Valiant Comics

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:25 am

So Valiant comics returned last year under new ownership, and started to release new titles featuring their signature characters from their original run. X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Archer & Armstrong, Harbingers, Shadow Man and Quantum & Woody have all been rebooted so far. They lost Doctor Solar, Magnus and Turok (iirc, they all went to Darkhorse, and they released a new Doctor Solar comic). I picked up a bunch of titles from ComiXology, as they had a big .99 sale going on (including older titles, but again, not the characters they no longer have a license for).

So far, I've read the first story arcs for Archer & Armstrong, Shadow Man & X-O (first four issues of each), as well as 0 issues for Archer & Armstrong, Bloodshot, Harbingers and Shadow Man. Really like what I've read so far, as they seem to really work not only on telling a good story, but develop the characters over the course of said stories. I haven't read this many comics back to back in a long time, but each one kept me interested all the way through each story arc.

Another thing I like is how they will introduce new versions of other characters through their current titles. Dr. Mirage debuted in Shadow Man, Geomancer and Eternal Warrior in Archer & Armstrong, Ninjak in X-O, and the Hard Corps in Bloodshot/Harbinger (during the only crossover storyline to date, The Harbinger Wars).

I'll likely read through the first story arcs of Bloodshot/Harbinger today, as they're actually pretty quick reads (being around 24 pages makes easy reading for me, even on my tablet).

Almost forgot to mention that Shadow Man is drawn by Pat Zircher, who was an artist for Villains & Vigilantes and other rpgs back in the day.

So yeah, I'm gushing over Valiant right now. Haven't been this much into comics for quite some time and going digital has been a godsend, since besides being cheaper (even without the sale, older issues are priced a buck or two less than cover price), I can bring them with me anywhere. I know Mr. Jupiter was lamenting some Marvel books recently, so I hope he considers checking some of these books out. I think he might like them.

Post by **BASHMAN** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 5:50 pm

Man I should take a look at their stuff. In my youth, I never got into Valiant Comics. I went straight from Marvel to Image and barely collected any DC (though now as an adult I really like DC stuff too).

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 5:57 pm

BASHMAN wrote:Man I should take a look at their stuff. In my youth, I never got into Valiant Comics. I went straight from Marvel to Image and barely collected any DC (though now as an adult I really like DC stuff too).

yeah, I glossed over them as well. I remember reading a few issues of X-O back then (a friend had them because of the video game with X-O and Iron Man in it), but that was it. That's why I'm glad this is a reboot, since it's been more than 10 years since the original Valiant folded. I've read most of the first story arcs for their main books so far (except Harbinger, which I'm half way through the first arc), and I really like what I've read so far. My favorites so far are Archer & Armstrong and Bloodshot, but Shadowman is pretty good too.

MrJupiter · Post by **MrJupiter** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 11:06 pm

This is cool. I've never heard of these guys before. Urbwar, is there a particular issue series that stands out for you? I'll see if I can track down, and collect, this one. I can't afford to follow more than one story line right now.

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:16 am

MrJupiter wrote:This is cool. I've never heard of these guys before. Urbwar, is there a particular issue series that stands out for you? I'll see if I can track down, and collect, this one. I can't afford to follow more than one story line right now.

Well, I've really gotten into 3 series so far. Archer & Armstrong is really interesting, and the 2 main characters don't wear costumes. It has an element of humor in it, even though the stories are not humorous themselves.

Bloodshot is a bit darker, with a lot of bloodshed. Harbinger is also darker, but there are also multiple characters in it.

My suggestion would be to see if you can get the Issue 0 for these 3, and see which one appeals to you the most. None of those issues is part of the regular storylines, but gives more background on some of the characters from each series.

MrJupiter · Post by **MrJupiter** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:01 pm

I was looking at the Valiant website and noticed that a series called Unity is starting mid-November. I read a small sample of it there and thought that it looked really interesting. Looks like a team of supers are brought together to deal with X-O Manowar.

I thnk I'm going to try and see if my local comic shop would be willing to pick up the first 4 issues for me to check out.

So many of the other titles look great as well, but at least I might be able to get in on this one from issue 1.

Thanks for bringing these guys up, urbwar!

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:04 pm

Yeah, Unity is why I was able to get so many titles for so cheap. I read a preview for it, and it looks interesting. I recognize most of the characters (I'm sure Unity is Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Livewire from Harbingers and Toyo Harada), plus X-O. Should be fun.

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 3:55 am

I finished up all the issues of Bloodshot and Harbinger I bought. They are definitely my 2 favorite series from this company right now. I'm reading the second X-O story arc (which features Ninjak). It's good, but not as much as the other two. After this will be the next Archer & Armstrong arc, then back to X-O for the final issues I bought before Unity is supposed to start.

BrianI · Post by **BrianI** » Fri Sep 26, 2014 6:50 pm

I've been enjoying the Valiant reboot series (and the hardcover reprints of the old classics from the '90s) -some good stuff. Shadowman and Harbinger are probably my favorites.

For the recently released rpg from Catalyst, I'm more conflicted. It's a nice looking book, and I love that one of the non-big two publishers have an official RPG out. On the other hand, I think I like a little more game to my game.

urbwar · Post by **urbwar** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 5:35 am

btw for anyone interested, there is a Bloodshot sale going on t Comixology. Not just the current version, but the two older series is also on sale

As for the rpg, I haven't looked at. Downloaded the quickstart stuff, but as I learned you rotate gms during the game, I haven't bothered. That's not really my cup of tea, as I either want to run or play, not both during the same session.