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

[Inhuman X]

Damn you guys are making me excited. I've been digging Ninjak pretty hard the last few months so this is great news. I tend to like Khari Evans' work, even though the faces can be a little funky, so I'm totally down for this arc.

On the other hand, I'm a little nervous that you guys haven't said anything about A&A. I adored issue 5, so I've got pretty high hopes. Is anyone else still reading it?

Nothing wrong with A&A, it just goes against the grain of what stories I get into so strongly that it fails to make my guaranteed pull list each month. So I didn't pick it up. It's a very light and fun book where I get into the tension filled dark skewed anti-heroes with shades of gray making plots and moral ambiguity books. To each their own.

[thewarning]

Only downside... Evans art... a bit of yikes there, especially Gilad's face. It looks like it's melting in a couple of frames.

I don't mind Evans' style, but when he gets sloppy, it's pretty inexcusable considering he doesn't draw backgrounds.

[ksbord]

Damn you guys are making me excited. I've been digging Ninjak pretty hard the last few months so this is great news. I tend to like Khari Evans' work, even though the faces can be a little funky, so I'm totally down for this arc.

On the other hand, I'm a little nervous that you guys haven't said anything about A&A. I adored issue 5, so I've got pretty high hopes. Is anyone else still reading it?

Sorry for not being able to provide the word on A&A, Ferg. I just haven't got around to reading it yet, but imagine I will in the next day or so. I loved issue #5, as well as most of the first arc, so I am still onboard!

I think I was just more excited for this new Ninjak arc knowing that it was taking place in the future. I get stoked for seeing the future Valiant U. from Book of Death fleshed out further!

[ksbord]

I don't mind Evans' style, but when he gets sloppy, it's pretty inexcusable considering he doesn't draw backgrounds.

I'll need to go back and check, but I think he drew the backgrounds in this issue, or at least it wasn't as noticeable. I could be really wrong.

Edit-- Correction, I'm wrong.

[Inhuman X]

I don't mind Evans' style, but when he gets sloppy, it's pretty inexcusable considering he doesn't draw backgrounds.

Now that you mention it, I see Andres Guinaldo credited with art too. Was he doing the backgrounds? Hmm... Still, I enjoyed the story.

[Captain Craig]

Dinesh is hinting at more War Mother along the way. Flashed a new Cary Nord cover featuring Ana on Twitter and rhetorically asks how there can be a new cover if the issue already came out. That joker!

I'm down for more War Mother. I felt the one shot was a nice intro. I wasn't just overwhelmed by it but it was good enough to check out more.

[thewarning]

Now that you mention it, I see Andres Guinaldo credited with art too. Was he doing the backgrounds? Hmm... Still, I enjoyed the story.

Guinaldo did the backup story.

Evans uses Photoshop for backgrounds. He basically slaps the "poster edges" filters on his source photos and drops them in.

It's really, really, really noticeable if you've ever poked around with Photoshop. Heck, even if not, look at the background compared to his thick line style in the foreground.

Screen Shot 2016-08-10 at 11.23.20 PM.jpg

(Larger version here.)

It's not a good look at all.

[scribbleMind]

The latest A&A feels a lot like the last series. I found the humor to be sharper and less broad than the last arc, and we're delving into more secret societies/ absurd factions. I don't know if I always want Archer and Armstrong to revolve around odd underground societies, but I'd be lying if I said that wasn't one of the things I find consistently enjoyable.

[JasonTodd428]

I liked the last two issues of A&A a lot better then the previous arc and I was very amused by this last issue. I thought the humor was handled better this time around.

I thought Ninjak was superb so far as the story goes. I really enjoyed the look into the future in particular and I liked that Kindt was taking up threads from previous arcs here. Nice tight storytelling here. I agree with ksbord about the art though.

[Vericc]

Ok so I just received the first issue of 4001 Ad via a competition. Is this an ok jumping on point? I've ordered the first 6 issues of X-O Manowar so should I just wait for them instead?

[scribbleMind]

The 4001-verse is separated from everything else and is only just now being developed outside of Rai. No one on this board seems to have had much of a problem jumping onto 4001 without reading Rai, despite it being the climax. Hell, some of those people like it more than those of us who were reading Rai. However, if you mean a jumping on point for valiant in general, since you're getting them anyway, I'd wait for those first six X-O issues. As one who has not been impressed with 4001 AD in and of itself, I just think it paired with X-O will paint a fuller more accurate picture.

