Harbinger #8 discussion

[myron]

I wouldn't mind seeing Pete and Kris end up together romantically (and of her own free will), but not this soon and not until the current plot is settled first. And all this talk about killing characters off this early seems crazy to me, they're finally putting the team together and already people are talking about killing off team members? I understand they my have done this in the original books, but these aren't the original books and folks should chillax a bit on killing the team members.

IMO I think it's a by product of newer books (Invicible, TWD, Chew, et.al.) killing characters off relatively quickly...it happens a lot more now than it used to...not necessarily because it happened in an earlier incarnation of Valiant books

[FormerReader]

I wouldn't mind seeing Pete and Kris end up together romantically (and of her own free will), but not this soon and not until the current plot is settled first. And all this talk about killing characters off this early seems crazy to me, they're finally putting the team together and already people are talking about killing off team members? I understand they my have done this in the original books, but these aren't the original books and folks should chillax a bit on killing the team members.

When are they going to kill Pete?

[lorddunlow]

As far as killing off characters go, I am a fan of the practice when used appropriately. Most of the scif-fi tropes involve the predictability of the good guys always winning. The whole "red shirt" concept in Star Trek is an example. You always knew who was going to die on an away mission: the red shirt that was not a main character. You knew Kirk, Bones, Spock, etc. were going to make it out alive by some amazing (or not so amazing) plot device. It's too predictable.

It's very refreshing reading TWD (I stalled out in the 50s) because I'm very invested in the characters, and I know in ANY issue, ANYONE can be killed for good. That makes it a very compelling book. I literally stopped reading for a while out of disgust with what happened in issue #50 - I was actually sick to my stomach because of the emotional impact the events had. I've never had that with a comic book. Only rarely with prose; it's visceral thing that is played out more easily in a movie (i.e. Life is Beautiful - I can't watch that movie without balling like a baby; even worse now that I have a son).

If the Harbinger crew becomes a team that always manages to come out okay with no lasting repercussions, then the book will become stale, in my opinion.

[manga4life]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about a random death here and there but I'd kind of like to become attached to the characters a bit more first before we start unloading the machine gun on them. I'd say that they could, and maybe even should, kill off a team member around issue #20-25 or so after doing some kind of an emotional story surrounding that member. I wouldn't want it to be one of the core group but they could do something with Torque or whoever else they pick up along the way, that would be fine by me.

[jmatt]

As far as killing off characters go, I am a fan of the practice when used appropriately.

... It's very refreshing reading TWD (I stalled out in the 50s) because I'm very invested in the characters, and I know in ANY issue, ANYONE can be killed for good. That makes it a very compelling book. I literally stopped reading for a while out of disgust with what happened in issue #50 - I was actually sick to my stomach because of the emotional impact the events had.

If the Harbinger crew becomes a team that always manages to come out okay with no lasting repercussions, then the book will become stale, in my opinion.

I know the feeling. How many times have I read a 300 page novel and had the author kill a favorite character at page 225; you're in such shock that you go back and reread the last 3 pages to make sure you really read it correctly.

And not having read TWD but being a fan of the show, I'd have to say it's easier for them to get away with it because there's such a large ensemble cast.

But I'm not sure how well it works in comics. I was p!ssed to high heaven when they killed Shanhara. And when one Rai after another was written out. But the death of Torque worked, and while the death of Superstar didn't bother me much, it did kinda surprise me. It's a delicate balance.

[FormerReader]

And when a cool Rai was killed and replaced with a crappy Rai.

Fixed it for you.

I'm okay with them killing off characters if it improves the story. If the end result is the title is renamed "the future force" it is not a good thing.

[Spylocke]

Takao Konishi wasn't so bad he was just more of a generic super hero than Tohru was.

As for killing off characters I'm for it as long as it has an actual impact. Seeing Torque die in the first series was like watching a redshirt getting killed in a Star Trek teaser. If a character dies it has more meaning if that character is fleshed out. That's why I hope we get some likable eggbreakers (hopefully with a cooler name, though) so if any get killed it will add some drama and moral ambiguity to things.

Not that I hope any of our renegades die any time soon. I'd like to get to know them a little better first.

[jmatt]

Takao Konishi wasn't so bad he was just more of a generic super hero than Tohru was.

If a character dies it has more meaning if that character is fleshed out.

+1 on both counts.

[MoonChild]

Really Loved this issue! The art was the best yet in a Harby Title A+! Torque intro was just so damn dope I cant believe it! Great, Great Issue, Dysart continues to amaze me.