The cracks are beginning to show in Toyo Harada’s armor and Peter and the Renegades get one step closer to learning the truth behind their psionic prison in Harbinger #18. This pressure cooker is about to blow!

Official Description from VALIANT:
Scattered across their own mental landscapes, each one of the remaining Renegades must quest to unite with the others or be lost forever inside themselves. It will take courage, strength, imagination and an unwavering belief in one another if they’re going to discover the dark truth behind their Perfect Day.

Peter has been conspicuously absent in the past few issues of Harbinger as Harada is directly handling the psionic construct meant to keep him under control. Harbinger #18 kicks off with our first trip into Peter’s mind and it’s polar opposite of what the Renegades are experiencing in their collective adventure in Torquehalla. Writer Joshua Dysart gives us a very different vision for Peter and one of a calming and happy childhood with his parents and the return of his best friend Joe. The only person to cross from both the Renegades and Peter’s visions is Kris and it’s lighthearted, flirtatious, and even references panels from back in issue #1 which was a nice touch for longtime readers.

Dysart also gives us a behind the scenes typical day for Harada and even throws in a panel about Unity #1 in which he his a major player. But Harada is running on fumes which can only mean danger as he teeters on the eruption of a mind-squall. Harada is the ultimate control freak and energizer bunny rolled in one but even the most dedicated have their limits and Dysart is exposing his. It’s then a free for all as we go back inside with the Renegades. Faith is the only one who can see the forest for the trees and she is running out of time to expose the truth. Dysart places Faith front and center as the rational and most emotionally stable member of the team and she’s a great choice for a leader in Peter’s absence.

Barry Kitson, with some touches from Riley Rossmo, works with some excellent choices in style with his contrast between Peter’s mind and what the Renegades are experiencing. Peter’s is done in a style of a Sunday morning comic strip with newsprint texturing while the Renegades is all modern day action and outlandish costumes form Torque’s heavy metal mind. Ian Hannin’s colors do wonders especially in Peter’s scenario all done in primary colors and warm muted tones. Michael Walsh’s cover is the best cover on comic shelves this week. Simple yet striking with the bleeding monk feeding Peter’s mind and simply great stuff.

Dysart is building to a cataclysmic climax in Harbinger #18 and everyone in play is in danger and vulnerable. This has been the most dynamic Harbinger in some time with the various styles and mental gymnastics we must go through but it is crafted so well you help but enjoy the craziness. By the end the fuse on this bomb is near it’s end and I can only imagine the destruction and changes that will come out of it. This isn’t your typical physic powers comic or characters, nor should it be, because it is so much better than similar books and gets my highest rating for satisfaction and excitement in comics.

4/5