Hi, I'm Joshua Dysart...

[Joshua Dysart]

My question: Is it okay for people to do bad things for good reasons? I won't qualify the question with caveats. It seems, to me, to be the underlying predicate of Harbinger.

I think that's a larger philosophical argument than we have time for here. Ultimately, as with anything, no absolute answer will be correct. Qualifiers and caveats and deviled-details are absolutely necessary to have a pragmatic discussion with a question like that. We can have a lofty philo-intellectual conversation, but probably not a pragmatic one. But you're right, Harbinger is very much concerned with that idea. We might not ever figure out the answer in our pages, but we'll probably keep posing the question.

Fair enough. My question wasn't posed to elicit a specific answer, it's too open-ended; "good" and "bad" are subjective terms always open to interpretation and circumstance. It was more to underscore that ethical dilemmas always make for an interesting read and your run on Harbinger has certainly been that.

Thanks for making time for us.

Totally, my pleasure! And thanks for engaging the book on multiple levels.

[Joshua Dysart]

My question: Is it okay for people to do bad things for good reasons? I won't qualify the question with caveats. It seems, to me, to be the underlying predicate of Harbinger.

I think that's a larger philosophical argument than we have time for here. Ultimately, as with anything, no absolute answer will be correct. Qualifiers and caveats and deviled-details are absolutely necessary to have a pragmatic discussion with a question like that. We can have a lofty philo-intellectual conversation, but probably not a pragmatic one. But you're right, Harbinger is very much concerned with that idea. We might not ever figure out the answer in our pages, but we'll probably keep posing the question.

My students could tell you the answer. And they even read Harbinger.

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Awesome, Elveen!

[Joshua Dysart]

Joshua are you not excepting private pm's

Uhm... I didn't know that was a thing I could do.

[Joshua Dysart]

Question.

1) In a fight (no guns AND no powers)..... who is the best fighter in the book?

Pete looks like he's in good shape I vote for him

Without his powers, He's no match intellectually with Kris. She'd outsmart him in no time

He'd be all lovestruck and not want to hit Kris then she'd kick him in the nads and finish him off

That's probably the most realistic scenario, right there.

[Joshua Dysart]

And in regards to the word "Psiot" - is there a story behind that word? Its origin? Who came up with it?

I did. Though when I googled it some stuff came up. Nothing definitive. Not much of a story. I was looking for scientific phrase for these powers (harbinger isn't really very scientific). I knew I wanted to focus on the idea of these being hyper-psychics, so I just played around with the meaning of the word and some permutations of it. Psionics is the main source of it. That was laid down waaaaay back in the pitching phase, December of 2011.

[Joshua Dysart]

What I do want to say in that regard is that for me it took about till issue #5 for me to feel like the book was coming together. Whereas my top two books currently, XO Manowar and Bloodshot, seemed to gel for me within the first stated arc. I was reading out of being a loyalist to Valiant and now I'm reading it cause it's good, and I'm eager to see where things go from here.

Well, everyone has a different sense of pacing and what they like. Personally, for me, plot is always secondary to character (I fantasize about telling a story where there's no conflict at all, but I know readers would hate it. There's a Japanese story telling structure called kishōtenketsu which I love. And several of my favorite Japanese novelists have worked in it. It's a story without conflict, built entirely around character and environment. As I said I'm deeply inspired by it, but also beholden to Western ideas of story telling, which rely on driving plot/conflict developments. It's a preference is all. I simply like characters over situations and ideas over plot. It's who I am. Thanks for sticking with it, glad you've found something to latch on to. Really glad you're liking the other books. That's the beauty of the Valiant line, there's something for every kind of reader.

1. How does VEI see itself in regards to what's come before? As Valiant Universe 3.0? It may seem trivial but it's the internet on slow days these things come up. Valiant, Acclaim, Dark Horse(Gold Key relaunch), VEI making it 4.0 or the DH material is more Gold Key not Valiant thus 3.0.

I'm not sure I'm the one to fully answer that. As one of the first creatives hired I have had a hand in building this thing, but I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "How do we see ourselves". Do you mean philosophically, or from a business viewpoint, or just in our title? I guess my answer would be, we see ourselves as both a caretaker of these classic properties and a modern, innovative company. If you're asking us just to come up with a title for what we're doing here (i.e. Valiant 3.0) I'd say that's as good as any.

