Harbinger Files 1 and 2

Harbinger Files #1 and 2
Valiant comics

This was a 2 issue limited series that Valiant published in 1994 and 1995. It was a way to give more background information on two characters from the Harbinger series.

Issue #1 starts off right after issue #3 of Solar. Harada and Solar are in a jumbo jet. The jet ends up crashing out in a heavily wooded snowy area. And Harada is the only survivor. He is found by a man that lives in the woods. And this guy brings Harada back to his cabin and starts nursing him back to health. While this is happening Harada tells the guy his life story. We find out how Harada became the president of the Harbinger Foundation. Well near the end of the comic Harada sees that a helicopter is coming to get him. So he kills the man that has been taking care of him. This issue is written by Fred Pierce and Bob Layton. And Dave Cockrum does the pencils with Gonzalo Mayo doing the inking work. The art work doesn't look much like the work Cockrum did on the X-men. And if I hadn't read his name on the first page I would have never been able to tell he was the penciler. Over all this was a fun and informative comic. Harbinger Files #1 gets a B+.

Issue #2 is all about a new character who is named The Harbinger. We get to see him being trained by Harada and the Harbinger Foundation. But you can sense that The Harbinger wants to rebel against Harada. All through the issue we are given small clues to the identity of The Harbinger. Now I read this issue way after I had read the entire run of The Visitor. And in that series The Harbinger's true identity is revealed. And I bet if you read this issue after reading the first 25 issues of the Harbinger comic,you should have no trouble guessing who The Harbinger is. The story is written by Jesse Berdinka and Fred Pierce. The pencils are by John Ross and the inks are by  Mike DeCarlo. Now compared to the first issue ,this one is severely lacking. I have never really cared for The Harbinger character. And this issue didn't make me care for him. Harbinger Files #2 gets a C-.