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zoux posted:How's your Valiant adventure going so far? Looking at ways to decrease my DC and Marvel books to add Valiant.
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Jan 26, 2016 20:07
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bobkatt013 posted:Looking at ways to decrease my DC and Marvel books to add Valiant. Yeah, that'll happen.
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Jan 26, 2016 20:09
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Quantum & Woody - Easily my favorite ongoing Valiant has to offer, I've read all four of the trades and each has made me laugh out loud, something rare in comics. This series is right up there with Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Formerly Known As/I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League in my book for best humorous super-teamup. The Valiant - I enjoyed this book, but am not sure why Valiant markets it as an ideal starting point for new readers. I'm somewhat familiar with everyone featured, but the all-hands-on-deck teamup brawl and seemingly inconsequential death of Kay the First-Day Geomancer left me wondering what was the intended impact of the story. The art was spot-on and everything flowed smoothly, but this was a case where Valiant could have stuffed in an extra issue or two of buildup+payoff rather than halt at just four (admittedly efficient) issues. As mentioned by others, I look forward to adding some Valiant to my subs list, even if the company will inevitably slash prices via humble bundles and comixology. I went all-in with the recent wave of Vertigo and can swap some Valiant in as those series start to finish out their first arcs. Divinity 2? The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage Vol. 2? It's a date!
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Jan 27, 2016 06:02
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Space Fish posted:Quantum & Woody - Easily my favorite ongoing Valiant has to offer, I've read all four of the trades and each has made me laugh out loud, something rare in comics. This series is right up there with Superior Foes of Spider-Man and Formerly Known As/I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League in my book for best humorous super-teamup. Funnily enough, for Quantum and Woody Must Die!, Lieber was on art for those issues, so it's a fitting reminder of Superior Foes, I think.
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Jan 27, 2016 06:19
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Kay lives on (in a sense) in Bloodshot Returns.
Teenage Fansub fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jan 27, 2016 |
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Jan 27, 2016 06:40
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Teenage Fansub posted:Kay lives on (in a sense) in Deadshot Returns. Was she the one who became Geomancer in the Archer and Armstrong run?
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Jan 27, 2016 14:51
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Eyup. Also, Teenage Fansub, I think you meant Bloodshot. Unless we're getting a Suicide Squad/H.A.R.D. Corps crossover or something.
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Jan 27, 2016 15:45
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Both new books are top notch this week. Bloodshot #10 definitely is drawing its influences from a particular blockbuster movie from last year, but its foreshadowing is on par with the best of Book of Death. Bloodshot chills with Shadowman? XO gets fed up and leaves? G.A.T.E creates a crazy city? It's amazing. Faith is also very good. It's refreshing, but not just in the 'untraditional bodytype' way. We have had quite a few dark books lately. It is nice to revisit the younger more lighthearted side of Valiant, like Archer, Faith, @x, and Torque. Serious poo poo is going down, but the light tone is exactly what Valiant needs at the moment.
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Jan 27, 2016 16:19
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Agreed on Faith being a ray of light. I'm so glad the quality was there to match the positive PR and grassroots hype. I know a Marvel zombie who refuses to read Ms. Marvel because he supposedly can't relate to teenagers, but worships classic Spider-Man. When Faith was announced, he reacted with put-upon comments about "comics are for escapism not following some FAT CHICK around lol" Not sure where I'm going with that strawman assassination, but my heart grows in size to see those comics succeed without the fanboys who strangle their own pasttime with exclusive attitudes. "Comics can go anywhere and do anything... except that." Space Fish fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Jan 28, 2016 |
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Jan 28, 2016 00:56
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I know that kind of guy. I brought this up during the Book of Death, but their treatment of Faith's weight is really drat mature and extremely commendable. On one hand, you have Faith being a normal confident geek kicking rear end, having normal relationships, and generally just being awesome. All of this happens without acknowledging her weight, which is how it should be. I love it. On the other hand, the Fall of Harbinger book mentions her dying in her fifties of heart failure. This is also very commendable. It acknowledges a negative of being overweight, the health concerns. The message is pretty drat good. If you are overweight, you are more likely to have various health issues as you grow older, but you shouldn't allow that to affect your self image and self confidence. If that is the version of yourself that you are most comfortable and happy with, then don't worry about it. Anyone who tries to shame you into anything different is an rear end in a top hat. It's an awesome comic that makes this kind of point without being all in your face about it. It's why Ms Marvel and Squirrel girl ranked so high in last year's 'Best of' lists, and Faith does it so much better.
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Jan 28, 2016 02:49
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Bloodshot reborn is awesome this week. Looks like they are doing a Mad Max storyline, and it's sick
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Jan 28, 2016 22:35
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bobkatt013 posted:Bloodshot reborn is awesome this week. Looks like they are doing a Mad Max storyline, and it's sick Yes sir, and for a hint of where it ends, look at page 5ish of Fall of Bloodshot. The panels where Bloodshot is walking through his memories. Bloodshot + Ninjak = All of LA being burned to the ground.
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Jan 29, 2016 02:52
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X-O Manowar - Read the first three volumes so far. Between this, Flash, and Green Lantern, Robert Venditti is king of sci-fi stories that are just interesting enough to exist. As Ninjak puts it, Manowar is too much of a wrecking ball to be of much use, and I'd say that applies to the character's ability to win my interest. Every angle in his stories is cool except for him - alien armor worshipped as holy artifact? lightning sword? aliens hiding among us? Oh, but it's all to prop up some barbarian who kills everyone every time. Bloodshot can get away with being a walking murder machine because of his constant vulnerability just underneath his expert gunplay. Manowar's saving grace ought to be the flashbacks to ancient times that, ideally, would fill in his personality, but they're vanilla "must kill Romans and make love to naked wife" filler. I shouldn't be too hard on the book, because Cary Nord is no slouch for visuals, but 14 issues in, the star character feels like he's just getting started with anything resembling an arc. Please tell me Eternal Warrior is the interesting version of of "warrior throughout time" I'm looking for, because I liked him in The Valiant. The two most interesting Manowar sequences to me so far have either involved Ninjak showing him up or the stylishly laid out, six-page origin of the Vine. I can't wait to start crossing up with Unity and watching more personalities collide with him. I read the Valiant 8-Bit Adventure: Unity some time ago and reread it recently with a new appreciation of the characters involved, and it's a fun interpretation of the battle to come via videogame tropes and graphics. The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Lives - first two issues are putting this new arc on track to go top-shelf alongside the first trade. Between this and Faith, Valiant's stealing slots from my pull list like nobody's business.
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Feb 3, 2016 00:39
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Aric is frustratingly dense and bull-headed for a very long time but I'd absolutely recommend you stick with it. I had the exact same opinion. The next arc will bring those issues to a head and he will collide with forces which he can't simply bulldoze. After that is when X-O gets really interesting (and the Armor Hunters crossover starts - which is one of the high points of Valiant).
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Feb 3, 2016 01:16
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X-O Manowar has slower character development due to the way it tells its stories and the fact that it's the only true ongoing with the same writer due to it being the flagship character of the company. Venditti has a long story in mind with lots of pre-planning and everything in the series builds upon what came before it. That's why it's one of my favorite books and characters. Plus it had one of the best events I've read in comics in the Armor Hunters storyline which I think is a masterpiece in scifi/cosmic comic storytelling.
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Feb 3, 2016 01:30
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The OP has been updated to reflect the books that have left us and ones that are new and coming soon.
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Feb 3, 2016 02:46
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I was having a discussion with folks about what makes a good TV/ book/comic series, and we determined slow character development to be a indicator of success. Characters who don't develop are uninteresting, and characters who develop quickly are jarring and unrealistic. XO Manowar definitely develops slowly but that is part of what makes it good.
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Feb 3, 2016 03:39
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Yeah, a common problem with superhero comics, for example, is that the characters have the first half of the hero's journey in like, a single origin issue, then never really progress past that halfway point for the decades to come. Like imagine if Star Wars had Luke grow in the first movie and then remain the same for 30 more years of movies, never actually progressing to become a true jedi.
