Valiant Entertainment 2016
Written by Rafer Roberts
Penciled by Darick Robertson
Inked by Richard Clark
Coloured by Diego Rodriguez
Lettered by Dave Lanphear
Prologue Artists Juan Jose Ryp
Prologue Colourist Frankie D’Armata
After a series of brutal confrontations, The Renegades managed to hack into and leak all of Harada’s secret files to the world. The files included the names of seemingly every known potential psiot on Earth and how to build the technology to activate them. Dozens of kids have learned that they may have latent super-human abilities. The Rene-Today, all across the country, crude, DIY psiot activation attempts have left many brain-damaged...or worse. The emergence of a new psiot in a community often leads to violence. The world needs the Renegades now more than ever.
Well I have to say that I like the fact that Rafer is delving into the history of Harada and those that worked for him, tying that into the Renegades and in the search for kids to create a new army of psiot soldiers. It all ties into the first run extremely well and that he’s moving everything forward while remaining true to the original premise is as exciting now as it was when it first came back.
Alexander Solomon is a great character already. From seeing his position and treatment by Harada it’s no wonder he’s doing what he is. Though I must confess I hadn’t inferred this approach as his kind of thinking so that he’s as dangerous a human as there is well yeah i’m totally okay and on board with this. That he meets with the Monk and doesn’t like what he hears makes me think he’s more dangerous than originally perceived thanks to his state of mind.
Peter’s self imposed exile is explained here well for the most part and I’m okay with that too. Actually I do hope that when he does get back he’s a different person but time will tell. Between his own anxieties and the pressure of his teammates it’ll be interesting to see how Rafer decides to portray him initially and in the long run.
Kris’ own inner struggle with how she’s coping, really pot well could be worse I suppose, with what she feels responsible for yeah that’s some darn good characterisation as well. Actually I think that we aren’t seeing the team reform so quickly because they all have those fears of being together, they’d have to actually face their past, would mean is great. It’s going to take time, circumstances and a coming of age, of sorts, for them to come back together and then the real challenge begins of learning to work and trust each other has to happen.
Darick’s interiors here are phenomenal to see. He’s such a talented artist and illustrator and his attention to detail always amazes me. His use of page layouts through angles, perspective and how he utilises backgrounds are things of pure joy. Diego colours him extremely well here too and together they make this what it really is.
Harbinger is back and better than ever! With stellar writing and interiors i’m ready to see this creative team take the kids to new heights!