Valiant Masters: H.A.R.D. Corps, Volume 1: Search and Destroy

Valiant Masters

by David Lapham, Jim Shooter, David Michelinie

The most important technological breakthrough of the century might also be its most dangerous. After years of trial and error, multinational conglomerate Omen Enterprises has finally perfected a cybernetic brain implant that will change the face of modern warfare forever. With a legion of ex-soldiers at their disposal, Omen is building the private army of the future - a squadron of enhanced commandos that calls itself the H.A.R.D. Corps!

Collecting: Harbinger 10-11, H.A.R.D. Corps 1-6

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[Derek Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, man, ending on a cliffhanger? Lame.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can’t rate it any higher after having the worst cliffhanger ending ever. It just stops in the middle of everything and there isn’t a continuation collected so I guess that’s it. Good enough for two stars but that is all it gets.

[Brian Lakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Classic Series

I've never read much of anything by Valiant comics althoughi am familiar with some of their characters. HARD Corps was one of those titles I always wanted to read but never had the funds as a teenager to be able to. The concept intrigued me; a group of soldiers with implanted technology that enzb.ed them to have super powers they could change on the fly to complete missions. It sounded really cool. After reading this book I'm pleased to say the concept is top notch and the series is a lot of fun. It doesn't have a deep story, nor do I think it was supposed to or going for that. Its just fun. The art is adequate but I definitely would say its a weak point. The colors just seem a little off for some reason. But, like I said adequate. The story is the same way. I was going to rate this three stars but the concept just really sparked my imagination so I gave it four.

[Corey May · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Lapham's art is a chore to get through and I can think of no reason to end it on the cliffhanger they do.

[Robert Kimberlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I VERY MUCH LIKED THIS COLLECTION. VERY GOOD CHARACTERS AND STORY. THERE WAS PLENTY OF ACTION AND HUMOR.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the reasons I picked up this collection was to get the two post-Unity issues of Harbinger (10-11), which are otherwise out-of-print currently. They're OK issues that show the Renegades settling back into their lives. The intro of Hard Corps as antagonists who fight the heroes is a technique that would quickly get stale at Valiant (see also X-O Manowar intro of the Armorines and doubtless others), but it's done well enough here, with consequences for the Hard Corps that I looked forward to seeing the results of (but which didn't actually go anywhere) [6/10].

As for the Hard Corps themselves, I love the premise of people with technological powers that can only be activated one at a time. Although fighting Harada sort of stepped on the toes of Harbinger, it was still nice element to draw the VH1 universe together. Sadly, they don't live up to that promise. Though the characters improve over time, they start out as horribly cliched, one-note A-Team wannabes. Though the action-adventures are well-done, for the first few issues they're so focused on industrial espionage that they don't have the excitement or interest of the rest of Valiant's super heroic VH1 universe.

I think I might like the last two issues the best, focusing on Bloodshot and the spider aliens, because they seem more relevant than the previous issues. However, the crossovers also feel very forced.

And what's up with ending in the middle of a story? As far as I can tell that's just a lazy insistence to have exactly 8 issues in each volume.

Overall, not bad (except maybe for the character cliches) but definitely mediocre.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

H.A.R.D. Corps has an interesting premise; a team of men rescued from comas who have the ability to use super powers, but only one at a time, and they have an external provider who activates them. The collection here is a little disheveled - the characters first appeared in the Harbingers series, so the first two issues in the collection only include them as a backup/peripheral to the main story. Then it switches to their actual series, which stands a bit stronger, as the team has to integrate a new member after losing one in an early fight. The action sequences are strong, and a couple of the members have memorable personalities and conflicts, making them one of the most accessible titles in the original Valiant universe.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third or fourth of these Valiant Masters that I've read and thought about the same thing: this series really could have been great. In this case, we've got a solid cast of characters with some solid if not excellent character work. We've got an interesting premise in their powers, as well as some moral ambiguity which should be explored more fully. It's a great set up, but I can't say it really reaches anything fantastic. But it's a good read, and I hope the New Valiant uses this concept in an interesting way.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started reading this series for the Armorines crossover and then got interested enough to track down the rest of the issues.

Decent action series.
Never a fan of the Harbinger comic, so the HARD Corps ongoing feud with Harda corporation wasn't that interesting to me, but liked a lot of the side stories.
Most of this team have military backgrounds and are dealing with some PTSD issues and that created some nice moments that gave them slightly more depth than in your typical action story.

Nothing amazing, but one of those series worth picking up if you see an issue in the cheap bin.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's an often under-appreciated art to blockbuster action sequences, and Micheline and Lapham are masters of that art. They managed to combine superpowers, sci-fi body mods, an A-Teamesque group of characters, into a thoroughly entertaining series. I'd gladly be reading this every month if they were still making it.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome series about a group designed to collect the harbringer for their company and study their powers as they have gears that allows them to have one superpower at a time and the selection of powers is only limited to the powers of the harbringers they have captured and bought in for study.