Growing up, when Valiant Comics were at their peak, everyone was all about their main titles like “Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom,” “Turok: Dinosaur Hunter,” and “X-O Manowar.” With good reason – those books were big sellers with pretty big creative teams.
For me though, I was all about “Harbinger,” a book from Jim Shooter and David Lapham that was sort of like the X-Men mixed with the Runaways (or, basically the plot of “Gen13). It was awesome, and now it’s coming back June 6 in the hands of two big time creators in writer Joshua Dysart (“Unknown Soldier”) and Khari Evans (“Immortal Iron Fist”).
It’s an exciting prospect, as it seems to be rebooting the world with two of the main characters from the previous iteration in Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada. Here’s hoping they can build off that foundation into an equally awesome book for this generation of comic fans.
Click through the jump to read the press release and check out four pages of the first issue.
VALIANT Heralds HARBINGER with NYT Bestselling Author JOSHUA DYSART & KHARI EVANS
READ MINDS. BEND STEEL. BREAK ALL THE RULES. First came X-O Manowar. Now another legend of the Valiant Universe returns this June 6 in the all-new Harbinger #1 — the first issue of a new ongoing series from New York Times best-selling author Joshua Dysart (Unknown Soldier, BPRD) and Harvey Award nominee Khari Evans (Carbon Grey, Immortal Iron Fist)!
Skipping across America in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the authorities, Peter Stanchek is learning that he’s much more than an out-of-work and on-the-run teenager; he is in fact a psionically-powered “harbinger” with the potential to change the course of human history. Now, respected philanthropist and fellow psionic Toyo Harada has come to guide Peter out of harm’s way and teach his new pupil what it truly means to wield power. But Harada isn’t as charitable as he might seem — and the repercussions of these two superhuman harbingers coming face to face might shatter the very planet he hopes to save.
“The idea of really getting a chance to dig in and build an epic mythology populated by a fully-realized cast of characters, all centered around Jim Shooter and David Lapham’s original premise, is super-exhilarating to me,” said Dysart. “I’ve been looking for a book to write that could be dark, weird, trippy, fun, real, unreal, violent and thematically ambitious. All the things I look for in fantastic fiction myself. Harbinger is that book, so I’m pretty damn excited about it.”
Added Evans: “From page one, this has book has been a total blast. It’s a story that begins with Harada and Peter, but soon escalates to include so much more. Working with this cast has been a lot of fun.”
One of the founding titles of the original Valiant Universe, the first Harbinger series was one of the most critically acclaimed super-hero titles of the 1990s and spawned one of first fanatical followings of the modern age of comics. Now, at the hands of the Eisner Award-nominated author behind Unknown Soldier and the fan favorite penciller of Carbon Grey, Harbinger is receiving an unflinching modern update.
“Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada come from diametrically opposite places in this world. Peter’s a broke, disillusioned 18-year-old who sees the American Dream as nothing more than a fiction from another time. Toyo Harada is a self-made billionaire who’s watched the promise of the baby boomers disintegrate into self-interest. These two are inexorably linked by their extraordinary powers, but just because they share a bond doesn’t mean they share an ideology,” said Valiant Executive Editor Warren Simons. “Their eventual collision is unavoidable.”
The generation with nothing to lose is about take on the man who has everything — and no one will escape unscathed. The war for the future of the Valiant Universe begins here this June, only in Harbinger #1!
Visit ValiantUniverse.com for full details on this issue’s Pullbox Exclusive Variant!
HARBINGER #1 — ON SALE JUNE 6!
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by MICO SUAYAN
Variant Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
QR Voice Variant by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
