Review: Harbinger Vol. 2- Renegades

Quick Summary

Pros: This is a nice improvement in the series overall. By the end of this volume, the story and characters seem to have hit a pretty nice groove.

Cons: The beginning is still a little rough in terms of story and characters. The art can also be a little bit weird at points, especially in the first issue.

Overall: This volume starts in a similar way that the last one left off, lackluster. However, by the end of it, the story really improves and becomes much better than before. It ends in a place where the reader can start to enjoy the characters and their struggle, and also gets the reader excited for what is to come. Overall, this volume starts on off a little rough but gets better and better as the story progresses, finally ending in a way that bodes very well for Volume 3.

Story

The first volume of Harbinger was alright, not bad but also not that good, and Harbinger Vol. 2: Renegades starts in a similar manner. However, as the story progresses, many of the books faults are turned back around and examined. This means that some of the book’s more frustrating points actually become a plot point themselves. For example one of the book’s big problems is how unlikeable the main characters are, the book ends with an examination of this and calls into question their worthiness as heroes. All in all, the ending to this book turns things around big time and may end up turning this series into a far more enjoyable read.

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One problem I struggled with while reading this book was just how unlikeable the characters are. In our review of Volume 1, we talked about how unlikeable Peter is, now this volume starts out by trying to make the other characters just as bad. It makes Kris into a bossy know-it-all who is rude to everyone they meet and portrays the new characters as people who start killing or attacking others as soon as they get their powers. If the bad guys weren’t worse then it would make it extremely hard to root for these heroes. However, some of this hatred for the main characters is subverted by two things, a possible storyline and Faith.

The book’s saving grace comes near its conclusion, where it finally takes a moment to look at some of the heroes and admit that they are jerks. It seems as if the story has shifted from one where it encouraged readers to root for its brash, reckless hero to one where it encourages readers to pity him and see him as a character capable of change and growth. This is a much better direction and one that adds a new layer of depth to the story. Already it is making Peter much more likable, hopefully next it will spread to Kris. Then, if this leads to a much more self-reflection and discovery for the heroes, this story is on the right tracks.

The second of this story’s biggest highlights has to be Faith. While every other character in this finds some way to be annoying or unlikable, Faith is consistently positive and charming. She is a joy to read on every page she is on, and she also brings some wonderful character development to the story. Seeing her come to grips with her powers and her new identity as a hero might be even more interesting than seeing Peter do the same. I understand if the purpose of the story was to show that this band of misfits has a lot of growing up to do, but providing Faith’s character along the way makes it much easier to deal with the characters while they are still a little annoying to read. Overall, Faith was an absolute necessity in this story and will hopefully be featured a lot more throughout this series.

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Art

The art throughout this volume is relatively good. It is pretty constant with the style established in Volume 1 so make sure to read ComicBookWire’s review of Volume 1 to see an overview of that.

The only problem with the art in this volume is in the first issue. The art is a little off throughout that issue but is especially evident in Peter’s face. I understand that he is supposed to be depicted as being very worn out but this art leaves him looking like an entirely different person. However, this is a very small problem and is relatively contained to this issue.

Continuity

So far, this series does not make any connections to any other works in the Valiant Universe. It does continue the story started in Harbinger Vol. 1: Omega Rising (Review) and will continue the story in Harbinger Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars.