Valiant Universe: Harbinger, Unity, Rai, A&A etc; current state and future prosp

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I enjoyed Generation zero but it wasn't as good as their Armor Hunters tie in.

So maybe just read the first few issues and see how you like it?

[TheFerg714]

This is amazing, thank you so much! Just a question: did you not recommend Generation Zero because of its quality? I usually enjoy Van Lente's writing and was going to give the first trade a try.

Yea, I would say that the quality is lackluster. I don't know if I'd call it bad writing, but I definitely wouldn't call it good. I like Van Lente as well (Archer & Armstrong is still my favorite VEI series, War Mother and Timewalker were solid, and his Incredible Hercules was good fun), but thi was not his shining moment.

More than that though, my main problem with the series is the direction they took the characters in. They essentially abandoned everything Dysart had build for Gen. Zero and gave them a new personality, mantra, and tone that didn't fit what I wanted a Gen. Zero book to be. It didn't help that it was one of the "lighter" books that all came out around the same time (A+A, Faith, Harbinger Renegade), and at that point I was just tired of it. It felt like they were going for a different audience, which theoretically is great, but imo it betrayed what Gen. Zero was originally intended to be.

EDIT: That said, if you're at all interested in the characters or concept, check out Armor Hunters: Harbinger first, then read the first couple issues and see what you think.

[El_Gato]

Yea, Harbinger is awesome. It's probably still the best series that Valiant has published (Imperium is a close second).
All of X-O was pretty good. Are you thinking about starting at the very beginning or with this latest series by Matt Kindt?

Good to know! They need to make an animated series, movie or tv series about Harbingers! Get the concept out there because the source material is quite strong!

As for XO, which option do you reccomend?

Unity is really inconsistent though imo. The first arc is one of my favorite superhero stories of all time, but the rest comes off as either generic or boring (Vol. 4 and 5 are high points though). However, if you're going to read Venditti's run on X-O Manowar, wait to read Unity Vol. 1 until you get to X-O Vol. 4.
I have high hopes for Shadowan 2.0. I'm sure you've heard that the last couple attempts didn't go so well.

Hmmm thanks for letting me know about the quality of Unity. I added it to my to read list because it was described as Valiant's Justice League/Avengers.

As for Shadowman, no I haven't heard. What happened? His look and concept is what is drawing me to learn more about him...

Well this is entirely up to you, but here's the best single issues from each of these that might get you interested.
Ninjak- Ninja-K #1 just came up a couple months ago, so that's your best bet (and it was awesome), but Kindt's Ninjak #1, #10 (beginning of Operation: Deadside arc starring Shadowman and Punk Mambo), and #27 (one-shot story). Other good options would be X-O #5 (his first appearance) and Unity #15 (basically "a day in the life" of Colin King).
Bloodshot- Just jump right to Jeff Lemire's run with The Valiant #1, Bloodshot Reborn #1, #10 (beginning of a 'Mad Max meets Old Man Logan' storyline), Bloodshot USA #1 (just a fun, simple 'zombies take over Manhattan story), or Bloodshot Salvation #1 (just came out last Sept).
Quantum & Woody- There's a high chance you might not like this, so I'm just going to recommend the first issue of the latest series, which started last month.
Archer & Armstrong- This series is awesome. Yea, it's goofy and comedic, but it also takes itself seriously. I highly recommend checking out Van Lente's #1. Can't really think of a better introductory issue than that. Stay away from the latest series written by Rafer Roberts though.
Faith and Dr. Mirage- The first trades are like $5 on Amazon.
Eternal Warrior- Maybe check out Book of Death #1, Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #1, or Unity #16 ('a day in the life' of Gilad)

Thank you so much for all of this! It's extremely helpful! Looks like I'm going to busy lol Hopefully soon I'll be a Valiant expert xD

Turok, Solar, and Magnus would add so much to the universe. As much as I love (almost) everything Valiant does, adding those characters would take things to the next level I think. Dynamite ain't doing s*** with them anyway, just buy them back!

Savage was really good though. A very simple revenge/mystery story with ridiculously amazing art by both Clayton Henry and Lewis LaRosa.

From what I gather, Dreamworks is the company that owns Turok, Solar and Magnus, not Dynamite. The latter just has a deal in place to publish comics about the characters (ie like IDW/Dark Horse once did for Star Wars). Comcast owns Dreamworks, so our best bet to see those three re-added to the VU would be for Comcast to buy Valiant or work out a publishing deal with them. I'm hoping for the former, so that Universal can start up a VCU and add Valiant's characters to their theme parks.

