it was presented, that this series displays..

Comics done right. Its just that.

Totally agree!

[jmatt]

Its not only the best VEI (or all Valiant, honestly) series that I read but it is the one V book that made me feel stuff I never expected to feel while reading a comic made by a superhero publisher. Its bananas how much heart, smarts, bada**ery, epic confrontations, moral dilemmas, superb characters and character developments, exquisite displays of humor and a honest love for the medium it was presented, that this series displays..

Comics done right. Its just that.

Well stated.

[ShadowTuga]

Its not only the best VEI (or all Valiant, honestly) series that I read but it is the one V book that made me feel stuff I never expected to feel while reading a comic made by a superhero publisher. Its bananas how much heart, smarts, bada**ery, epic confrontations, moral dilemmas, superb characters and character developments, exquisite displays of humor and a honest love for the medium it was presented, that this series displays..

Comics done right. Its just that.

Well stated.

I forgot to add: you also have to read Imperium, when done. Its the next chapter in Harada's life, and while it sucks that it wasn't properly finished, what is out there is in places, even more of a mindblowing thing that Harbinger was. I mean, there are 3 issues in that small run that imho are candidates for single best issue ever published by VALIANT (the one with the H.A.R.D. Corps, the Harada vs Divinity and the LV-99 origin story)

I can't wait to get my hands on Life and Death of Toyo Harada.

[jmatt]

It's true, Imperium is every bit as good. I really, reeeeally wanna see more interaction with... well, I won't spoil it for you. Let's call it Broken Angel's place of origin.