Book of Death: Fall of Harbinger #1 chronicles the final battle between Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada, who has lost control of his omega-level psiot powers. It opens up with Peter in a spaceship decades in the future racing to face an unrestrained Harada mind before it reaches Earth and causes immeasurable destruction. To understand the mission one has to go back 14 months when the Bleeding Monk was found dead from bleeding to death. This prompted the Monk Keeper, Curtis Mayfield to reach out to Peter, who is currently the President of the Harbinger Foundation. Curtis informs Peter that the Bleeding Monk died but Peter already knew because the monk came to him in a vision the previous night. The monk told Peter that the unrestrained Harada mind was finally returning to Earth and that nothing would survive his arrival. And he regrets not making decisions earlier in Harada’s childhood but he knows that he won’t survive the psychic impact once Harada’s mind reaches Earth. And since he can’t see anything beyond that he believes it’s the end of everything. It’s been 12 years since Harada was on Earth and when he left he was worried what would happen to his mind after his death since his physical body has been unable to control his power. This is when he left Peter in charge of the Foundation before leaving. But what does it mean that he’s finally returning to Earth, and how can Peter possibly prevent utter destruction?

It was great seeing the many references to current events such as the one to Sunlight on Snow, and how the current Monk Keeper was from that node. And when Peter appealed to the Global Congress there were representatives from the Divinity Ultimatum, and even though that wasn’t elaborated on much except to clearly show it was connected to Divinity, it was pretty cool to see. It made me very intrigued about this and what must have happened over this period of time to create the current situation. So even though Harada was gone, his “perfect” society was still easy to see despite the current panic gripping congress due to the imminent destruction of the planet. Even Peter was able to find a purpose and happiness with a family. There were some missing story lines such as the fate of the entity possessing Angela but it wasn’t major in the mix of everything else going on. And that was another wonderful thing about this issue: the sheer amount of material covered without feeling overwhelming or rushed because the character development was on point. And not just Peter or Harada but what was shown about the other Renegades as well.

SUMMARY

Book of Death: Fall of Harbinger #1 is an enlightening issue that details its end in an exciting manner consistent with the characters. It’s good seeing what becomes of Harada’s Foundation Zone and the eventual impact on the Earth as well as the impact of other characters on this future. The mystery behind Harada’s return is intriguing, and the answers are well worth the wait and leave a lasting impression. The current Imperium series is one of my favorites and I’m glad this issue captured the essence of what makes it so great.

Release Date:9/30/15

Writer: Joshua Dysart

Artist: KANO