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

[Agent 37]

A huge part of the excitement for the new books, (for me anyways), is the expansion of the Valiant Universe through supporting casts and new villains or adversaries.

A well written adversary lets you see the hero in a new challenging light, and exposes strengths or weaknesses unknown before. That's a big part of the reason Ninjak sounds awesome, with the villains they've outlined in previews or solicits.

[Detox]

Yea dude, nice to see a new reader again! There's something incredibly exciting about being a part of something that will rival Marvel and DC in the future.

Don't worry about reading every single thing in order to catch up. If you're interested in the Valiant Next stuff (The Valiant, Ivar: Timewalker, Imperium, Divinity, Ninjak, Bloodshot: Reborn, Quantum & Woody Must Die!, Dead Drop) just start up at any of these number ones. They're all pretty freakin great, but you need to make buying The Valiant 1-3 a priority, asap.
If you care about reading the entire thing, just pick a favorite and start at #1. You don't need to know about the entire universe in order to enjoy any one book. You've already read X-O and Unity, so I'd recommend sticking with those so you can read the Armor Hunters event later. Other than that, you should check out the funny side of the universe with Quantum & Woody or Archer & Armstrong

Great reply man, thanks! I am going to continue reading XO and Unity, Ninjak, Imperium and probably the new Bloodshot. I'm stoked to dive in and maybe ill go back and read the older XO stuff at some point.

[harashkupo]

Oh trust me, Harashkupo, I'm waiting on the remainder of the series to come I'm as I type this but I'm also thinking of getting them digitally as well. I was there for the early portion of the relaunch and I'm planning on seeing it all through.

Very cool. Art and characters hold the keys to my comic loving heart and Valiant has that in spades. Right where you stopped at X-O is where Venditti and Kindt take Aric and really give his character depth. Also Venditti's Armor Hunters absolutely killed it. I feel he's at his best when he gets invested into these deep personal struggles type stories.

A huge part of the excitement for the new books, (for me anyways), is the expansion of the Valiant Universe through supporting casts and new villains or adversaries.

A well written adversary lets you see the hero in a new challenging light, and exposes strengths or weaknesses unknown before. That's a big part of the reason Ninjak sounds awesome, with the villains they've outlined in previews or solicits.

My favorite part about Valiant is watching it grow. If you're on a message board or at a LCS, I always hear these long time fans talk about being there since the beginning. Now I finally get to do that with Valiant and it's pretty frickin cool. I can't wait til 30 years from now where I get to school the youngins on proper Valiant continuity.

[thewarning]

I stoped reading due to taking on too much thanks to Dynamite and their Pulp stuff at the time, as well as Dark Horse's Project Black Sky stuff.

And you're complaining about changes and cancellations in the Valiant Universe? :P

[harashkupo]

And you're complaining about changes and cancellations in the Valiant Universe? :P

[Bslythegamerguy]

And you're complaining about changes and cancellations in the Valiant Universe? :P

Why do you think I'm coming back to Valiant? There isn't much else to read out there, and also since I enjoyed what I did read I figured it was time to come "home".

[Dark-Flux]

Not much to read?

There like thousands of series published each month in the NA market...

Granted, not all of 'em good but still, odds are theres something out there thats worth a look, no? :P

[Bslythegamerguy]

Not much to read?

There like thousands of series published each month in the NA market...

Granted, not all of 'em good but still, odds are theres something out there thats worth a look, no? :P

I was heavy into the Dynamite pulp stuff which is not as robust as it once was, same goes for the Dark Horse Project Black Sky titles, though I am giving Archie's Dark Circle stuff a whirl....

But it's nice to be jumping back into Valiant.

[TheFerg714]

Not much to read?

There like thousands of series published each month in the NA market...

Granted, not all of 'em good but still, odds are theres something out there thats worth a look, no? :P

Yea, but the thing is, comparing smaller superhero shared-universes, Valiant really is the only one left after the fall of Ultimate Marvel, DynaKey, and PBS. Marvel and DC have some good **** for sure, but they hardly scratch my itch for a concise shared universe, what with the 50+ monthly titles.

[Bslythegamerguy]

I can't stand Marvel and DC anymore. The constant events, reboots, relaunches, the tired storytelling, the ugly art, and the gimmicks have just gotten old to me. I still follow the Dynamite pulp stuff when it see's the light of day and I continue to invest in Project Black Sky, but what I'm looking for to the most is the Dark Circle stuff. And getting caught up with Valiant is huge for me right now too. Rereading everything I have of the 2012-current and adding to it is my top priority at the moment.

[Dark-Flux]

Wait, so you only read stuff thats part of a shared universe?

Thats seems... limiting.

[TheFerg714]

Not trying to shift the conversation, but have you guys seen all the 25th Anniversary covers? They released all of them (except Divinity) a few days ago.
http://valiantcentral.com/valiant-25...overs-for-may/

I might be getting the Dead Drop cover, because Archer, and awesome. The Rafa Sandoval X-O cover is fantastic.

[Shadowras]

Wait, so you only read stuff thats part of a shared universe?

Thats seems... limiting.

I have to admit, but I also prefer reading books that's part of a shared universe, no matter how big or small they are.

[Dark-Flux]

But surely quality is what ultimatly matters?

Cos id hate to think id miss out on Saga or Lazarus just because they dont exist in the same universe and occationally crossover.

[TheFerg714]

But surely quality is what ultimatly matters?

Cos id hate to think id miss out on Saga or Lazarus just because they dont exist in the same universe and occationally crossover.

Small, superhero shared-universes are kinda my thing. I still read other stuff, but Valiant is my core universe that I invest in every month.