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

[TheFerg714]

Quantum and woody show getting produced by the russo brothers.

This is the greatest news I've ever heard, and it's a perfect opportunity for the Russos to get out from under Marvel's shadow fast. Going back to their comedic roots and doing a spoof on superhero tropes (which, essentially, is exactly what Q&W is) is a great idea.
New X-O series getting rave reviews -> Ninjak vs. -> Bloodshot/Harbinger movies written by Heisserer-> Q&W Show by Russo's. Shit's starting to look promising for the Big V.

I will get this, I'm looking forward to more Shadowman and great CAFU art. But it does seem off. If there's a Geomancer there should also be Gilad nearby. If not Shadowman than the Eternal Warrior needs to be the one fighting Darque, especially since Darque killed him in the first place. I really don't get why they went this route. I didn't read the Shadowman series except for the #0 and #10 issues. But from what I've seen of the rest of the series there doesn't seem to be a jazzy vibe. Is Jack a saxophonist in the new Valiant universe? If not that's a big part of the problem. It grounded him and made him feel like a man of the culture. Why else set it in New Orleans?

I like Ninjak, and at first it was weird having all the mystical stuff in his book. I wanted more espionage, and still do. But I get that they are drawing from the ninja/mystic angle and less from the spy angle. I continue to wonder what their long term plans are for the three characters, Ninjak, Shadowman and Gilad. I'm hoping this series answers at least some of it.

I get that it was a conscious decision to focus on the mystic-y side of Ninjak, rather than the espionage-y side, and for the most part it's turned out pretty good, but it's still just not what I want from Ninjak. Oddly though, I don't mind the Darque connections. After just embracing the Ninjak's direction, I find that kind of cool. I like that Master Darque is big enough of a villain to threaten multiple heroes. Bringing in Sandria is a bit of stretch, but I respect that Valiant's been playing the long game. Trying to slowly bring Shadowman back into focus in the pages of Ninjak isn't a bad idea, and the only thing people liked about Shadowman (so far) was the origin issues starring Sandria, so why not call back to those?

I just picked up and read WRATH OF ETERNAL WARRIOR vol 3 Deal with a Devil. Really excellent end to what is probably my favorite Valiant series. The Robert Gill art bookends well with The Book of Death, which in many ways is a prelude to WRATH. Looking forward to the upcoming special by Vendetti and the Archer and Armstrong special by Fred.

Me too! I also can't wait to hear what the fourth one-shot is going to be. I'm hoping for Quantum & Woody.
I see BoD/Wrath as one story as well... sort of the reverse of Bloodshot Reborn/USA and Rai/4001, although interestingly, I don't really see The Valiant and Bloodshot Reborn as one series. Prelude? Sure, but I look at them as entirely separate entities.
I really dug Wrath as well and it just goes to show that Venditti's touch on the Valiant U cannot be overstated. The guy gets it, and it would be a shame if DC swallowed him up forever. I hope Awakening is a sign that Venditti is here to stay. I can't fault the guy for doing something else though; after his (imo) lackluster New 52 Green Lantern series, he has been killing it with his Rebirth series.

I bought the Archer and Armstrong tie-in for Divinity and I thought it was a good read (albeit a quick one).

I really liked it as well. I really appreciate that it hearkened back to the original VEI series, and stayed away from the goofy Roberts interpretation.

[JediKage]

Because they are making Ninjak more central to the Darque Mythos then Shadowman. Its like having Han Solo Cut in and fight Darth Vader instead of Luke.

[ian0delond]

But unlike Ninjak, Shadowman is a boring character.

[JediKage]

And who is fault is that?
Shadowman doesn't write himself and as Ninjak is showing it aint that hard to write a good mystic story. Read some Classic Spawn or Hellraiser if you need some help.

[TheFerg714]

Because they are making Ninjak more central to the Darque Mythos then Shadowman. Its like having Han Solo Cut in and fight Darth Vader instead of Luke.

Well I take issue with the statement "more central to the Darque mythos than Shadowman." I really don't think that's fair to say. Sure Darque had a major impact on Ninjak's development, but the Darque's were directly responsible for creating Shadowman. I think it just feels like that because we haven't had a Shadowman book in three years, and yet Darque has shown up in Book of Death and Ninjak.
And I think the Star Wars analogy is a little fallacious as well. A better analogy would be like Spider-Man cutting in to fight Kingpin, in the place of Daredevil. Kingpin's not necessarily an A-list Spider-Man villain, but he's still dangerous and important enough to warrant a response from multiple heroes, rather than the one that he's most connected to.

[JediKage]

Not really Kingpin was originally a Spidey villain. Now he is more associated with Daredevil.

Darque Family is Central to the Shadowman Narrative because archenemies and a blood line connection.

Ninjak though interacts more with the Darques. And is now better at fighting mystic threats like Master Darque then Shadowman. He has his own niche and he has stolen Shadowman's because for some reason Vailant failed utterly on the Black Guy. While doing just fine on Ninjak, XO and Eternal Warrior.

[TheFerg714]

Not really Kingpin was originally a Spidey villain. Now he is more associated with Daredevil.

Darque Family is Central to the Shadowman Narrative because archenemies and a blood line connection.

