After being delayed for over a year, fan-favorite character Peter Stanchek is returning to the Valiant Universe. The Harbinger #1 is co-written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, with art from Robbi Rodriguez, colors from Rico Renzi, and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Due out Oct. 27, the relaunch of Harbinger is set in a dystopian Chicago and will explore big themes like redemption and rebirth. In The Harbinger #1, Peter awakens to realize he has no idea who he is. But, he maintains all of his telepathic Psiot abilities. Soon, Peter finds himself amongst suppressed Psiot super-powered teens, which sets the stage for his larger journey.
CBR spoke with the self-titled Hivemind of Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly about their take on The Harbinger. The co-writers discussed how they're approaching the Valiant Universe and shared how the book is perfect for new readers to really dig into who Harbinger is.
CBR: What drew you to Harbinger over other characters in the Valiant Universe?
Jackson Lanzing: With any Hivemind story, it all starts from character.
Is there a relatable human story at the center of whatever wild weirdness we’re looking to put together? And Harbinger is the definition of "relatable and human." For nearly thirty years, Harbinger has been a story about young people from poverty who are fighting to understand their heroism, while dealing with the very real problems that come from trying to take responsibility for yourself and others. For the guys who wrote Joyride, Hacktivist, Kang The Conqueror, and Dark One, that sounds like a story that sits directly in our wheelhouse -- and the truth is, we’ve been fans for years. It was my first exposure to the Valiant Universe in both its original and renewed incarnations -- and Joshua Dysart’s take on Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada were ones that burrowed deep into my brain like the best comics characters. These are people who live on the verge of mythic… But at the end of the day, they're really just broken people trying to feel a little less alone. That felt like a wonderful evolution of what Collin and I do together and we relished the opportunity to take Peter and the Psiot community into a new era.
Collin Kelly: The other thing we always look for is an opportunity to stretch our collective voice and style -- to push each other past our comfort zone and into something new. The Harbinger offered that opportunity in spades. Peter Stanchek is a young man with far too much power and privilege -- and no idea how to wield it responsibly. That question -- how to use the privilege of your position, of your birth, towards the great good -- is something that we felt an absolute need to tackle.
The fact is, Peter looks like us. And just like Peter, it's time to have a reckoning with what that means.
Lanzing: And you wanna talk style? Robbi Rodriguez is the definition of style. A storyteller of absolutely staggering capability, Robbi took our initial concept for the book and elevated it into something completely beyond our expectations. We brought the punk rock… But he brought the Akira.
CBR: How will you be approaching other Psiots in the story?
Kelly: The Psiots of this story are its lifeblood. Just like Peter, these are people who have been othered by society -- but unlike Peter, they can't take a vacation to Jupiter. What Peter will find in Chicago -- where our story takes place -- is a community of Psiots who have been effectively cordoned off into one small neighborhood, in the remains of the Harbinger Foundation company housing. Though they call it Psiot City, the rest of the city treats it as a powder keg waiting to blow. It's in meeting this community that Peter will not only find people who can accept him for who he is… But will be reminded that not all Psiots are meant for war. They’re just people, deserving the same rights as everyone else.
Lanzing: And get ready to meet some of your new favorite Psiots. We’re focusing on introducing new characters, rather than surrounding Peter with the faces of the past.
CBR: Will you be exploring any new or unfamiliar themes in the story or with the character?
Lanzing: Absolutely -- and the clue is right there in the title. It's not Harbinger, it's The Harbinger. Up until now, Peter Stanchek's story has been one about his relationship with his friends, with his team, with Harada, and with the ensemble, he has accumulated in the larger Psiot population.
But beginning on page one of our story, that all changes. For once, Peter's story is going to be defined by his relationship with himself. This is the story of a man getting right with his past, discovering the problems in his community that only he can solve, and dedicating himself to doing better.
CBR: With the comic having been in development for some time, how does it feel that it is finally coming out?
