Valiant Universe: Harbinger, Unity, Rai, A&A; current state & future prospects

[xMatt]

Book of Death: Fall of X-O Manowar - Brilliant one shot story VALIANT, brilliant. I need a Juhkka(sp) series pronto. I need to see this Visigoth kingdom, where it is, how it relates to Harada and the rest of the world...let alone how interaction with alien species has begun? Where we are in the evolution of New Japan. Etc.Etc.Etc

Rai #11 - Another grand slam of a tale that covered both sides of our main characters. What Momo, Psylocke & Co. are doing on new Japan to further their crusade in the still belief that Rai is dead. How Rai is healing on Earth, how we meet descendants of Bloodshot(has to be), how the Earth isn't a total barren wasteland and then those last pages...those last pages!!!! Glad!!

I still have Ivar #10 to read, was getting to tired last night to push on but after that I'll be caught up on Valiant....till Wed at least!

Yeah, I would love to see a time-spanning Visigoth series. Not unlike Aaron's Thor, I suppose? Or maybe story arcs chronicling different time periods. So one story about Alaric ... one story about the current Visigoths ... and then a story later on about Juhkka. That would be a lot of fun. And yeah, the X-O Manowar was light and heartfelt. A nice change from the others!

[Dark-Flux]

How does Shadowman by Justin Jordan stack up to the other earlier Valiant Entertainment offerings? I'm not seeing anybody bring the book up as a favorite, but as near as I can discern the character has been off the table for a little while so maybe that's why? I ask because I'm still hemming and hawing over what series to explore next in a deluxe edition.

His issues #0 & 10 are amongst some of the best stuff to come out of Valiant. The rest, not so much...

[ksbord]

How does Shadowman by Justin Jordan stack up to the other earlier Valiant Entertainment offerings? I'm not seeing anybody bring the book up as a favorite, but as near as I can discern the character has been off the table for a little while so maybe that's why? I ask because I'm still hemming and hawing over what series to explore next in a deluxe edition.

Sorry to report that Shadowman ranks in the weaker of the Valiant offerings, and not the best candidate for a Deluxe purchase. Why did it go so wrong? I think there are probably many targets for a finger pointing... the premise was fine, the execution was faulty. The first arc was pretty good, the second suffered from creative team issues... issues 0 and 10 drifted in around then and were triumphs. Peter Milligan came in for a revamping that didn't quite take with the fanbase, and Valiant shelved the character with the much reviled "End Times" mini-series, even though Milligan stated he had about 1 1/2 years worth of scripts/concepts ready. The character is poised for a comeback beginning with the next Ninjak arc starting in December.

If I were you, still tossing around which Deluxe to roll with, I'd recommend the following form most recommended and so on: Harbinger, Archer & Armstrong, X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Quantum & Woody. There are also Deluxes available for the two previous events: Harbinger Wars and Armor Hunters. Great stuff there if you just want to dive headfirst into an uber-story.

[Detox]

I just finished Pak's EW run and it was just ok for me, didn't love it, didn't hate it. I would really love for Gilad to have a strong solo this go around. He's such a great character.

[Chief Jon]

His issues #0 & 10 are amongst some of the best stuff to come out of Valiant. The rest, not so much...

Sorry to report that Shadowman ranks in the weaker of the Valiant offerings, and not the best candidate for a Deluxe purchase. Why did it go so wrong? I think there are probably many targets for a finger pointing... the premise was fine, the execution was faulty. The first arc was pretty good, the second suffered from creative team issues... issues 0 and 10 drifted in around then and were triumphs. Peter Milligan came in for a revamping that didn't quite take with the fanbase, and Valiant shelved the character with the much reviled "End Times" mini-series, even though Milligan stated he had about 1 1/2 years worth of scripts/concepts ready. The character is poised for a comeback beginning with the next Ninjak arc starting in December.

If I were you, still tossing around which Deluxe to roll with, I'd recommend the following form most recommended and so on: Harbinger, Archer & Armstrong, X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Quantum & Woody. There are also Deluxes available for the two previous events: Harbinger Wars and Armor Hunters. Great stuff there if you just want to dive headfirst into an uber-story.

Thank you both! It sounds like Harbinger and XO are still leading the pack for me with Bloodshot in a tight third. I have the sense that, though they might be more substantive on the whole, Q&W and A&A are going to have a tone closer to the campy stuff Marvel & DC have recently started flooding the market with. And I need a change of pace.

I'm disappointed to hear that about Milligan though. I always loved his X-Force/X-Statix stuff.

[thewarning]

Was a big Milligan fan. Even an apologist for his first few issues. But his Shadowman run is really, really, really bad.