2. It's been stated that Shadowman came out earlier than expected due to a great pitch? We were teased Rai at last year FCBD and currently nothing, did Shadowman push Rai out of the picture?

No.

3. If a good pitch is a large part of things am I to believe that Quantum & Woody has a great pitch? Are they getting a type of overhaul/tweak the others have? Cause I'm not going to sugar coat this I HATED Q&W, after a few issues bailed. When it was announced the thoughts of "Sophomore Slump" went off in my head. I'm going to get issue one...maybe the first arc AND that is because of my VALIANT loyalty. Please reward my trust or let me know now if Q&W is going to read more like Deadpool ( a character I don't enjoy either). I'm not upset at female Geomancer or Dr.Mirage, the blending of VU1&Acclaim versions of Shadowman so I'm hoping here, hoping you guys are still going to reward me(us).

Ha! You know I'm just a freelance writer, right? I'm not the editor. I haven't read the book or anything. Nor do I have any idea what you will and will not like. I think James Asmus is a funny guy and I think Tom Fowler is an amazing artist. I don't know what else to tell you. You'll dig it or you won't.

I'm looking forward to HARD Corps reintroduction in Harbinger Wars. I'm really curious to learn more about Torque and glad he didn't get knocked off. The guy is a seething mass of insecurity and is sure to have all kinds of issues to explore. Flamingo as well.

I don't think Flamingo is as insecure as she seems. Torque on the other hand... somewhere under that hot mess and a sweet guy. Someday we'll see that.

Thanks again for being here, hope this didn't come across wrong.

Not all! Thanks for posting!

[Joshua Dysart]

what's Torque's playlist?

I'm working on it! Don't think I don't recognize your avatar image! But not sure if Mastodon will make the cut

[Joshua Dysart]

Does Torque's psiot shell emit the smell of Axe body spray?

And if so is that because that's how he imagines himself smelling?

Brilliant! And now I can't use that! Great idea... lost forever

[Joshua Dysart]

Hi! Just wanted to lead off with that I work at a comic shop in Jersey, and thru them, I got to enjoy your work Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril and your sun on Swamp Thing. I loved them. I love your work at Valiant and hope you continue to write there for a long time to come. I keep pushing all the Valiant titles to customers and I hope they enjoy your work and the rest of the Valiant Teams as much as i do.

Thanks, man!! I'm really proud of "Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril" I wish more people would read that. Thank's for all the support over the years!

[Joshua Dysart]

So many questions about Torque's powers. Does his shell sweat? It can be injured we've seen. If it's injured and he drops the shell and then reforms it is it healed? Etc, etc, etc...

All will be revealed, but it is a psychic manifestation of his own absurdist idea of masculinity. If it takes damage it has more to do with how he feels than how he actually looks. It's a strong impression though. Even when he's knocked unconscious he stays intact.

[Joshua Dysart]

Okay, is Faith actually a "low level telepath",

Yes.

Oh, and just read the preview for Archer & Armstrong 10, where they too are at a secret PRS base in Nevada.... crossover with HW? Would be EPIC!

No comment.

[Joshua Dysart]

Mr. Dysart,
Today is my birthday. I'm a medium-to-large Valiant supporter. Can you ask someone to send me some very erotic Flamingo art as a present?

Waiting for pictures of lawn ornaments,
Jeff

Ha! You assume I have more power than I do.

[Joshua Dysart]

Who is an artist that you'd like to work with?

People I've already worked with before but would like to work with again? Or people I've never worked with?

There's too many to mention in both camps. Right now I'd love to have Amy Reeder do some interior work with me. I LOVE her Harbinger 12 cover.

[KXXX]

Mr. Dysart,
Today is my birthday. I'm a medium-to-large Valiant supporter. Can you ask someone to send me some very erotic Flamingo art as a present?

Waiting for pictures of lawn ornaments,
Jeff

Ha! You assume I have more power than I do.

I'd be willing to settle for a Polaroid of you in a red wig wearing nothing but a smile at this point.

[Burrito Boy]

"My eyes! The goggles do nothing."

