The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

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hawkeyeps
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The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by hawkeyeps »

That last panel! :o

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by greg »

hawkeyeps wrote:That last panel! :o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by DirtbagSailor »


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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by nonplayer »

Pretty dam good issue. 55 out of 5 best title valiant has taimos
I Miss the good old days.

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by Dallow Spicer1 »

This is just comic books on another level! What a tragic shame Josh Dysart isn’t writing anything else for Valiant.

This story has twists and turns galore, interesting from start to finish, heavy in continuity and a masterclass ably supported by Cafu and Kano on art (outstanding Cafu cover for cover A).

Looking forward to listening to the OTV podcast for this one! And yes that last panel :o

5/5 :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by sonicdan »

Incredible issue. Mind is blown! :bugeyed:

I thought Lord Vine was dead, but he wasn't.
I thought Sunlight on Snow was dead, but he wasn't.
I thought Harada was dead...
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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by Dallow Spicer1 »

DirtbagSailor wrote:We go ALL into this issue! :thumb:

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr213/
So time wise this was set when Kozol was still alive so I don’t think we can match it up to current events. I agree that this is up there with Watchmen, Dark Knight etc...but here’s a question...is it only so amazing because it built off of what had happened in Imperium? Is Imperium only so phenomenal because of what had happened before in Harbinger and XO (Vine elements)? Could a new person pick up LADOTH and still be blown away by it?

Also, doesn’t this series highlight what a waste it was to kill off Kozol (in Bloodshot Salvation I seem to recall), and in such an understated way too :!: He’s a great character, they didn’t need to kill him they could have just had him fired and temporarily taken out of the equation to make way for scarred man.

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by agent_graves »

Amazing!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#StayValiant

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by kinggirlfriend »

Dallow Spicer1 wrote:Also, doesn’t this series highlight what a waste it was to kill off Kozol (in Bloodshot Salvation I seem to recall), and in such an understated way too :!: He’s a great character, they didn’t need to kill him they could have just had him fired and temporarily taken out of the equation to make way for scarred man.
Especially since they were building him and Granite (?) up to having a relationship. I guess it didn't mater since she was shortly killed off in Massacre, too. sigh. Just like Gamete, all these deaths are a waste of good characters who had plenty of story left in them. Kozol was killed off in BLOODSHOT USA, btw.

To answer your other question I'd say no, you need to read Harbinger and Imperium to understand it all. That's why it will never be held in as high esteem as Dark Knight or Watchmen. Although I would also argue that some knowledge of Batman's history and the Charlton Comics' characters (and just comic book tropes in general) go a long way towards appreciating those works. But they are a little more airtight than LaDoTH.

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by Dallow Spicer1 »

kinggirlfriend wrote:
Dallow Spicer1 wrote:Also, doesn’t this series highlight what a waste it was to kill off Kozol (in Bloodshot Salvation I seem to recall), and in such an understated way too :!: He’s a great character, they didn’t need to kill him they could have just had him fired and temporarily taken out of the equation to make way for scarred man.
Especially since they were building him and Granite (?) up to having a relationship. I guess it didn't mater since she was shortly killed off in Massacre, too. sigh. Just like Gamete, all these deaths are a waste of good characters who had plenty of story left in them. Kozol was killed off in BLOODSHOT USA, btw.

To answer your other question I'd say no, you need to read Harbinger and Imperium to understand it all. That's why it will never be held in as high esteem as Dark Knight or Watchmen. Although I would also argue that some knowledge of Batman's history and the Charlton Comics' characters (and just comic book tropes in general) go a long way towards appreciating those works. But they are a little more airtight than LaDoTH.
Cheers! Yeah I knew it was around Bloodshot Salvation type era but totally forgot about Bloodshot USA.
Yeah I think knowing something of Batman’s history is needed to fully appreciate Dark Knight. Watchman on the other hand I had no knowledge of them being based on Charlton comics until I just read your post (either that or I’d forgotten)!

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by kinggirlfriend »

Dallow Spicer1 wrote:
kinggirlfriend wrote:
Dallow Spicer1 wrote:Also, doesn’t this series highlight what a waste it was to kill off Kozol (in Bloodshot Salvation I seem to recall), and in such an understated way too :!: He’s a great character, they didn’t need to kill him they could have just had him fired and temporarily taken out of the equation to make way for scarred man.
Especially since they were building him and Granite (?) up to having a relationship. I guess it didn't mater since she was shortly killed off in Massacre, too. sigh. Just like Gamete, all these deaths are a waste of good characters who had plenty of story left in them. Kozol was killed off in BLOODSHOT USA, btw.

To answer your other question I'd say no, you need to read Harbinger and Imperium to understand it all. That's why it will never be held in as high esteem as Dark Knight or Watchmen. Although I would also argue that some knowledge of Batman's history and the Charlton Comics' characters (and just comic book tropes in general) go a long way towards appreciating those works. But they are a little more airtight than LaDoTH.
Cheers! Yeah I knew it was around Bloodshot Salvation type era but totally forgot about Bloodshot USA.
Yeah I think knowing something of Batman’s history is needed to fully appreciate Dark Knight. Watchman on the other hand I had no knowledge of them being based on Charlton comics until I just read your post (either that or I’d forgotten)!
Yeah I guess it's not that important but it does help appreciate it it bit more. But you're right, my mom read it and has no clue what Charlton Comic is and she liked it just fine. I think that's the genius of that book. You can read it as just a pulp tale and that works. But if you scratch the surface there's so much more to appreciate.

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Re: The Life and Death of Toyo Harada #5 Discussion

Post by SwiftMann »

You don't need to have even read comics before to appreciate Watchmen.

DKR needs (what is now) general pop-culture knowledge around Batman. Although, I don't know that it's holding up as well with age because it was so entrenched in the 80s.

But Incursion/LaDoTH is not either of those. Or Swamp Thing or Sandman. Those are all books that are Teflon against criticism with near universal, diverse praise and pop culture acceptance. (Not saying that last bit is a mandatory criteria, but it does fit.)


Perhaps it's in that second tier of well-loved long-form titles that appeal to a subset of fans - Y the Last Man, Transmetropolitan (one of my all-time faves), Hellboy, Invisibles, Nexus. Perhaps.
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