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

[TheFerg714]

Is anyone watching the Valiant Summit? It starts at 11:00am (pacific)!

[kinggirlfriend]

Is anyone watching the Valiant Summit? It starts at 11:00am (pacific)!

Yes! Watching it now!

[kinggirlfriend]

UPDATE #1: Moderator Hunter Gorinson welcomes Valiant Editor-In-Chief Warren Simons and CEO/COO Dinesh Shamdasani. Shamdasani explains that this year's theme is "Icons," which is about further evolving the Valiant Universe. After building up new characters like Faith last year, this year will be about bringing back recognizable characters like X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, and others.

UPDATE #2: X-O Manowar #1 has sold over 90,000 copies, which makes it the single highest-selling issue of a comic book from an independent publisher in 2017.

UPDATE #3: X-O Manowar writer Matt Kindt comes out to talk about how he was at first intimidated by taking over the series after the 50-issue run that preceded him. He decided to send Aric to space and bring him back to his roots as a barbarian. Putting him on an alien planet gives readers a new perspective. What's alien to Aric is alien to the readers.

UPDATE #4: Kindt has plotted out five arcs of X-O Manowar. He talks about how strange writing comics can be since you never know when a series will end, but it also allows room to grow. The series will follow Aric as he progresses from farmer to emperor.

UPDATE #5: Kindt teases the "Visigoth" story that will introduce bounty hunters who are after Aric because they feel he made the wrong decision on his path up the ladder. Shamdasani says he can't wait for fans to see Kenneth Rocafort's character designs, and Simons is excited for the lineup of top tier artists set to join X-O Manowar.

UPDATE #6: They show some of Rocafort's designs and note that these aliens look different than the ones seen on the planet and mention that the designs don't resemble the aliens Aric has encountered so far.

UPDATE #7: Shamdasani introduces Britannia: We Who Are About To Die, a sequel to Britannia by Peter Milligan and Juan Jose Ryp. The series follows the world's first detective and Shamdasani says its the kind of book they could have never done without years of build up. The series introduces a new character who is a female gladiator. Simons explains that, for reasons that will be revealed, the elite of Rome want this gladiator dead. The miniseries is completely standalone.

UPDATE #8: Next up is Rapture from Kindt and Cafu, described as a standalone Lord of the Rings for the Valiant Universe. Ninjak teams up with Shadowman to head into the Deadside. The series also features Punk Mambo and the Geomancer. Kindt was fascinated by the idea of the afterlife and his goal is to make it feel like a real place. Simons introduces new characters like Rex the Razor and Babble. Babble wants to breach the Liveside. Shamdasani says Rapture is a big part of their plan for Shadowman and fans should not miss it.

UPDATE #9: Kindt chose to team Shadowman with Punk Mambo, Ninjak, and Tama because they don't get along. Tama has a special place in his heart after he and Jeff Lemire introduced her in The Valiant. The series will ask if Shadowman can be redeemed. The concept of the Liveside was conceived of because Kindt wondered why they've only seen the bad side of things.

UPDATE #10: Kindt exits and writer Eric Heisserer comes out to introduce Secret Weapons, the first solo series for Livewire. Heisserer was nominated for an Oscar for writing Arrival. He had the idea for Secret Weapons while working on the movie adaptations of Harbinger and Bloodshot. He kept wanting more Livewire in the Harbinger movie and since there was no space he pitched them on a Livewire series.

UPDATE #11: Secret Weapons will focus on psiots rejected by Toyo Harada as not worth his time. With the information now public, they are being hunted down and killed. Livewire finds out about this for the first time and sets out to protect them.

UPDATE #12: The characters have very specific powers. One can talk to birds. Another can summon random inanimate objects. One can make his skin hard but then cannot move. Another makes thing glows. Livewire takes these castoffs and builds a team out of them.

UPDATE #13: Shamdasani says that despite the pyrotechnics, Secret Weapons is a very character-focused series unlike anything else at Valiant and rarely seen in comics. He says this will be the book that puts artist Raul Allen on the map.

UPDATE #14: Shamdasani and Simons say Livewire could become this year's Faith, a new breakout character. The series will also bring back classic Valiant villain Rexo. Secret Weapons will have a pre-order edition with eight pages of additional content, which is only available to those who pre-order the first four issues.

UPDATE #15: Jody Houser is next up to talk about Faith. Houser recalls Simons asking her to look at Harbinger for a character she'd like to write and Faith was a real standout as a breath of fresh air compared to her glum Renegades teammates. She's optimistic enough to believe that she can make a difference, informed by her love of geek culture.