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Feb 3, 2016 04:59
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Oh and to answer your second question; Eternal Warrior is great, both the character and his eponymous book. It's jam packed with opaque mythology and fantastic, very eclectic world building. In eight issues it spans about six thousand years, from Mesopotamia to modern America to post-apocalypse, and it doesn't feel incongruous at all. The second arc is especially good. I've only read the first issue of Wrath of the Eternal Warrior, the new book, but I'm really liking what I've read so far. It directly follows from Book of Death (which follows from The Valiant - you should check it out) and I'm excited to see Gilad struggle some more.
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Feb 3, 2016 20:43
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Faith #1 was so hyped that #1 sold out before it even shipped, the second printing shipped with the first print and also sold out d third printing is already on the way. Go buy it.
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Feb 3, 2016 21:50
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I'm happy to see it but I have no clue why. It's not like Faith or Valiant in general is super popular. Is it low print runs or something?
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Feb 3, 2016 21:52
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I suspect Valiant of having low print runs just so they can make announcements that they need another printing. This is my tin foil hat opinion.
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Feb 4, 2016 01:23
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Valiant's statement says it has the same print run as Wrath of the Eternal Warrior and Ninjak.
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Feb 4, 2016 01:27
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Yeah I have a second printing of Ninjak #1 because reasons.
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Feb 4, 2016 02:07
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Could Faith's success be chalked up as a victory on the part of the Valkyries? I'm sincerely asking, as I know that group is known to signal-boost for certain titles, but I don't know how much that translates into actual sales.
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Feb 4, 2016 02:14
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Ohhhh poo poo, just finished X-O book four, and y'all weren't lying. THE GOOD PART'S FINALLY HERE!!
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Feb 4, 2016 04:42
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*knock knock knock* Pardon the triple post, I just have some reading updates... Harbinger - Upon revisiting book one, I don't feel as harsh about this title as before. Sure, many of the plot ingredients feel a bit also-ran by now, and the layouts could use some more pep (hey, at least it's clear), but there are also a lot of promising seeds planted for future volumes. Somehow, I forgot Faith was straight-up activated in the first trade, and that Project Rising Spirit gets name-dropped. The potential rape scene seems much less like one on my second reading, maybe because I'm less eager to pounce to that conclusion and more willing to acknowledge that they're both wearing clothes and all any individual reader needs to know from that scene is that Pete was disturbed enough to take advantage of a former childhood friend. How far he went, we'll never know (for now?), only that Kris absolutely despises him for the mental + physical violations. My blurry "it was just molestation" benefit of the doubt doesn't let Pete or his narrative off the hook, but does make the premise of following his development a little more palatable to me personally. Also, if reading through this series helps set up the much-touted Imperium, then I'm game. X-O Manowar / Unity - Unity's first trade was a fun payoff to the threads set up in previous X-O books (and Harbinger to a lesser extent). The crossover trade of X-O felt surreal, when Valiant touts itself as handling its universe differently from Marvel and DC then turning around and assigning different crossover moments to different trades. Whatever, so long as Aric has a supporting cast and a little more self-awareness than before, I'll stick with this Visigoth. Not sure what further volumes of Unity will be like, though, or if I look forward to them. Wary of a team book among so many individual tales, perhaps? Ivar, Timewalker - Yes! Loved the extended paradox in the first trade, reminded me a lot of the Booster Gold story where he simply can't manage to prevent The Killing Joke from taking place. Plus, a Nazi bunker populated almost entirely with time-travel rookies who want to make a name for themselves killing peak-of-influence Hitler and time-traveling internet trolls-for-hire. Shadowman - Doctor Mirage appearing in the second volume is all I look forward to in this. Not a bad first book, but generic to the point that it's not "apart from the Valiant universe" so much as "could have taken place in any universe."
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Feb 6, 2016 06:49
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I really didn't like shadowman, even though I tried really hard on my second reading of it. The Doctor Mirage cameo is not something to look forward to because they treat her in a very comic book 'bosomy lass' sort of way. It is jarring to go from the mini series to that. The treatment of female characters in the whole series is really shameful, especially considering how good Valiant is with the rest of their series. The last bits are especially painful. Jack gets all emo and for some reason Alyssa loves him even though she just kinda met him and he has no redeeming qualities. Edit: Don't get me wrong, though. If you are getting into the Valiant universe, I think it is a worthwhile read for the lore. It explains the deadside and loas, as well as other things in the supernatural corner. It'll help you understand the last few issues of Ninjak and other various books that dip into that corner. Its plot and characters are just complete garbage. Rusty Kettle fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Feb 6, 2016 |
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Feb 6, 2016 16:35
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Hmmm. Is this a new Rai or something else? http://twitter.com/ValiantComics/status/696528085546622976
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Feb 8, 2016 05:51
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X-O posted:Hmmm. Is this a new Rai or something else? Neat!
