Valiant Entertainment 2015
Written by Joshua Dysart
Illustrated by Doug Braithwaite
Coloured by Brian Reber & Ulises Arreola
Oh my stars and garters just when you think things can’t any better or worse with Harada along comes this issue and it’s only number three. Joshua has gone and really showcased just the kind of man who Harada is and what he’s capable of. With Sunlight on Snow being the main focus of this story that doesn’t mean that we don’t get a continuation with the other characters because there is dynamic characterization going on here.
I’m really just incredibly in awe of this issue and what Joshua is doing here. Gravedog has done the unthinkable and tried to defect to Harada but not for the obvious reasons. He and Sunlight on Snow come back to Harada’s now occupied portion of Somalia and the hijacked supercarrier USS George HW Bush. He’s greeted with less respect than he thinks he deserves and the kids, though while kids are deadly, call him psiot killer they take him to a cell where he’ll wait for Harada.
The real meat of this story happens in what unfolds between Sunlight on Snow and Harada and the experiment they are performing. This is pretty darn intense and could possibly be something to really keep an eye on as these two characters are defined for the reader. Harada is a villain pure and simple he’s been one since the beginning and yet while he believes that he’s in the right and his solution is the only viable one he’s so wrapped in his own greatness he refuses to see things as they really are. His growing relationship with Sunlight on Snow, whom he refuses to acknowledge the name change, is going to be something pivotal to how things progress here.
Their pet project together well that was completely unexpected and I’ve got to admit why would a man who professes peace and harmony and making the world a better place need something like this? Must he destroy to rebuild in his image, eliminate all opposition standing in his way before he can make the world kneel before him? Sounds more like a mad despot to me but we’ll see what direction this all goes but the path they are on isn’t exactly paved with gold, pyrite maybe but not gold.
Gravedog and Harada’s meeting however goes pretty much the way you would expect. His arrogance really knows no bounds. I can understand how Gravedog wishes to be free of his leash and want to live a life that is his to control but he’s figuratively went from the frying pan to the fire and back again here. What he’s been put through at Harada’s hands is unconscionable really but he has his reasons i’m sure.
Whatever groundwork Valiant is laying down for their books is happening here in a major way and this is the kind of storytelling that cannot be missed!
Doug, Brian and Ulises make this as visually interesting, menacing and enlightening as Joshua does with his words. Everything here has it’s place, the panels are utilized incredibly well and the transitions from whose talking to highlighting what they feel are done superbly. Plus our look at the science experiment well it’s truly horrifying and showcases imagination that is meant to evoke so many feelings.
The future is bright and the Valiant will lead the way.