Harbinger Wars 2: Prelude #1
Written by ERIC HEISSERER
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN with PATRICIA MARTÍN
So I missed some Valiant books over the past few months, and unfortunately Secret Weapons was one of them. This issue seems pretty much directed at the readers of that book, while referencing the "Rook Massacre" from Harbinger Renegade #5.Though it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book it did make me feel like I was out of the loop with some things, mainly the characters in the book. Only Livewire the psiot who controls technology and is a mainstay of the Valiant Universe was familiar to me. With that said I am sure there were quite a few people that wanted to use this book as a jumping on point.
The story was a little light in this one, but that was expcected with this being a Preluede issue. I had no expectations that we would get a huge part of the coming Harbinger Wars II story line. With that said most of the action takes place with the characters I wasn't invested in, with Livewire spending most of the issue sitting in a room. I did enjoy the book for what it was, something to get you hyped for the coming event book. I am sure after I go back and read Secret Weapons, I might be a little more thrilled with this one. I loved the parts of the book that featured Livewire and the book really highlighted why she's such a good character. She's got a mystique about her, with her powers clearly on display in a huge way, not to spoil any of the story but it was awesome.
The art style isn't really my favourite type. I find it a little too cartoony and I don't feel that it works with what is going to be a really mature story. It reminds me of David Aja's work on Hawkeye, which I thoughly enjoy, but again wrong setting. That being said I really enjoyed the opening few pages featuring Livewire walking down a city street and she is hearing everything, emails, phone calls, etc everyone's communication, until she enters a coffee shop that is wireless. I loved this because it was basically an homage to the opening of the first issue of the modern Harbinger series, where an overwhelmed Pete Stanchek hears everyone's thoughts around him. Loved it.
Other than the great Livewire stuff, the issue left me kind of cold. The art was good but really didnt do it for me with the destination of the story, and the book itself was lacking any major developments other then one thing, admittedly it was a pretty major thing. It really wasn't enough to make me want to run out and buy it, but it was a nice intro into the coming event. An okay issue but we are onto bigger and better things!
A Look Inside