Kelly: It feels stupendous. This book was primed to launch… Just as the world turned inside out and our industry effectively collapsed. During that time, we saw seismic shifts in the world -- from the demand for justice for George Floyd to the election of a new president. But while the world is a very different place, sadly, many of the elements in our original story didn't need any change: law enforcement can still abuse their authority, the powerful still marginalize the powerless, and the media can bend a narrative to fit the will of those who pay to maintain the systemically abusive status quo. That might be a heavier answer than anyone is expecting, so let me sum it up: this is the book for now, and it's coming out exactly when it should.
CBR: I know you work very closely when writing, was there anything different when working on this project?
Lanzing: For the most part, no. We have a pretty strong workflow between Collin and I -- and this was definitely no time to change it. We assembled the pitch together over a weekend at NYCC, wrote to a coordinated playlist, and focused always on imagining incredible images for Robbi to explore when it was time for him to unleash.
The one thing that was truly different about this project was the way the story was being told. We're trying something experimental with the voice-over captions. In a traditional superhero book, you might hear the main character's inner monologue. With Peter, we're seeing two kinds of captions. Blue and red. Blue captions are Peter in the moment -- written in the present tense -- experiencing the book as we've come to expect superheroes to do. But they are in conversation with our red captions -- which are critically analyzing Peter's thoughts and actions in the past tense as if looking back on the scene. Who is speaking in those red captions? Why are the tenses different? And how are they reflective of the larger themes of the book? Those are questions we're excited to answer over the first four issues.
CBR: Your recent work on Star Trek Year Five is wrapping up, which crew of that universe do you think Harbinger would fit into?
Kelly: Yes! Love this question! Let's see… Picard would view him as entirely too much of a Q-level security risk, and Sisko wouldn’t even let him on the station. Kirk would welcome him aboard, seeing in his power shades of Gary Mitchell… But perhaps letting that compassion and guilt cloud his judgment. Archer… Peter would end up getting Archer's crew killed, almost certainly, and Peter would probably end up leaving Discovery on his own accord -- they have enough drama of their own. No, my gut tells me that the ship for Peter would be Voyager. Janeway would take one look at him and wouldn't see the threat -- she'd see the potential. Plus, she's not afraid of rehabilitating the lost and forgotten -- and Peter could shave years off their journey home.
Lanzing: But I'll be honest, what Peter actually needs is a few years with the Lower Decks crew on the Cerritos. Chill out, learn a little about the universe, try not to take everything so personally. I feel like he and Boimler could really bond over shared anxiety.
CBR: Will this book be easy for a new reader unfamiliar with the Valiant universe?
Lanzing: Absolutely. In fact, it's a huge part of our approach to The Harbinger. Though Peter Stanchek has a long and storied history, he is waking on page one of our story with little-to-no memory of the events of the past. He is a blank slate -- and so offers the audience an opportunity to encounter the Valiant Universe with fresh eyes.
Kelly: Then again, longtime Valiant fans will be able to catch those details that Peter doesn't. They'll have an exciting chance to be ahead of the storytelling curve a bit -- and see a totally different side of what we're doing.
Lanzing: Of course, through Robbi Rodriguez's eye, the Valiant Universe takes on a brand new vibe and storytelling language -- so there's something brand new in here for any reader.
CBR: When working with a character with incredible levels of power, how do you approach writing them to keep them relatable?
Kelly: This is always an incredible challenge, but the answer for Peter is the same answer for Superman -- you always remember that they are people first and demi-gods second.
For Peter, it even goes a step further -- his greatest strength and his greatest weakness is his humanity -- both the challenge of knowing what's right and the burden of knowing you have done so much wrong. In a sense, this very question is the heart of our story: Peter has hurt the people he's closest with so many times… But without them, he becomes an almost cosmic-level natural disaster. This is the story of how he finds the middle, and finally becomes the hero he has always had the potential to be: this is The Harbinger.
The Harbinger will hit comic stands on Oct. 27 and can be pre-ordered now.