Then it'd be Disney/Marvel vs WB/DC vs Universal/Valiant

[TheFerg714]

Good to know! They need to make an animated series, movie or tv series about Harbingers! Get the concept out there because the source material is quite strong!

It really is. I think the plan is still for a Harbinger movie to come out at some point. Who knows if it'll actually ever happen.

As for XO, which option do you reccomend?

They're both very good. It's really up to you whether you want the shiny new thing or the "classic" (using the term loosely here) thing. Venditti's run is magnificent, and really set the tone for the whole Valiant U. It also spun off into Unity and Armor Hunters, and both become significantly more interesting when paired with X-O. Kindt's X-O is awesome, but it's definitely quite different. I won't get too into detail, but it's been great so far.

As for Shadowman, no I haven't heard. What happened? His look and concept is what is drawing me to learn more about him...

There isn't really much of a story to tell... the series just sucked. Poor characters, themes, plots, dialogue etc. But most of all it was just boring, especially when compared to the original four Valiant series that came before it (X-O, Harbinger, Bloodshot, A&A).

That said, literally everyone unanimously agrees that issues #0 and 10 are nearly perfection. And I'm not exaggerating at all.

From what I gather, Dreamworks is the company that owns Turok, Solar and Magnus, not Dynamite. The latter just has a deal in place to publish comics about the characters (ie like IDW/Dark Horse once did for Star Wars). Comcast owns Dreamworks, so our best bet to see those three re-added to the VU would be for Comcast to buy Valiant or work out a publishing deal with them. I'm hoping for the former, so that Universal can start up a VCU and add Valiant's characters to their theme parks.

Valiant has stated that they don't want the Gold Key characters unless they can own them outright unfortunately. And if the movies ever come to fruition, it looks like they're going to be made by Sony.

Then it'd be Disney/Marvel vs WB/DC vs Universal/Valiant

Well one thing's for sure, Marvel's gonna need some real competition now that they own X-Men again. It would be great if Valiant could fill that void.

[Captain Craig]

Ninjas vs The Valiant Universe #1 was good. Was literally just like I imagined but enjoyable all the same.

Bloodshot Salvation #5 - the book continues to be fun it's just not doing much to really broaden the characters at this point.

[Shadowras]

I currently read all my books in trades, but I may make an exception for Shadowman so excited for this new series.

[psylurker]

So thanks to the Xmas holidays and the flu I've had a lot of time to catch up on my reading lately and Valiant has been a big part of that. I've finished both Harbinger and Imperium, which I absolutely adored, and I'm ready to give Generation Zero and Secret Weapons a try before jumping into Harbinger Renegades.

I also wanted to read something different from the Harbinger books just to see if lightning strikes twice, so I started with the first trade of X-O Manowar by Venditti... and I was not disappointed. I feel I'm really starting to love the Valiant universe, their characters, their approach to storytelling.

I have read all the recommendations posted above (thanks to everyone who took the time) to understand which series I might try next: despite generally enjoying Lemire's writing, I'm not sure I'm overly fond of Bloodshot as a concept, and more comedic books like Quantum & Woody and A&A don't quite appeal to me. So I was thinking of reading Shadowman next, possibly staring with the new series by Andy Diggle, although I also like Justin Jordan's writing so I might try the previous volume as well.

And of course I'm very much looking forward to Harbinger Wars 2... I just hope Joshua Dysart eventually comes back to those characters as I already miss his excellent stories.

[BigLbo]

i liked the shadowman series quite a bit myself. haven't cared much for what they've done with him since canceling his title but still looking forward to the new series. i do hope at some point they bring zero/michael leroi in, the acclaim version of the character was awesome imo.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

http://www.comicsbeat.com/recruiting...-in-ninja-k-6/

[TheFerg714]

So thanks to the Xmas holidays and the flu I've had a lot of time to catch up on my reading lately and Valiant has been a big part of that. I've finished both Harbinger and Imperium, which I absolutely adored, and I'm ready to give Generation Zero and Secret Weapons a try before jumping into Harbinger Renegades.

You definitely started at the high-point! It's not a bad idea to leave the Harbinger Renegade for after you try other things. It leads nicely into HWII.

I also wanted to read something different from the Harbinger books just to see if lightning strikes twice, so I started with the first trade of X-O Manowar by Venditti... and I was not disappointed. I feel I'm really starting to love the Valiant universe, their characters, their approach to storytelling.

It's hard not to! Everything they do just has a level of love that I don't always feel with DC and Marvel. Even the bad books feel like a lot of work and care has been put into them, while the good books feel like they're heads and shoulders above the competition.

