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

[Dark-Flux]

But Janes is a long established character with ties to the Thor mythos. And the hammer inscription quite clear states anybody "worthy" can wield it. Doesnt say they need powers.
I see no problem with Sam being Cap. Like Jane, he's a long time partner and friend of Steve. Steve was incapacitated, so Sam took up the shield. How does that not "flow?".
And Miles didnt replace Peter. Both have their own book. As do Sam and Steve.

[sifighter]

News about the Valiant FCBD 2017 issue:

First: The biggest Valiant debut of all time begins with an all-new prelude to X-O Manowar from visionary storyteller Matt Kindt and blockbuster artists Tomas Giorello, Doug Braithwaite, Clayton Crain, Ryan Bodenheim, and Mico Suayan! Then, comics superstar Jeff Lemire begins the march toward Bloodshot Salvation with the first appearance of A Major New Character! Plus: Faith, Harbinger Renegade, Ninjak, Psi-Lords, Secret Weapons, Shadowman, and surprise revelations for Harbinger Wars 2!

Here's the link to the article, details many other companies offerings, as well:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hea...evealed-954884

I'm definitely glad that Jeff Lemire is continuing on Bloodshot after the USA mini. I'm also glad to see that in some way Archer and Armstrong will continue even with the current ongoing ending soon. Sounds like next year is gonna be good for Valiant.

[TheFerg714]

I'm definitely glad that Jeff Lemire is continuing on Bloodshot after the USA mini. I'm also glad to see that in some way Archer and Armstrong will continue even with the current ongoing ending soon. Sounds like next year is gonna be good for Valiant.

I'm insanely pumped to hear that Lemire will continue with Bloodshot.

However, I didn't see anything about Archer & Armstrong anywhere... Am I trippin?

[Carbon Based Stickler]

There's a big difference between diversity and FORCED DIVERSITY. I think diversity is good as long as it flows. Marvel introduced Northstar as a homosexual twin of Aurora in Alpha Flight...no big deal. It flowed with the story; one of the underlying themes; but to take an established character with decades of stories and shoehorn in a forced diversity is just wrong. Come up with a new character. Should be too hard. Thor becoming a woman bothers me; silliness, why not replace Thor with Enchantress, maybe her mystic might allows her to weird the hammer. Replacing cap is/was/always has been stupid. Remember Nomad/Captain II? Silliness the fans demanded reversal of. Why replace Spidey? Why not have Miles as Scarlet Spider? An homage if you want Peter dead?...Minority characters are and can be great; but they just don't get that chance when you shoehorn in diversity instead of letting it flow naturally.

There really is no such thing as forced diversity. There's only one group of people who regurgitate that term over and over on the internet (of course) and that group is anything but diverse. lol You're idea of what "flows naturally" is completely subjective. Your examples don't even make sense. Thor didn't become a woman. A woman became Thor. Oh, but you'd feel better about that if you got to pick the woman? Huh? Miles didn't replace anyone. BUT you'd feel better if he were replacing a different spider-character?? LOL You're thoughts don't seem to be flowing naturally...or at least not coherently. It would be great if people like you just left it at "I don't get it." instead of feeling the need to show everybody you don't get it.

Anyway, Lemire continuing Bloodshot is great and the new X-O stuff looks promising.

[vickvega]

Just read the first issue of Britannia. Holy crap that was good!

[TheFerg714]

There really is no such thing as forced diversity.

What about Iceman turning gay? What about Wally West inexplicably turning black? What about some random teen black girl becoming Iron Man (ahem.. Iron Heart... god that's an awful name)? I think the point he's getting at is that diversity can sometimes be good, even if it's "forced," but sometimes it comes off as pandering and messes with characters' backstories. The most obvious fix for this is to just let the writers do what they want when it comes to diversity and representation.

There's only one group of people who regurgitate that term over and over on the internet (of course) and that group is anything but diverse. lol

Strawman. I'm a white guy, but I'm also a bisexual, atheist redhead. An argument is an argument, regardless of the trivial classifications you want to put on the person making the argument.

LOL You're thoughts don't seem to be flowing naturally...or at least not coherently. It would be great if people like you just left it at "I don't get it." instead of feeling the need to show everybody you don't get it.

Ok, first of all, wow... No need for this much hostility.
Secondly, I don't necessarily agree with his specific examples, but I agree with the overall assessment. It's the principle of it that annoys us so much.

