Valiant: Safe to jump on?

[FanboyStranger]

No...it was just done poorly. I liked the first couple issues, but then its like they stopped even trying.

I had a similiar feeling about A&A. Loved the first few, but then my enthusiasm really wained.

The Delinquents, however, was fantastic. It may be the single best book that Valiant has produced... and they've produced a lot of great books since coming back.

[harashkupo]

Just started getting into the Valiant Universe through X-O and The Valiant, so happy to find this thread and harashkupo's very helpful reading order. I'm a big Superhero fan and have heard nothing but good things about Valiant's line, so I'm definitely interested in checking more of it out. My only concern was what Arundel Armor Hunter brought up about whether the heroes of Valiant really count as Superheroes, so I'm happy to hear that Aric grows into a more proper one over the course of the series .

Hey thanks, I'm really glad it helped. And welcome to Valiant's awesome awesome-ness

Really? You mean like the X-Men, Lobo, Deadpool, Magneto, Lex Luthor, The Punisher, Elektra, etc. ???

Even if you want to argue that the main characters in the Valiant universe aren't traditional superheroes, the books fall squarely into the historical superhero genre. Obviously, genres are loose descriptors, but it's clear to me what Valiant is aiming for, just as it's clear that Image is mostly no longer a publisher of superhero stories.

I think Arundel Armor Hunter has a point in the fact that there is an argument to be made either way. When it comes to the superhero model, Quantum is probably the closest to it lol. To be perfectly honest I don't look at the Valiant universe as a superhero line. I just see it portrayed as our world with superpowers throw in.

[Arundel Armor Hunter]

Really? You mean like the X-Men, Lobo, Deadpool, Magneto, Lex Luthor, The Punisher, Elektra, etc. ???

Even if you want to argue that the main characters in the Valiant universe aren't traditional superheroes, the books fall squarely into the historical superhero genre. Obviously, genres are loose descriptors, but it's clear to me what Valiant is aiming for, just as it's clear that Image is mostly no longer a publisher of superhero stories.

the books fall squarely into the historical superhero genre.

What does that mean?

[Anjohl]

Ninjak seems formulaic in that..he's a ninja..with a "k". I just don't see anything I like. The Valiant had a great first issue, and I have the third, waiting on the second.

I wanted to like the Dark Horse Superhero line, but the changing artists soured me bigtime. I am looking for Lee/Kirby style runs, not 12 part miniseries sold to me as ongoings.

[ksbord]

Ninjak seems formulaic in that..he's a ninja..with a "k". I just don't see anything I like. The Valiant had a great first issue, and I have the third, waiting on the second.

I wanted to like the Dark Horse Superhero line, but the changing artists soured me bigtime. I am looking for Lee/Kirby style runs, not 12 part miniseries sold to me as ongoings.

Pains me to say it, but Valiant may not be your thing based on your criteria. They usually rotate artists around per story arc, so you won't have extensive runs of the same creative team. The exception there has been Rai, as the art by Clayton Crain has defined the book.

And they haven't been shy about ending a title to move on to something else. Primarily, this has been their way of keeping the lineup at a manageable 8-9 titles per month while trying other properties, but they have also used it as a means of thematic transition (i.e. Harbinger ending so Imperium can begin).

And if you think Ninjak looks to just be your typical ninja with another consonant involved... well then, there ya go. Or you could read the first or arc issue and see if it strikes your fancy. From what we've heard, Matt Kindt has a wild story planned out!

[TheFerg714]

Ninjak seems formulaic in that..he's a ninja..with a "k". I just don't see anything I like. The Valiant had a great first issue, and I have the third, waiting on the second.

Well all it took to get me interested was just the fact that he's Batman, but more of a dick, and is a f*king actual ninja.
Some info about the ongoing:
I know the comic itself is going to be 40 pages, while staying at $4. It's gonna have two artists (Clay Mann and Butch Guice), and apparently there's gonna be a sort of origin story going on while Ninjak goes on adventures in the present. Also.. Matt Kindt.

