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A review by carroq
Harbinger Wars Volume 1 by Joshua Dysart, Duane Swierczynski
4.0
This is the fourth book from the Comic Bento June 2016 box. Harbinger Wars is a crossover event from Valiant and it is packed. I haven't read the tie in books, of which there are only two. This one holds up pretty well on its own though.
It can be a bit complex though. There is an organization that was keeping children with powers, a rival group recruits a mercenary to break them out, the mercenary wants to protect the children, and a team of powered heroes gets involved. Each of these stories tied together pretty well, but there are a ton of characters and they can be difficult to keep track of. I think it helped that I've read some other books featuring these characters so I have an idea of how they fit together. A new reader might feel lost though.
The story is presented in a frame, where a character from one of the groups is being debriefed by the US government. His narration gives an overview of the events and then the book shifts into the past to get into the meat of the story. Sometimes this type of storytelling can bug me, but I liked it for this book. One thing that helped is the use of different art styles depending on whether it is the present or the past. And the art is good. It can be pretty gruesome at times, but the images bring the story to life.
It can be a bit complex though. There is an organization that was keeping children with powers, a rival group recruits a mercenary to break them out, the mercenary wants to protect the children, and a team of powered heroes gets involved. Each of these stories tied together pretty well, but there are a ton of characters and they can be difficult to keep track of. I think it helped that I've read some other books featuring these characters so I have an idea of how they fit together. A new reader might feel lost though.
The story is presented in a frame, where a character from one of the groups is being debriefed by the US government. His narration gives an overview of the events and then the book shifts into the past to get into the meat of the story. Sometimes this type of storytelling can bug me, but I liked it for this book. One thing that helped is the use of different art styles depending on whether it is the present or the past. And the art is good. It can be pretty gruesome at times, but the images bring the story to life.