Valiant Entertainment 2015
Written by Joshua Dysart
Penciled by Scot Eaton
Inked by Wayne Faucher
Coloured by Brian Reber
During the escape from Leviathan, Harada encountered the inexplicable--a momentary vision of Divinity, the Soviet Cosmonaut who returned from decades in deep space imbued with god-like power. Unsure what he had seen, Harada and his team battled onward...until an uncontrolled burst of Harada’s power blew a massive breach in the hull of the submarine…
First i have to express something and that’s I’ve never wanted the death of a character more than I do that of Toyo Harada. Thanks to Joshua’s ability in characterization, plot advancement and storytelling I’ve come to absolutely loathe his man and his vision for a perfect world. How he sees himself as a god and how everyone else on this planet is nothing more than a servant for him to use as he likes make me sick to my stomach. I’m sure that villains throughout the various companies publishing today have wanted their biggest villain to be a man such as this, Lex Luthor almost made it to this level but that was never realized the way Joshua has done it here.
The fact that his characterization and personality are so prominently on display for us to see and unashamedly so makes it easy to really hate this man. Harada wants what he wants and he’ll get hell or high water be damned and you’d think we’d admire this kind of determination but instead it’s so ominous and scary to see him desire this kind of power and his arrogance to think he can control a being like Divinity makes it all the worse. Even with Divinity using it’s power to distract and try to teach Harada a lesson in humility and overreaching failing each and every time reinforces just how despicable and horrific this man is and what he is willing to do to achieve his own god like dreams.
So with all that you may wonder why read this book? If you hate the character that much stop reading it but it’s not that simple. Joshua has created other characters here as well who are just as compelling and interesting and then he’s also managed to plant this seed that perhaps he is fallible and he’ll fall down at some point and you want to be around to see that happen. So while he could be the most despised man alive, whose dream although noble has been twisted by his own mind and ambitions is still someone you need to follow to see if he ever changes who he is. Though the likelihood of that happening is slim to none we still come back to see.
Scot, Wayne and Brian are another major reason to stick around as well. The fact that they’ve been able to demonstrate through pictures the way Harada sees himself and projects that image to others versus what he truly looks like is a powerful thing. No one would fear him if he looked his age so the arrogance and illusion he projects to keep folks fearing him is aptly demonstrated here. Plus what they manage to convey with each scenario we see Harada in, the people, the future he envisions and the use of his powers all of it combines to make this so much more of a standout series.
Unlike any other series on the stands today this is an in-depth look at what we’d call a madman’s vision for the world he lives in and it’s expertly done.