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

[ksbord]

Unfortunately I found this AMA right before I have to do actual work at my job, so I don't have any fun quotes for you like Inhuman X did for Dysart's, but here's Fred Van Lente's AMA from yesterday. From a quick skim I can see that there is plenty of Valiant/A&A/Ivar/Gen. Zero questions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbooks/..._here_ask_him/



Soooo, yea.. we're probably getting a War Mother mini-series soon!

Hoping that is the case. I liked the War Mother one-shot, but wasn't completely blown away. I would love to see more development with the character, especially because:
a) Valiant hyped her up so much, and
b) how the hell does she end up in Book of Death #1??

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I read Generation Zero #1 today, it was a good setup issue.

Monica Jim seems different than the last time we saw her (redesigned).

[ksbord]

http://comicdrops.com/2016/08/26/val...injak-project/

[sifighter]

http://comicdrops.com/2016/08/26/val...injak-project/

Well that's actually not a bad choice to play Ninjak, can't say I've seen him in anything else besides Arrow but I think he could probably get the look down.

[TheFerg714]

Seeing as Jason David Frank is involved, this is probably just one of those "Super Power Beat Downs" on YouTube. They're usually pretty awesome though, so I'm hype.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap8r3AA0PIk

[kinggirlfriend]

As usual you guys were right, about IMPERIUM.

IMPERIUM Vol 2: BROKEN ANGELS - Incredible story. You guys were right about the art, and I take back a little what I said. It isn't bad, just a huge step down from Vol 1. But the story carries it all along. The store didn't have Vol 3 or 4 so I ordered them when I got home. LV-99 and Sunlight On Snow need their own buddy cop book.

HARBINGER WARS tpb - Fun actiony comics. All the kids bring it down a notch for me though. More of a battle than a war but still fun enough. Of the Valiant events I've read I like ARMOR WARS the most.

X-O Vol 5: AT WAR WITH UNITY - Fills in some of the blanks between the UNITY issues. X-O continues to hit all the right spots.

[kinggirlfriend]

What're your guys's thoughts on the Bloodshot and Harbinger Armor Hunters minis? What other glaring omissions are there, what do I still need to read?


5/5
Archer & Armstrong Vol. 1-7
Ivar, Timewalker Vol. 1-3
X-O Vol. 1-5
Armor Hunters
Unity Vol. 1
Imperium Vol. 1-2
Wrath of Eternal Warrior Vol. 1
Divinity Vol. 1
Shadowman# 0, 10

4/5
The Valiant
Bloodshot Reborn Vol. 1-3
Ninjak Vol. 1-3
Dr Mirage Vol. 1-2

3/5
Harbinger Wars
Book of Death
Unity Vol. 2-3
Eternal Warrior Vol. 2
Eternal Warrior Days of Steel
Punk Mambo #0

[new_onslaught]

What're your guys's thoughts on the Bloodshot and Harbinger Armor Hunters minis? What other glaring omissions are there, what do I still need to read?


5/5
Archer & Armstrong Vol. 1-7
Ivar, Timewalker Vol. 1-3
X-O Vol. 1-5
Armor Hunters
Unity Vol. 1
Imperium Vol. 1-2
Wrath of Eternal Warrior Vol. 1
Divinity Vol. 1
Shadowman# 0, 10

4/5
The Valiant
Bloodshot Reborn Vol. 1-3
Ninjak Vol. 1-3
Dr Mirage Vol. 1-2

3/5
Harbinger Wars
Book of Death
Unity Vol. 2-3
Eternal Warrior Vol. 2
Eternal Warrior Days of Steel
Punk Mambo #0

I liked all the tie-ins of Armor Hunters, particularly Harbinger and Bloodshot. If that list is what you have read, I am impressed! You are a Valiant veteran already! All that's missing is Harbinger, which you are gonna love, since you like Imperium and maybe check Faith as well, depending on how much you'll end up liking the character in Harbinger. Have you checked Rai? Although generally I am not a fan of future stories, this one is quite good.

[TheFerg714]

As usual you guys were right, about IMPERIUM.

IMPERIUM Vol 2: BROKEN ANGELS - Incredible story. You guys were right about the art, and I take back a little what I said. It isn't bad, just a huge step down from Vol 1. But the story carries it all along. The store didn't have Vol 3 or 4 so I ordered them when I got home. LV-99 and Sunlight On Snow need their own buddy cop book.

HARBINGER WARS tpb - Fun actiony comics. All the kids bring it down a notch for me though. More of a battle than a war but still fun enough. Of the Valiant events I've read I like ARMOR WARS the most.