[Chief Jon]

Was a big Milligan fan. Even an apologist for his first few issues. But his Shadowman run is really, really, really bad.

Eep . . . . good to know

[harashkupo]

Thank you both! It sounds like Harbinger and XO are still leading the pack for me with Bloodshot in a tight third. I have the sense that, though they might be more substantive on the whole, Q&W and A&A are going to have a tone closer to the campy stuff Marvel & DC have recently started flooding the market with. And I need a change of pace.

I'm disappointed to hear that about Milligan though. I always loved his X-Force/X-Statix stuff.

Yeah Milligan really dropped the ball, but luckily Shadowman's getting a comeback.

I wouldn't lump Archer and Armstrong like that. The big 2 wish they could be on FVL's level. I ain't to good at word smithin but joking aside, A&A has a lot of layers to their comedy and plotting. It truly is so much more than just a funny book. Pound for pound, Harbinger, X-O, and A&A are all top quality and arguably the best of Valiant.

[Detox]

I wouldn't lump Archer and Armstrong like that. The big 2 wish they could be on FVL's level. I ain't to good at word smithin but joking aside, A&A has a lot of layers to their comedy and plotting. It truly is so much more than just a funny book.

Yep. I was gonna say it if you didn't.

[TheFerg714]

Thank you both! It sounds like Harbinger and XO are still leading the pack for me with Bloodshot in a tight third. I have the sense that, though they might be more substantive on the whole, Q&W and A&A are going to have a tone closer to the campy stuff Marvel & DC have recently started flooding the market with. And I need a change of pace.

As everyone else has said, you NEED to buy #0 and #10. They're both some of the best books Valiant has ever put out. Get on that shit.

In regards to your comments about A&A and Q&W, I would have to whole heartedly disagree with your sentiment. I'm totally in agreement that I'm also tired of Marvel's campy style, but neither of these books warrant the comparison. Q&W is dumb and silly, and pretty much entirely surface level comedy, but it's not the same. It's more in the vein of dumb comedies like Step Brothers or 22 Jump Street. Regardless though, I wouldn't worry about reading that anytime soon, although I would highly recommend the first trade if you're at all interested.
Archer & Armstrong, however, is an entirely different ball game. It's simply not the same as the Marvel stuff you're referencing. Yea, it's a little campy, and it would definitely go in the 'fun' category, but it's also fairly deep and explores deeper themes than your average Marvel romp. It also deals with historical events and science/philosophy/art stuff. I know my synopsis isn't making it sound very smart, but it really is quite sharp-witted. Don't count it out. It's easily my favorite Valiant book so far.
...also it's truly f**king hilarious.

[ksbord]

I just finished Pak's EW run and it was just ok for me, didn't love it, didn't hate it. I would really love for Gilad to have a strong solo this go around. He's such a great character.

Yeah, that whole run is a bit of a head scratcher to me. I like to say it's almost as if editorial liked Pak's pitch and gave him free reign to write his first arc in whatever way he wanted, not bothering to see if it fit with characterization or continuity. We all see how that turned out. I don't think it's feasible to rectify the differences between that arc and every other piece Gilad featured in around that time. Realizing their mistake, Valiant had Pak rewrite the Eternal Emperor arc to make it non-descript when it came to anything 4001 related, and shelved the title since Gilad is active elsewhere.

I'm confident that Venditti is crafting a wonderful tale that will avoid the pitfalls of the above.

[Chief Jon]

Hey, don't get me wrong here. I'm not counting A&A out. Not at all. Like I said, both that and Q&W seem to have more substance to them than the goofy camp schlock from the big two. I have a sense of them both being more akin to FVL & Pak's Incredible Hercules or Nick Spencer's Superior Foes of Spider-Man (which I like) than a Deadpool or a Squirrel-Girl (which can go in my fireplace). I'm just a bit burnt out on the glut of "Funny" books right now, and being on a fixed-income vet-student budget I want to feed the need for a more serious tone I had stopped getting (which is why I started checking out Valiant in the first place).

Shadowman numbers 0 and 10 just went on the buy list.

[Captain Craig]

I just finished Pak's EW run and it was just ok for me, didn't love it, didn't hate it. I would really love for Gilad to have a strong solo this go around. He's such a great character.

I'd wager 90%+ of all die hard VALIANT fans share this sentiment.

[Winterboy]

Just got my Ninjak TPB.

[xMatt]

I'd wager 90%+ of all die hard VALIANT fans share this sentiment.

RE: Eternal Warrior, yeah I feel like he's the cornerstone of the Valiant universe. He would have so many stories, just by nature of his powers. Will be interesting to see how this turns out. The art by Raul Allen looks superb. So there's that.