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Feb 8, 2016 05:57
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X-O posted:Hmmm. Is this a new Rai or something else? Confirmed: Valiant is publishing Assassin's Creed comics.
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Feb 8, 2016 14:29
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Harbinger Vol.2 - This just got a LOT better, to the point that I've made sure to synchronize my reading of this, Bloodshot, and Harbinger Wars so that I get maximum hype from seeing how each series interacts in close reading succession. Watching a team of supposed losers come together in Harbinger felt satisfying in a way other super-teams or outcast groups (*cough*X-Men) rarely do these days. I hope each of the Renegades' limitations continues with them for further character moments. Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Lives - Still in love, would say all over again, but my love for the first arc never stopped. Archer & Armstrong Vol. 2 - Oh hey, it's the book that would've made The Valiant a lot more relevant! Fun story on its own, but also worth reading for all the context about the Geomancer's worth to the planet. I think anyone who characterizes Valiant as "better than companies that do big crossover events" needs to tweak their comparison to "big dumb crossover events," because I've been tripping over crossovers every other trade, and to Valiant's credit they've always been pretty tightly constructed and make sense within each series's themes and tone. It's like Valiant wants to reward fans for reading multiple series without wasting their time, either! X-O Manowar: Prelude To Armor Hunters - An okay interlude for the Nebraska moments, except that half the story is "look out, those Armor Hunters are coming, and they look mean!" Charming guest mini-comics, though.
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Feb 11, 2016 06:05
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Space Fish posted:I've made sure to synchronize my reading of this, Bloodshot, and Harbinger Wars so that I get maximum hype from seeing how each series interacts in close reading succession. How the books intersect and build off each is one of the greatest strengths of Valiant comics. The small size and attention to detail is why it has the most cohesive interconnected universe of all. Also for Armor Hunters I strongly suggest reading it in release order. The flow of the books is much better than reading the separate trades. Especially the trade off in the story of the actual Armor Hunters group. Because as you're reading the Armor Hunters event itself they're telling a story about those characters past in the X-O tie-ins. I know it's not easy to do with trades, but it's worth the effort. 
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Feb 11, 2016 06:17
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I am just now getting to armor wars and I hope the unity tie in is better than that lovely Dr. Silk story.
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Feb 11, 2016 06:27
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The Dr. Silk arc was far better than the Armor Hunters arc in Unity. The Silk arc pays off well in another series.
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Feb 11, 2016 07:05
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Archer and Armstrong feels like Incredible Hercules and I forgot how much I missed that book. Thank you DC for a new reboot as I can spend more money on this company.
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Feb 11, 2016 08:51
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bobkatt013 posted:Archer and Armstrong feels like Incredible Hercules and I forgot how much I missed that book. Thank you DC for a new reboot as I can spend more money on this company. You can always count on DC to give readers great jumping off points.
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Feb 11, 2016 08:52
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Tequila Bob posted:The Dr. Silk arc was far better than the Armor Hunters arc in Unity. The Silk arc pays off well in another series. That is very unfortunate.
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Feb 11, 2016 09:55
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bobkatt013 posted:Archer and Armstrong feels like Incredible Hercules and I forgot how much I missed that book. Thank you DC for a new reboot as I can spend more money on this company. Fred Van Lente is a hell of a writer.
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Feb 11, 2016 11:19
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X-O posted:How the books intersect and build off each is one of the greatest strengths of Valiant comics. The small size and attention to detail is why it has the most cohesive interconnected universe of all. I would add that if you can swing it, the Armor Hunters hardcover is awesome. It puts all the issues in order and is in a really tight presentation. It is a relatively expensive book, but I found that it was worth it because I didn't have to jump around trades.
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Feb 11, 2016 15:18
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