Review: Harbinger Vol. 1- Omega Rising

Quick Summary

Pros: The concept here is very interesting and could be developed into something really cool in the future. It also sets up some interesting storylines for the future.

Cons: The book features a lot of very predictable moments and a lot of overused tropes. It also stars a main character who, so far, has been very unlikable.

Overall: This book features a very intriguing concept that could eventually evolve into something very interesting. However, this first volume was a little underwhelming and predictable. Not to say that it was bad, it was just very average.

Story

There is a lot going on in this volume and, while a good amount of it is great, some of it is definitely not. Basically, the core story and the concept it presents is very good and could be something worthwhile. This includes the entire concept around the Harbinger foundation and the development of these special abilities. However the way this story is written simply does not allow these things to shine as well as they could. This book is a little bit of a mixed bag that can, hopefully, manage to fix itself in future volumes.

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Things like the Harbinger foundation, the mystery behind Harada and the Bleeding Monk, and the concept of an Omega Harbinger are all things that keep this book full of intrigue and suspense. They are extremely interesting concepts and seem like they could play a huge role in a very interesting storyline. They also keep the reader in a constant state of excitement as the mystery slowly begins to unravel on each page. I personally found them to all be very interesting and I finished the book dying to read the next one because I wanted to know how everything is going to play out. This is the books major triumph and would have been what made this book great, were it not hampered down by other problems.

The problems with this book are chiefly how predictable it can be throughout and how it ends up succumbing to many commonly used tropes. It introduces a large and somewhat shady cult type organization and expects the reader to not immediately realize that it is evil and untrustworthy. It also features a broody, young, main character who ends up being a better person than all of the adults. Both of these have been so heavily features in fiction, specifically young adult fiction, that they feel very worn out in this work. All in all, these things add up to a book that feels like something everyone has seen before, which is unfortunate considering how unique of a concept lies at the core.

Some of these failings would be forgivable if it wasn’t for the fact that the main character, thus far, is extremely unlikable. Throughout this book we see him completely obliterate someone’s mind, launch unprovoked attacks on teachers, and even go so far as to actually rape someone using his powers. Some of this is forgivable based on the horrible circumstances of his life, but some of it absolutely is not. Knowing all of this does hamper the reading experience some as it makes it much harder to connect with the hero. He does appear to be trying to change by the end however, as it seems like he shows some real caring for others. However he is still a long way to go from being someone the reader can really cheer for.

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Art

The art here is unambiguously good and is something that definitely helps this reading experience. It features a relatively realistic style that can be seen in many other Valiant works. However, this series stands out a little bit in that the art is a little better able to reflect exactly what is going on in the story.

The way this art reflects the story is something this book should be very proud of. The art is relatively the same throughout but then will switch tone in order to reflect a flashback or to tell what is going on somewhere else. When this happens it enhances the reading experience as the reader is much more easily able to see that this event happens in the past or that this event happens in some sort of mindscape. I thought these artistic shifts were a wonderful idea as they certainly impacted how much I enjoyed reading.

Continuity

This is the first volume of this title in the new Valiant Comics continuity, thus it does not make any connections to any other works as of yet. The story started here will be continued in Harbinger Vol. 2: Renegades.