[ksbord]

Ok so I just received the first issue of 4001 Ad via a competition. Is this an ok jumping on point? I've ordered the first 6 issues of X-O Manowar so should I just wait for them instead?

I agree with scribbleMind... The 4001 side of the Valiant Universe is far removed from the majority of the other titles, and Valiant does a great job summing up what you need to know at the beginning of the first issue.

That being said, if you'd rather experience than have it summed up for you (as well as plot point not covered by the summation) read the Rai 1 - 12. The 4001 AD event picks up immediately after Rai #12. Rai is completely new reader friendly, and introduces pretty much everything you'll see in the event. And it's a cracking good read!

[TheFerg714]

I loved Ninjak. Evans' art had (unsurprisingly) wonky faces every once in a while, but other than that I really dug it. He really has a knack for sucking you into the action and feeling the kinetic energy of it all. Also it was a nice surprise to see that the back-ups are set immediately after Siege, but Guinaldo's art unfortunately didn't blow me away like it did in War Mother.

A&A on the other hand... ugh... I just don't know what to think. I don't understand how he can go from one of my favorites issues of the year to this... To be fair, I didn't hate it. It was kind of fun and upbeat, but I think I laughed literally once. I just could not bring myself to care about any of it. I thought Mike Norton taking the reigns from Lafuente might fix it, but I guess not. The mystery is mildly engaging so I'll probably pick up the next issue, but I'm very close to dropping it. It's just not working for me.
And what the hell is so interesting about Davey the Mackerel? I heard Rafer Roberts at a con say something like, "I know a lot of people have been asking, and don't worry, Davey the Mackerel comes back soon." Who are these people? What is there to like about this character? Why is Valiant treating him like the Goat in Q&W? And when is David Lafuente going to leave the book forever?

In other news, All-Star Batman was awesome!

[Vericc]

I loved Ninjak. Evans' art had (unsurprisingly) wonky faces every once in a while, but other than that I really dug it. He really has a knack for sucking you into the action and feeling the kinetic energy of it all. Also it was a nice surprise to see that the back-ups are set immediately after Siege, but Guinaldo's art unfortunately didn't blow me away like it did in War Mother.

A&A on the other hand... ugh... I just don't know what to think. I don't understand how he can go from one of my favorites issues of the year to this... To be fair, I didn't hate it. It was kind of fun and upbeat, but I think I laughed literally once. I just could not bring myself to care about any of it. I thought Mike Norton taking the reigns from Lafuente might fix it, but I guess not. The mystery is mildly engaging so I'll probably pick up the next issue, but I'm very close to dropping it. It's just not working for me.
And what the hell is so interesting about Davey the Mackerel? I heard Rafer Roberts at a con say something like, "I know a lot of people have been asking, and don't worry, Davey the Mackerel comes back soon." Who are these people? What is there to like about this character? Why is Valiant treating him like the Goat in Q&W? And when is David Lafuente going to leave the book forever?

In other news, All-Star Batman was awesome!

I know this isn't a DC thread but I didn't find All Star Batman #1 that good imho. Too much jumping around in time for my liking.

Anyway I read 4001 Ad #1 and really enjoyed it although I didn't understand half of what was going on My mail didn't arrive today so once I get X-O Manowar it might make a bit more sense. What time is the current universe set in? Modern day? If so, is all of the Rai series set in the future and therefore doesn't have any interactions with other characters?

[TheFerg714]

I know this isn't a DC thread but I didn't find All Star Batman #1 that good imho. Too much jumping around in time for my liking.

Anyway I read 4001 Ad #1 and really enjoyed it although I didn't understand half of what was going on My mail didn't arrive today so once I get X-O Manowar it might make a bit more sense. What time is the current universe set in? Modern day? If so, is all of the Rai series set in the future and therefore doesn't have any interactions with other characters?

Nah, I loved the broad tapestry that the first issue (of All-Star Batman) built. It seems like the future for this series is just rife with possibilities.

You should expect to be a little confused by 4001 AD, but you should be able to enjoy it enough without reading anything else.

Everything is set in the "present." It's not 100% clear what year, but it's some time around now. The only thing set in 4001 is Rai. X-O's not gonna give you any background when it comes to 4001 AD. As everyone else has said, if you care about the backstory of the "4001-verse," you need to check out Rai 1-12 (and maybe Eternal Warrior 5-8 [Vol. 2]). And no, Rai doesn't cross over into anything going on in the present.