If none of that sells you, you should just check out a few of his appearances. Have you read X-O Vol. 2, Unity, or The Valiant? If not, I would recommend reading Unity #15 (just came out, beginning of a story arc, revolves around Ninjak's personal life and psychology), X-O #5 (his first appearance), Unity Vol. 1, or The Valiant. Personally, everything he does just exudes ridiculous levels of badass to me. If you're not feeling the same way, he may just not be your cup of tea. Regardless of your enjoyment of the issues listed, I'd still recommend picking up Ninjak #1 next week.

I wanted to like the Dark Horse Superhero line, but the changing artists soured me bigtime. I am looking for Lee/Kirby style runs, not 12 part miniseries sold to me as ongoings.

Ok I have a few issues with this quote.
1) I have no idea how many artists have been on Ghost, but I can tell you that Captain Midnight has only had 4 artists in it's 24-issue run, which all had very similar styles, and had Fernando Dagnino on the vast majority. And X has had Eric Nguyen on all but 4 out of 22+ issues.
2) I don't think changing artists denotes a book's ongoing status. It's still one big story, even with artist change-ups.
3) Normally, I'd agree with you. I'd much rather have the exact same team on every issue. However, Valiant has honestly changed my mind. It's really fun seeing the artist from the first volume of Harbinger jump into A&A for it's climactic Sect Civil War. It's nice following Clayton Henry around the Valiant U, from A&A's first volume, to Harbinger Wars, then come back for Harbinger's swan song, and finally join Fred Van Lente again on Timewalker. It also adds a sort of cohesion to the universe seeing multiple artists jump around to different books.
4) Trust me, it's never done to a fault. There's never a random shift in creative team mid-arc. Here's a run-down of Valiant's art teams (excluding minis)
X-O Manowar- Cary Nord, Lee Garbett, and Diego Bernard (who looks to be staying around for a while) have done about 10 issues each, with a few fill-ins here and there. The three artist mentioned have very similar styles.
Harbinger- Ok, I can't defend this one too well. I think Khari Evans has done the majority, but it really does switch-up artists a lot. Like I said, I don't think it's ever to a fault, but it's something to take into account if you can't stand that I guess.
Bloodshot- Manuel Garcia led the first two arcs (the only arcs that matter imo), Barry Kitson did Vol. 3, and then they had a new artist for every arc.
A&A- There was (for the most part) one artist per story arc. In order: Clayton Henry, Emmanuella Lupacchina (sp?), Pere Perez, Khari Evans, Pere Perez again for two arcs. (Followed by two one-shot stories with #24 [Henry] and 25 [Various]) All of these artists, besides Evans, have VERY similar, cartoon-y styles. They're virtually interchangeable and flow together very well.
Shadowman- I believe it had Patrick Zircher for Justin Jordan's entire run (besides the story in 0 & 10), 11 and 12 were time-filers with various artists. The amazing Roberto De La Torre did the final arc, which saw a writer shift, and warranted a artist switch too imo.
Quantum & Woody- Each arc has a different artists, but I think it's 100% a good thing with this book. I mean, really, Q&W works better as a series of minis anyway.
Unity- Like Q&W, it's had a different artist every arc (with CAFU having the most artist credits under his belt), and I think that's kind of the point. Unity is kind of a showcase for Valiant characters and talent. For example, Pere Perez doesn't have even close to the same style as CAFU and Doug Braithwaite, but he recently jumped on and it's been great.
Rai- It's had Clayton Crain the whole way through, and it's been phenomenal.

5) Valiant has ended their ongoings in a tasteful manner. The only book that felt rushed to the end was A&A, and I sorely wish that it was still going on. Bloodshot needed a new direction bad, and is getting a reboot next month with Jeff Lemire. Shadowman generally sucked the entire way through, and Valiant recognized that, so they ended it on a high note with End Times' big twist ending, promising more to come. Harbinger's story was finished. Dysart has said so himself. #25 was the end of a chapter, to be followed by Imperium.



Also, this.

they haven't been shy about ending a title to move on to something else. Primarily, this has been their way of keeping the lineup at a manageable 8-9 titles per month while trying other properties, but they have also used it as a means of thematic transition