X-O Vol 5: AT WAR WITH UNITY - Fills in some of the blanks between the UNITY issues. X-O continues to hit all the right spots.

Man, I can't wait to see what you think of Stormbreak. Also... I cannot believe you didn't like Harbinger Wars that much. I think you're missing context from the first two volumes of Harbinger to really appreciate it. When you get into Harbinger you should probably read the mini-series alongside Vol. 3. The title however, is misleading. Comics do that all the time though... Planet Death, Sect Civil War, Shadow Wars, etc...

What're your guys's thoughts on the Bloodshot and Harbinger Armor Hunters minis? What other glaring omissions are there, what do I still need to read?

The Bloodshot tie-in was fun and mindless action. It's not amazing, but if you like the character at all I'd say you should pick it up. I love Bloodshot's 80's action hero one-liners in Armor Hunters. I probably shouldn't comment on the Harbinger series because it's been quite a while since I've read it, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit. You've probably already been spoiled on a certain character death in Harbinger, but if you haven't yet, I would advise you to wait on this mini.

You're still missing a fair amount, but here's what I would recommend moving to the top of the waiting list.
Quantum & Woody- I know it's pretty much a dead topic around here, but once upon a time, this book was a lot of fun. Admittedly, I think it sort of loses it's path after a while, but the first arc is solid. If anything, it's quite a departure from everything else from Valiant. Hell, even now, with books like Faith, Gen. Zero, Brittania, and Savage coming out, Q&W still sticks out as unique among Valiant's roster. I'm not saying you should go track down the entire series, but I would highly recommend trying out the first volume, especially because you can easily find it for $5.
Rai- Like new_onslaught, I'm not into future sci-fi superheroes very much, but this book just works. I mean, seriously, just flip through any random issue and marvel at Clayon Crain's beautiful digital paintings. How can you not want to jump in? Plus, you'll be able to jump right into the 4001AD event right after you're done with Vol. 1-3.
Faith- Like Q&W, this is kind of an out-of-left-field type of story for Valiant, but I think it's pretty good. Faith is the hero we all deserve. For this one, I would say you should probably just find a cheap copy of issue #1 (from either the mini or the ongoing), and see if you enjoy it at all. It's not my style at all, but somehow it won me over.
Unity- The series for sure went down the drain, but don't count out Volume 4 & 5. While not perfect, I think they're both a lot of fun. Vol. 4 guest stars Faith and Vol. 5 is essentially "A Day in the Life of Unity," with each issue focusing on a different member.
Bloodshot (original series)- I don't think it comes anywhere close to Bloodshot Reborn, in terms of quality of storytelling, but if you're a fan of bombastic, brutal, fast paced, classic action stories, you should probably check out the first two volumes of this asap.
The Delinquents- While I don't think this mini-series is that great, you'll most likely enjoy it. It's a Q&W/A&A crossover.
Dead Drop- I dare you to experience the absolute worst VEI has to offer.
I think that just about covers it. Also, you have a bunch of cool new releases coming out soon like Wrath Vol. 2, Divinity II, and Ninjak Vol. 4.

What do you plan on doing now that you're pretty much caught up with everything? Are you going to start picking up books monthly, or continue trade-waiting? With the advent of Future of Valiant, you've sort of picked the best time possible to catch up.

[Muadib]

While i am enjoying the Valiant books i am reading i felt Unity let itself down by Vol 3.

For team that seemed to be Valiant's "Avengers" or "Justice League" the decision to keep the cast so small really worked against the book i felt.

VEI should have expanded the team to at least 7 members. And we needed more villains of a stature to challenge the team.

A wasted opportunity in some respects.

[TheFerg714]

While i am enjoying the Valiant books i am reading i felt Unity let itself down by Vol 3.

For team that seemed to be Valiant's "Avengers" or "Justice League" the decision to keep the cast so small really worked against the book i felt.

VEI should have expanded the team to at least 7 members. And we needed more villains of a stature to challenge the team.

A wasted opportunity in some respects.

Definitely. In a lot of respects. They even had a chance to salvage it after Armor Hunters, when the team was "outed" to the public, but even then, it didn't really go anywhere. Honestly, I love most of the guy's work, but I think Kindt cracked under the pressure. I just don't think he's that great at team books or "leading" a universe. His JLA run was stilted and meandering too. He's best at being left alone to his own corner of the universe (Ninjak) and epic, cinematic events (Unity Vol. 1, The Valiant). Rai and Divinity would be the best of both worlds.