[ksbord]

Just read the first issue of Britannia. Holy crap that was good!

You have a chance to check out Divinity or Savage? Good stuff there!!

[ksbord]

I'm insanely pumped to hear that Lemire will continue with Bloodshot.

However, I didn't see anything about Archer & Armstrong anywhere... Am I trippin?

Nope, and I'm ok with that. Sounds like there is lots of great stuff on the horizon, so I'm hoping A&A goes back to the drawing board for an extended period of tlc and planning. No offense to the current creative team, but this iteration strayed to far from the mainstream Valiant Universe into whacky irrelevance, IMO. What I loved about FVLs run was that it was funny without being absurd, and still was important reading for Valiant fans. Let's get back to that, please.

[scribbleMind]

Oh, it was absurd. Everything he's done at valiant has been steeped in absurdity. But it wasn't Quantum and Woody.

[TheFerg714]

Oh, it was absurd. Everything he's done at valiant has been steeped in absurdity. But it wasn't Quantum and Woody.

No, it was even dumber than Quantum & Woody.

[ksbord]

Oh, it was absurd. Everything he's done at valiant has been steeped in absurdity. But it wasn't Quantum and Woody.

I'm thinking (hoping) that Harbinger: Renegade will prove otherwise.

[Aomalle27]

There really is no such thing as forced diversity. There's only one group of people who regurgitate that term over and over on the internet (of course) and that group is anything but diverse. lol You're idea of what "flows naturally" is completely subjective. Your examples don't even make sense. Thor didn't become a woman. A woman became Thor. Oh, but you'd feel better about that if you got to pick the woman? Huh? Miles didn't replace anyone. BUT you'd feel better if he were replacing a different spider-character?? LOL You're thoughts don't seem to be flowing naturally...or at least not coherently. It would be great if people like you just left it at "I don't get it." instead of feeling the need to show everybody you don't get it.

Anyway, Lemire continuing Bloodshot is great and the new X-O stuff looks promising.

Yes there is forced diversity; taking a character with 40+ yrs of backstory and retrofitting it to suit the social justic cwarrior theme of the day is forcing the issue. Great creators don't need to do that; they create something new. Now if the writer/creator transitions his character to that point (whatever it may be...for example Gay, transgender etc) great; because that was the whole point of the creation; but to pull the Star Trek Sulu routine is imbecilic. It reeks of forced diversity. And why do comics/movies/etc "have to" reflect current culture/population etc. It's an entertainment medium, I don't care if every character in a book is a black transgender; parapalegic. If it's entertaining, it's for me. Now I will agree that a diverse collection of characters is to my liking; but as long as the writing and storytelling is top notch; the diversity is just an added bonus. If the writing is crap; no amount of diversity is gonna change the fact the book is crap.

[sifighter]

I'm insanely pumped to hear that Lemire will continue with Bloodshot.

However, I didn't see anything about Archer & Armstrong anywhere... Am I trippin?

Well they mentioned them in the announcement blurb as being in the FCBD issue, so I took it to mean they have plans post the current ending series.

[Agent Z]

New to Valiant but have read up a bit about it on wikipedia. How good are say, Unity, Harbinger, Dr. Fate and Shadow Man?

[ksbord]

New to Valiant but have read up a bit about it on wikipedia. How good are say, Unity, Harbinger, Dr. Fate and Shadow Man?

Greetings, AgentZ! I'll give you a ranking of the titles you asked about, best to worst:

Harbinger - Amazing series. I'd say it's a tie between Harbinger and Archer & Armstrong as the best of the initial Valiant launch titles from 2012. Definitely worth a purchase... maybe even get the first couple of trades to start... heck, if you're feeling super ambitious, buy the first two trades and the Harbinger Wars deluxe hardcover. You won't regret it.
Doctor Mirage - I think that's what you meant. Strong first mini that further fleshes out the supernatural side of the Valiant U, slightly weaker second mini.
Unity - I discussed the highs and lows of this series in a post a few days ago... definite mixed bag that starts soooooo strong and really sputters out at the end. Pity. Great concept.
Shadowman - Sadly, the ups were infrequent, and the downs were way down for this series. The first arc was good, and then everything stumbles from there. Not certain why, but I'd wager it was a disconnect amongst the creative team at fault. It did produce two of the consistently highest regarded issues for VEI, #0 and #10. Hopefully all is not lost for the character... plans are obviously in place, and the most recent issue of Ninjak points to some activity in the very near future.