Man I can't wait to hear what you think of X-O going forward! Feel free to leave a little review of the stuff that you've read here.

I have read all the recommendations posted above (thanks to everyone who took the time) to understand which series I might try next: despite generally enjoying Lemire's writing, I'm not sure I'm overly fond of Bloodshot as a concept, and more comedic books like Quantum & Woody and A&A don't quite appeal to me. So I was thinking of reading Shadowman next, possibly staring with the new series by Andy Diggle, although I also like Justin Jordan's writing so I might try the previous volume as well.

I understand you're reasoning for all of these, but trust me, don't underestimate A&A.

As for Lemire, you can always try The Valiant. It's pretty great and stars Bloodshot, Ninjak, the Geomancer, Gilad, and literally every other character as well.

I would start on the new Diggle Shadowman series if you're going to start anywhere. That said, it's not like anything Valiant does it ever really outright bad (with like two exceptions), so if you really wanna know more about the character I'd go with one of these:
Vol. 1- Birth Rites
issues #0 and #10 (origin of Shadowman and Master Darque)
Ninjak Vol. 3- Operation: Deadside
4001 AD: Shadowman (one-shot)
Divinity III: Shadowman and the Battle for New Stalingrad (one-shot)
or maybe even the 90's Shadowman.

And of course I'm very much looking forward to Harbinger Wars 2... I just hope Joshua Dysart eventually comes back to those characters as I already miss his excellent stories.

We all do...

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

https://www.newsarama.com/38266-vali...citations.html

april 2018 solicits

[Shadowras]

https://www.newsarama.com/38266-vali...citations.html

april 2018 solicits

That ninja-k story sounds really good, glad to see villains like the dying man, and the United return. Also excited for Aric return to earth .

[scribbleMind]

The last two issues of X-O really brought me back into the fold. The bounty hunters are nearly as interesting as the Armor Hunters, and the last issue makes Aric's failure more acceptable to me. However, it is really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the armor is not organic, considering that it comes from a tree and the armors have been described and characterized like they are legitimately living fungal entities. That Aric's armor talks and has a personality of its own all of a sudden makes it even harder to push pass. Idk. There's so much about the armor that's confusing/unclear that I can't really knock points off because we don't have the whole picture.

I think Bloodshot Salvation has recently found its footing. It was good early on, but now it is entertaining.

And Ninja-K, I'm hooked. This is the type of lore and world building I really enjoy, and it seems meaningful in a way that some of the stuff in the last Ninjak series didn't. Gage has made every ninja he's introduced interesting thus far, especially Ninja-C and D. I'm looking forward to where all this might lead.

[Captain Craig]

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT has been sold.

Bleeding Cool has received a tip-off from a West Coast media source that Valiant Entertainment, publishers of comics such as X-O Manowar, Quantum & Woody, Bloodshot, Faith, Harbinger and Shadowman, has been sold in its entirety.

I don’t yet have confirmation as to who to. I’m sure that will come down the line.

The news is making the rounds. I'm reposting what my comments were from the Collected Editions post. This thread is probably the better suited for ongoing developments.
This didn't go well last time. Acclaim bought it and ran the company into bankruptcy.
I just hope the second half of history doesn't repeat itself.

Perhaps the new owners have a strong vision. Perhaps as part of their new management strategy and spending spree they will outright legally purchase all licensure to the Gold Key 3 to re-incorporate back into the Valiant Universe(personal wish).

In the short term publishing will continue. These deals take a while to sort out so 2018 seems safe. It's 2019 and beyond we will want to hear the plans for. Maybe Dinesh and some others will stay on in some capacity? Looking at it from a "big picture" they were fans who made an investment. To get a return on their gamble is something I can not fault them for one bit.

[O_Perez]

Valiant has been acquired by DMG Entertainment

Newsarama Source

This is about taking it to the next level,” said DMG founder/CEO Dan Mintz. “I am not looking on expanding from a publishing standpoint but from a motion picture standpoint.
Mintz said that "the plan is not to go in there and take apart what's working," and that Valiant's comic writers and artists will continue working - and expand to working more on film, television, and other platforms.
You can expect more strong storytelling with a defined road to other platforms,” Mintz said. “I’m also looking forward to bringing the writers close to the filmmaking process, which is something that is also important, and not keeping them siloed into the comic book area.

Dinesh is also transitioning out. I'm definitely a little worried about the publishing side. This reminds me of when original Valiant was sold to Acclaim Entertainment. Hoping for the best as I've been enjoying this current Valiant since the 2012 relaunch