Reprinting Armor Hunters: Harbinger #s 1-3 plus the bonus issue Harbinger Wars # 1, this volume can be read as part of the Harbinger saga, and/or as part of the Armor Hunters crossover (the other four trade paperbacks are Armor Hunters; Unity Volume 3: Armor Hunters; X-O Manowar Volume 7: Armor Hunters; and Armor Hunters: Bloodshot). It could also be read on its own, but it won't have the same impact. I recommend the whole line. These issues were originally published at about the same time as the issues reprinted in Harbinger Volume 6: Omegas, and there is a bit of overlap there. The two collections reference each other, but if you're going to read both, I think I'd recommend doing Armor Hunters: Harbinger first, and then Omegas.
Now, with that all out of the way, what do we have here?
The young psiots known as Generation Zero, ranging in age from young children to early 20s, have escaped, with the help of Livewire, from the Harbinger Foundation, and are out to make their own way in the world. Many of them have spent most of their lives either in captivity to Project Rising Spirit or in captivity to the a-bit-more-bearable Foundation, and have had their worldviews skewed by their unorthodox upbringing. They have little trust for anyone except themselves, but, paradoxically, having been told their whole lives that they have a greater purpose, most of them are still inclined to want to be a force for good in the world. The team is on the road and aimlessly on the run after their escape from the Harbinger Foundation when team member Cloud, a telepath, is assailed by a huge wave of psychic energy from the deaths of millions in Mexico City by the invading Armor Hunters. There is disagreement in the team over whether this is their battle, but in the end they decide to head South and help who they can. An international aid effort is already beginning in Mexico, ironically in part by the Harbinger Foundation that imprisoned the kids, and also on the scene are Zephyr (Faith Herbert) and Torque (John Torquelson), last two remaining members of the Harbinger Renegades and now thinking of themselves as freelance superheroes. The pair originally met Generation Zero in the crossover Harbinger Wars, and Generation Zero is initially distrustful of them.
Trust issues have to be put aside as monstrous alien Hounds are dispatched by the Armor Hunters to finish off whatever survived Gin-Gr's initial blast in Armor Hunters # 1. And on top of that, once again due to the invading Armor Hunters, a freakish insect army is about to rise up and threaten not only what's left of Mexico City but possibly the world.
Of the five Armor Hunters trade paperbacks, this collection is perhaps furthest out in left field, interacting a bit less with the full Armor Hunters event, and thus probably easier to read and understand on its own than the most of the other collections. It's still better to get the full story from all five collections, though you'll have to flip back and forth from book to book to get the issues in their right order. The reading order I got online, and followed when reading, was Armor Hunters # 1, Unity # 8, X-O Manowar # 26, Armor Hunters # 2, Unity # 9, Armor Hunters: Bloodshot # 1, Armor Hunters: Harbinger # 1, X-O Manowar # 27, Armor Hunters # 3, Armor Hunters: Bloodshot # 2, Armor Hunters: Bloodshot # 3, Armor Hunters: Harbinger # 2, Armor Hunters: Harbinger # 3, X-O Manowar # 28, Unity # 10, Unity # 11, Armor Hunters # 4, X-O Manowar # 29 and Armor Hunters: Aftermath # 1. It's great seeing Faith and Torque on the frontlines, but it's even better that Generation Zero's characters finally get some much deserved time in the spotlight. This is their moment to shine.
The other issue we get in here is Harbinger Wars # 1, which is an earlier story and not part of the Armor Hunters crossover. When Valiant has less than four issues in an arc that gets its own collection, they often fill it up with an origin or key issue for one or more of the main characters. Harbinger Wars # 1 was the first appearance of Generation Zero and a great read; if you're new to Harbinger with this volume, you may want to read the Harbinger Wars issue before the Armor Hunters issues. And whether you read the full crossover or just this slice of it, you've got yourself a 10/10 book. But especially if you read the full crossover.
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