UPDATE #16: Houser and artists Steven Segovia and Barry Kitson will launch Faith and the Future Force, a new event led by Faith. Faith finally gets to live her dream of time-travelling, like Doctor Who, but it's less fun than she thinks. Neela Timewalker is back. She knows that Faith is the hero who might be able to keep reality from disintegrating. Simons teases that Houser has come up with a unique narrative structure, which is why there are multiple artists, and Faith will build up more firepower from across time. Houser teases, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

UPDATE #17: Faith and the Future Force is an event in the truest sense, Valiant's Infinity Gauntlet, but with Houser's unique spin.

UPDATE #18: Shamdasani and Simons tease something big coming in August, but what it is remains CLASSIFIED.

UPDATE #19: Up next is Bloodshot: Salvation, the next chapter of Jeff Lemire's Bloodshot saga. Bloodshot now has a family with Magic and his daughter, Jesse, but things have gone wrong. There will be two timelines running at once, one with Jessie as a baby and one where she is older and with Magic, but Bloodshot is gone.

UPDATE #20: There will be lots of great villains in Bloodshot: Salvation, including Rampage, the Scarred Man, and OMEN.

UPDATE #21: Shamdasani says this is a great place to jump on to Lemire's long Bloodshot run, and he already has a year's worth of stories planned out. Valiant's Free Comic Book Day Issue will have a roadmap of things to come. It also has teasers for all of the books announced today and is the best Valiant Universe jumping on point of the year.

UPDATE #22: Kindt returns to discuss Eternity, the follow-up to Divinity III. The series focuses on the child of Divinity. He makes it clear that this is not Divinity IV, but something completely new that uses Divinity as a launchpad. Eternity is not a person, but a place. It is the place that gave Divinity his powers. It will be more cosmic than the first three Divinity series. This will be a pocket universe.

UPDATE #23: Christos Gage is introduced as the new writer of Ninja-K, the new Ninjak ongoing series. The series will divide into the history of the Ninja Program going all the way back to World War I when Japan and England were allies. Fans will learn about Ninjas A-J, including Ninja-B, the first British Ninja, and a 1970s Ninja who is inspired by Foxy Brown.

UPDATE #24: Ninja-K will be more of a spy book compared to Ninjak, which is more of a superhero book. The series will be new reader friendly and is planned well in advance, involving information MI-6 preserved from Ninja-A.

UPDATE #25: A new Quantum and Woody series will launch in December from writer Daniel Kibblesmith of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and artist Kano.

UPDATE #26: In December, Harbinger Wars 2 #0 by Matt Kindt and Doug Braithwaite will lead into next year's big event. Harbinger Renegade #5 features a graphic death that only five people at Valiant know about. The issue is the beginning of the road to Harbinger Wars 2.

UPDATE #27: There will be a new Shadowman book on the stands on March 28, 2018. Details are being kept under wrap for now. Shamdasani says this will be the next X-O Manowar success story. March is going to become Valiant's big month in the coming years.

[TheFerg714]

Wow nice! Thanks for the live updates!

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[scribbleMind]

I'm going to assume August is Savage, just because it would be really odd for their to be a year long gap between these minis.

I love everything said and depicted about Eternity, especially the designs of the other characters. Kindt is really thinking out of the box, and it really gives the godlike characters introduced in Divinity I-III something to really sink their teeth into.

Faith and the Future Force doesn't really excite me as a concept, but it does as an excuse to see some characters, like Neela, that haven't been around in a minute. Plus, its a good excuse to have Rai interact with the rest of the Valiant U proper. Hopefully we get a story picking up from where Rai left off next year.

Nothing particularly surprising about Secret Weapons, although I like that they're going to push Livewire more, and I enjoyed this preview at io9:
http://io9.gizmodo.com/arrivals-eric...omi-1794389323

I'm glad Christos Gage is working with Valiant. I enjoyed his marvel work and I think he definitely fits into the category of comic writers that the other two weren't really using as well as they could have. He has a short interview here:
http://ew.com/books/2017/04/17/valia...inja-k-series/

And I missed out on Valiant High, but Daniel Kibblesmith says all the right things about Quantum and Woody here, also confirming that the show will have plenty of goat for us all.
http://www.vulture.com/2017/04/new-q...m-valiant.html

[kinggirlfriend]

Wow nice! Thanks for the live updates!

I copied it off a thing, lol.

[Dark-Flux]

Gage is a good get for Valiant.
Also cool to see more Q&W.

But where be Dysart?

[scribbleMind]

Dysart had issues with Valiant pulling the trigger on a new Harbingers comic without him. I highly doubt he's coming back.

But, it's a good segue into one thing I forgot to mention, I'm happy Lemire has such lengthy plans for Bloodshot event after such a wild and acclaimed run. It could have been a case of Captain America after Reborn, one more arc and Brubaker was burnt out.

[kinggirlfriend]

Faith and the Future Force doesn't really excite me as a concept, but it does as an excuse to see some characters, like Neela, that haven't been around in a minute. Plus, its a good excuse to have Rai interact with the rest of the Valiant U proper. Hopefully we get a story picking up from where Rai left off next year.