I didn't mind the roster of X-O, Livewire, Ninjak, Gilad, and GIN-GR, but I wish they would've kept the 'rotating door' aspect going. I liked seeing the different dynamic of new characters popping in and out, and it would've been a good way to introduce said characters to a larger audience. On top of that, adding in new members for different missions would make the team feel way less douchey and exclusionary than the Justice League and Avengers.

[kinggirlfriend]

I liked all the tie-ins of Armor Hunters, particularly Harbinger and Bloodshot. If that list is what you have read, I am impressed! You are a Valiant veteran already! All that's missing is Harbinger, which you are gonna love, since you like Imperium and maybe check Faith as well, depending on how much you'll end up liking the character in Harbinger. Have you checked Rai? Although generally I am not a fan of future stories, this one is quite good.

Man, I can't wait to see what you think of Stormbreak. Also... I cannot believe you didn't like Harbinger Wars that much. I think you're missing context from the first two volumes of Harbinger to really appreciate it. When you get into Harbinger you should probably read the mini-series alongside Vol. 3. The title however, is misleading. Comics do that all the time though... Planet Death, Sect Civil War, Shadow Wars, etc...

The Bloodshot tie-in was fun and mindless action. It's not amazing, but if you like the character at all I'd say you should pick it up. I love Bloodshot's 80's action hero one-liners in Armor Hunters. I probably shouldn't comment on the Harbinger series because it's been quite a while since I've read it, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit. You've probably already been spoiled on a certain character death in Harbinger, but if you haven't yet, I would advise you to wait on this mini.

You're still missing a fair amount, but here's what I would recommend moving to the top of the waiting list.
Quantum & Woody- I know it's pretty much a dead topic around here, but once upon a time, this book was a lot of fun. Admittedly, I think it sort of loses it's path after a while, but the first arc is solid. If anything, it's quite a departure from everything else from Valiant. Hell, even now, with books like Faith, Gen. Zero, Brittania, and Savage coming out, Q&W still sticks out as unique among Valiant's roster. I'm not saying you should go track down the entire series, but I would highly recommend trying out the first volume, especially because you can easily find it for $5.
Rai- Like new_onslaught, I'm not into future sci-fi superheroes very much, but this book just works. I mean, seriously, just flip through any random issue and marvel at Clayon Crain's beautiful digital paintings. How can you not want to jump in? Plus, you'll be able to jump right into the 4001AD event right after you're done with Vol. 1-3.
Faith- Like Q&W, this is kind of an out-of-left-field type of story for Valiant, but I think it's pretty good. Faith is the hero we all deserve. For this one, I would say you should probably just find a cheap copy of issue #1 (from either the mini or the ongoing), and see if you enjoy it at all. It's not my style at all, but somehow it won me over.
Unity- The series for sure went down the drain, but don't count out Volume 4 & 5. While not perfect, I think they're both a lot of fun. Vol. 4 guest stars Faith and Vol. 5 is essentially "A Day in the Life of Unity," with each issue focusing on a different member.
Bloodshot (original series)- I don't think it comes anywhere close to Bloodshot Reborn, in terms of quality of storytelling, but if you're a fan of bombastic, brutal, fast paced, classic action stories, you should probably check out the first two volumes of this asap.
The Delinquents- While I don't think this mini-series is that great, you'll most likely enjoy it. It's a Q&W/A&A crossover.
Dead Drop- I dare you to experience the absolute worst VEI has to offer.
I think that just about covers it. Also, you have a bunch of cool new releases coming out soon like Wrath Vol. 2, Divinity II, and Ninjak Vol. 4.

What do you plan on doing now that you're pretty much caught up with everything? Are you going to start picking up books monthly, or continue trade-waiting? With the advent of Future of Valiant, you've sort of picked the best time possible to catch up.

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

Onslaught, I'll probably give them both a shot then!

Ferg, you're probably right about needing to read the Harbinger issues leading up to Wars. I'll work through that series next. I'll keep working my way through X-O, then will probably read Unity Vol 4-5. I'm still on the fence about Rai, but I guess the first trade is so cheap I can give it a shot. Same with thing with Q&W.

Once I'm caught up I'm still gonna trade wait, that's how I read all my comics now. Right now I can't wait for Divinity II, Ninjak Vol 4, and Wrath Vol 2!

[ksbord]

More news... Live action Valiant is on the way, Ferg pretty much called it:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/08/...or-and-savage/

[TheFerg714]

More news... Live action Valiant is on the way, Ferg pretty much called it:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/08/...or-and-savage/

HOLY ****!!! That's amazing!!

[JediKage]

what is weird to me is no Livewire mention since that is the main romantic entanglement for Ninjak. I mean Faith, I know she is popular but...