[lorddunlow]

Mr. Dysart,
Today is my birthday. I'm a medium-to-large Valiant supporter. Can you ask someone to send me some very erotic Flamingo art as a present?

Waiting for pictures of lawn ornaments,
Jeff

Ha! You assume I have more power than I do.

I'd be willing to settle for a Polaroid of you in a red wig wearing nothing but a smile at this point.

... and you beat me to a tongue-in-cheek comment on this.

Who is an artist that you'd like to work with?

People I've already worked with before but would like to work with again? Or people I've never worked with?

There's too many to mention in both camps. Right now I'd love to have Amy Reeder do some interior work with me. I LOVE her Harbinger 12 cover.

We actually had this discussion in another thread and Amy got a lot of votes. I say the deal is done. We just let Dino know the plan and it will happen, right? We got you on board with it, we got the VF.com members on board. I say all decisions be made this way from now on.

[MoonChild]

Josh, do you have any say in which cover is which with Harby? Like do you chose the regular cover variant etc? If not how do they get chosen, is it a democratic thing in the office over there? I felt the 1:20 variant of Harby 1 should have been the regular cover. It's just so iconic and pays tribute to the original. No matter, you guys usually chose well with this!

[hawkeyeps]

Does Torque's psiot shell emit the smell of Axe body spray?

And if so is that because that's how he imagines himself smelling?

Brilliant! And now I can't use that! Great idea... lost forever

Not an idea, just a question.

If it gave you an idea that is another thing entirely

[Mandrakk]

All will be revealed, but it is a psychic manifestation of his own absurdist idea of masculinity. If it takes damage it has more to do with how he feels than how he actually looks. It's a strong impression though. Even when he's knocked unconscious he stays intact.

More to do about how he feels and you also describe it as an impression...Interesting,would that mean that if he somehow believes that something has no effect on him(well on his thoughtform anyhow) he would be totally unharmed and thus potentially impervious to any kind of damage ? Or for that matter could he be damaged by merely be made to believe he is ? Also do Torque's,Animalia's,Titan's and Shadow's powers have common roots in their funtionning ?
Also another more general question about Psiots:do all of them have potential for basic telepathy if they train accordingly ? And one last question:Will the Renegades meet Archer and by extention the Immortal brothers before Unity ?

Ah,and just for the record Harbinger War #2 was awesome,loved the Harada Protocols thing and I also find the Generation Zero's kids' reaction to the outside world interesting.

[jmatt]

Just read HW #2. Tell Dino I said you deserve a raise. I don't care what they're paying you, it's not enough.

[mkb28]

Hello Josh:

As all the others before me have stated, I am a big fan of your work and I look forward to each issue that you write. I live in Kansas City and while at Planet ComiCon, someone was handing out flyers stating you will be one of the guest writers at the St. Louis convention in September. Is that still your plan to be there? I would look forward to meeting you at the show.

Thanks and keep up the great work!

Michael
Mkb28

[lorddunlow]

Did you come up with all the psiot powers in the Harbinger Wars crossover books, or did other people have input?

[erwinrafael]

Anyway, as to my comment on the Watchmen-like transitions,

1. The use of parallel visuals in scene to scene transitions:


2. The ironic voiceover / narrator

Love this post! Yeah, the truth is that Alan Moore is a huge, huge influence on me. But really, on the whole industry. The things you point out above are now just part of the craft of making a good comic book. They are understood industry-side to be important techniques at our disposal. If you're not using parallel scene transitions and juxtaposed captions then you're simply not utilizing the artform to its fullest extent.

Joshua loves my post. *tear of joy rolls down the left eye...* Now I am gonna go read me some Hawkeye (I did read your Harbinger Wars first )

[Joshua Dysart]

Mr. Dysart,
Today is my birthday. I'm a medium-to-large Valiant supporter. Can you ask someone to send me some very erotic Flamingo art as a present?

Waiting for pictures of lawn ornaments,
Jeff

Ha! You assume I have more power than I do.

I'd be willing to settle for a Polaroid of you in a red wig wearing nothing but a smile at this point.

Ha! Well, I don't have a red wig. Otherwise, you know...

no...

[R Daneel]

Joshua, thanks for everything you are doing with the Valiant universe. Really enjoying it!

RD