Bigger Than Capes

Written by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing
Art by Robbi Rodriguez
Colouring by Rico Renzi
Lettering by Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou

When last we left Peter Stanchek we weren’t sure which Peter was which. We still don’t, however this issue we get to know the ‘good’ Peter a little bit as he sets out to rescue Ago, the young Psiot taken by bad guys The Warning last issue. What we have here is the final impetus for Peter to basically take on a sort of superhero identity, complete with costume. It feels like we have been leading up to this point and now the real ‘fun’ can begin.

It feels that of the two different Peter voices we have narrating it’s the blue ‘good’ voice that is strongest. It feels like the narrative is firmly in the court of this Peter which does make for a better narrative, it’s less confusing, the voices feel clearer and more defined with clear roles. It also helps that at this point we are aware of who is speaking and where we are. Like Peter, whose memory was stolen, we’re slowly piecing things together.

Peter’s costume is an interesting design. We can clearly see the renegades influence. It is more of a homemade look, yellow spray paint and all. it reflects Peter getting back to his roots, getting back to the street, back to basics. It’s a costume and very obviously one at that but at the same time it’s the costume of someone who is on their own, a renegade if you will.

The purples and yellows in Peter’s costume not quite contrasting with the purple costumes of The Warning later made their fight scenes a little confusing to me at first and meant I had to take a closer look at the panels, which really is no bad thing. That mask of Peter’s though makes him very distinctive and the panels where he really lets his power rip are very effective. Peter is the most powerful psiot outside of Toyo Harada (and A+ for that reference in the issue) and here he really shows why. It’s not just about brute force tough, it’s also about tactics and strategy and it’s the latter that really pays off.

Yet he is still Peter, albeit a Peter trying to do better. So we do get those classic Peter floating with crossed legs poses. It’s actually quite nice to see that because it harks back to the character from years ago and that sort of continuity I can really appreciate. Although this is a new take on Peter Stanchek he’s very recognisably Peter and that’s in both the writing and the art.

I also like the refences back to previous storylines and plots. I am not sure how a newbie would read them. As a fan of Harbinger from years ago I really appreciated and enjoyed them and it was nice to see this run link back inot the old continuity like that. Even though the art in particular makes this a different book it is still within that timeline we’ve been following for years.

It does feel now that we’re well inot the plot. I enjoyed seeing Peter finally try to do better by taking on a more superhero identity. It feels now as if The Harbinger has kicked up a gear and is now more confident about Peter himself. Seeing Peter doing better is satisfying as that’s what I’ve wanted to see from this book. Hopefully it will continue.