That's exactly how I feel. The concept doesn't leave me thrilled but I look forward to seeing Neela, A&A, Rai, GIN-GR and whoever else they cram in there.

ETERNITY looks great!

I'm also excited for a more espionage-y Ninjak in NINJA-K.

[ian0delond]

In the books newly announced I want to read Etrenity and Ninja-K.
Did not read any of Houser's Faith yet and I am not a huge fan of Quantum and Woody.

I don't know what a "classified" book released in 4 month is supposed to be.
Probably just some unsigned contracts making them unable to disclose a name.

[Shadowras]

Wow nice! Thanks for the live updates!

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I'm excited for Faith and the Future Force, Eternity and Bloodshot salvation.

[TheFerg714]

My thoughts on this year's books!:
Faith and the Future Force- I love that Jody Houser's still writing Faith (and I'm hoping Marguerite Sauvage comes back too), but this one's a little confusing. I'm excited to see her interact with the rest of the Valiant U (specifically Rai, War Mother, Neela, and that Ankylosaurus guy that I can't remember the name of). This really looks like the spiritual successor to VH1's Unity, but obviously quite a bit more light-hearted and fun.

Classified- Seriously? This is going to be revealed within a month... There must be a story reason for not revealing it now. I'm hoping for Rai, War Mother, or Savage.

Bloodshot Salvation- Don't really have much to say about this one but it sounds AMAZING! Kenneth Rocafort covers? LaRosa and Suayan together on the same book!? Two timelines?!? Bloodshot's going to leave his daughter and Magic?!?!? Jeff Lemire has two years planned out?!?!?!?

Eternity- This series seems like such a trip... I'm definitely getting it but can't say I'm too excited. I'm not super into cosmic stories, but I trust Kindt. It's basically one of those 'I'm sure it'll be good' scenarios for me.

Ninja-K- Awful, AWFUL title, but I'm pumped!! They're finally going full espionage!! No more magic!! I think Christos Gage is a little hit-or-miss, but he wrote one of my favorite series ever (Angel & Faith: Season 9), so I have the utmost faith in his ability. Plus, Tomas Giorello!!!

Quantum & Woody!- Yes! Colbert's often hilarious and Valiant High has been surprisingly fantastic. And KANO. Yes.

Gage is a good get for Valiant.
Also cool to see more Q&W.

Technically, they had Gage (cowritten by Dysart) for HARD Corps.

Dysart had issues with Valiant pulling the trigger on a new Harbingers comic without him. I highly doubt he's coming back

In an AMA, Dysart said he for sure had plans for a return to Valiant at some point, but that he was really upset and disappointed in their decision to kick him off Harbinger.

[JediKage]

Like I know Faith is popular and all but why the frak would anyone need her to lead a team.
She is motivational sure but she is not a game changer tactically or power wise.

As for Eternity finally no NinGod ruining my Divinity. Although are the Divinities banging now? They did look pretty domesticated the last time we saw them and now their holding hands on the cover. Cause that kid would be legit OP.

[TheFerg714]

Looks like Valiant will finally have another 7 book month in July!
Faith and the Future Force 1, X-O 5, Rapture 3, Bloodshot's Day Off, Brittania 4, Secret Weapons 2, Renegade 5.
EDIT: The throwback one-shots and Brittania both end here though, so unless there's going to be two brand new books, it looks like we'll be back to 6 for August. I'm really hoping Valiant is using this year to save money in order to build a larger stable of books every month. It's pretty clearly starting to look like Valiant wants their big properties (X-O, Ninjak, Harbinger, Bloodshot, Faith, Divinity) to be on the shelves every month of the year just like we see with the big Marvel and DC heroes. In order to do that they have to expand their monthly output. If Valiant can land all of their major releases this year (which seems very likely) all they have to do next is make room for more B-list characters and experimental titles, while still holding on to the "mainline" stuff. I think 6 or 7 is approaching the perfect number. I used to think 12 was the number to shoot for, but now idk. Maybe 8-10?

Like I know Faith is popular and all but why the frak would anyone need her to lead a team.
She is motivational sure but she is not a game changer tactically or power wise.

I hope, in order to combat the obvious "I'm not sure what Faith's going to bring to this situation" argument, they'll make it sort of tongue-in-cheek. I mean, did you see the robot? It looked super silly.

As for Eternity finally no NinGod ruining my Divinity. Although are the Divinities banging now? They did look pretty domesticated the last time we saw them and now their holding hands on the cover. Cause that kid would be legit OP.

No more NinGod at all really. I love that they're finally moving him away from magic.
And yes, the Divinities are totally banging and they totally have a kid.

[kinggirlfriend]

BLOODSHOT'S DAY OFF
http://www.cbr.com/exclusive-bloodsh...ampaign=buffer