Ninjak though interacts more with the Darques. And is now better at fighting mystic threats like Master Darque then Shadowman. He has his own niche and he has stolen Shadowman's because for some reason Vailant failed utterly on the Black Guy. While doing just fine on Ninjak, XO and Eternal Warrior.

Well first of all, I'm fairly certain that Valiant didn't screw uo Shadowman "because he was black.". They've cultivated plenty of great characters that aren't white since 2012, and I'm not gonna list them all here because I think you know that. And also it doesn't matter.
Again, Ninjak may be interacting with them more at this moment in time, but that's just because Valiant super dropped the ball with Jack and is now slowly trying to build him back up. It is frustrating to see how Ninjak has, in a sense, stolen Shaodwman's niche, but I don't think he will ever be be better than Shadowman (at his best), Dr. Mirage, or Punk Mambo at dealing with magical threats. I mean, remember all the gear he had to wear just to step into the Deadside? And he still got magic cancer!
Finally, I wasn't aware that Kingpin was a Spidey villain first, so that analogy doesn't really hold up anymore. My only point is that villains can be passed around, especially the really dangerous ones.

[TheFerg714]

Dinesh said on Twitter that the Valiant Summit 2017 date will be announced soon! I honestly believed that this would be happening around February-March, so it feels really good for it to finally be happening. My body is ready for a slew of new book announcements.

[kinggirlfriend]

Interview with Dinesh from Emerald City Con: http://www.popculthq.com/2017/03/19/...sh-shamdasani/

Edit to add: Interview with Warren Simmons also from ECCC: http://www.popculthq.com/2017/03/14/...warren-simons/

[kinggirlfriend]

Read GENERATION ZERO tpb vol 1 this weekend. Even though I like Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela I wasn't real eager to read this. Young kids with superpowers isn't something I gravitate towards this days, feels a bit been there done that to me. But I had ten dollars burning a hole in my pocket and I needed a fresh weekend Valiant fix. I was actually planning on picking up BRITANNIA but the comic shop didn't have it. So on a whim picked up Gen Zero. Glad I did! Valiant, consistent as always, came through on me again! This felt like a good mix of Harbinger and Fred's A&A, light without being cartoony but still serious enough to have real world danger. I like the Midwest via way of a Nickelodeon tv show vibe that the town Rook had. It wasn't the best comic ever but it definitely had that Valiant feel I needed and it was a fun solid read. Looking forward to Volume 2! Kind of a shame that's all there will be, I can see this book going in all kinds of directions.

[scribbleMind]

Britannia preview over at The Nerdist

http://nerdist.com/briannia-we-who-a...488614#gallery

[kinggirlfriend]

Cool interview with Daniel Kibblesmith who writes VALIANT HIGH and is a staff writer for COLBERT's THE LATE SHOW!

http://www.newsarama.com/33671-back-...ow-writer.html

[kinggirlfriend]

Preview of Braithwaite art for second X-O arc, GENERAL, plus pre-order bonuses for X-O and SECRET WEAPONS: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03...o-manowar-4-9/

Looks amazing!

[ian0delond]

June 2017 solicitations.
Small month once again.
Weird not having even having a Ninjak issue.
And their only ongoing with no foreseeable expiration date isn't even released yet.

[TheFerg714]

Read GENERATION ZERO tpb vol 1 this weekend. Even though I like Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela I wasn't real eager to read this. Young kids with superpowers isn't something I gravitate towards this days, feels a bit been there done that to me. But I had ten dollars burning a hole in my pocket and I needed a fresh weekend Valiant fix. I was actually planning on picking up BRITANNIA but the comic shop didn't have it. So on a whim picked up Gen Zero. Glad I did! Valiant, consistent as always, came through on me again! This felt like a good mix of Harbinger and Fred's A&A, light without being cartoony but still serious enough to have real world danger. I like the Midwest via way of a Nickelodeon tv show vibe that the town Rook had. It wasn't the best comic ever but it definitely had that Valiant feel I needed and it was a fun solid read. Looking forward to Volume 2! Kind of a shame that's all there will be, I can see this book going in all kinds of directions.

Well I'm truly glad you liked it, but I couldn't stand that series. I'll take Harbinger Wars and Armor Hunters: Harbinger as my official Gen. Zero stories.

Preview of Braithwaite art for second X-O arc, GENERAL, plus pre-order bonuses for X-O and SECRET WEAPONS: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/03...o-manowar-4-9/

Looks amazing!

Man, if X-O lives up to the hype, this could be a game changer for Valiant. I'm really eager to see what the sales for the first issue turn out like. It's getting 5/5 reviews literally everywhere I look. On top of that, doing 3 issue arcs (with really awesome titles: Soldier, General, etc), followed by the trade release (all for $10!) the next month is an amazing idea. Although I'm still slightly wary of Matt Kindt, seeing as he's very inconsistent with ongoings, I am crazy excited for tomorrow. I might wake up early. Bloodshot Reborn 0 and Valiant High are pretty hype worthy too.

June 2017 solicitations.
Small month once again.
Weird not having even having a Ninjak issue.
And their only ongoing with no foreseeable expiration date isn't even released yet.

Yea, it's slightly disappointing. I'll be getting everything though, and it all looks pretty great. Is anyone else doing the preorders?