Valiant Entertainment has announced that supervillain Toyo Harada, one of the most powerful “psiots” in the Valiant Universe, is getting a six-issue miniseries from writer Joshua Dysart and a collection of artists next year. Sequences set in the present will be drawn by CAFU (Carlos Alberto Fernandez Urbano), and there will be flashbacks drawn by Lewis LaRosa, Adam Pollina, Mico Suayan, and more. Covers will be done by Butch Guice with Diego Rodriguez.
Rodriguez
“The Life and Death of Toyo Harada” will follow Harada as he wages war against many of the world’s governments, while also exploring his origins. Valiant editor-in-chief Warren Simons promoted the story saying, “He’s a socialist with a cause. He’s going to bring peace to humanity by any means necessary other than war.” The miniseries is a direct follow up to Dysart’s time on “Harbinger” and “Imperium,” but will also be accessible to new readers. “To the uninitiated reader, it’ll come off as sort of a maximalist epic, complete with global politics and huge doses of character-driven pulp sci-fi,” Dysart says, “In a way, it’s the culmination of my entire time at Valiant Entertainment.”
The miniseries looks to make Harada even more of a compelling and sympathetic character in the universe. Dysart was heavily influenced by his travels to crisis zones around the globe saying, “Since writing him, I’ve engaged more with the geopolitical landscape.” Those experiences will now guide Harada’s story on a personal level for Dysart, “I move him to action in a way I could never do myself. I might believe in something, but I’ve never found an idea worth killing for. Harada doesn’t have that problem. He’s my bleakest angel, my own inner dictator. And when I’m writing him at his most honest, or maybe my most honest, I can’t really say he’s wrong.”
Head over to Vulture to see the full announcement and some preview pages from CAFU and Mico Suayan.
