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I have been trying to read the whole Valiant run in order of release. The pre-unity books are fantastic. The way they built up the universe was really interesting. Solar linked up with Magnus and begat Rai and XO in parallel storylines taking place 2000 years apart. Everything was really well-written, the art was not flashy but told good stories. Villains in one book would appear in others. By Solar #10 the origin of the universe was established. Solar accidentally destroyed the universe then subconsciously recreated it with some changes made by his subconscious. This spawned the aliens and Geomancers and Gilad's family begat harbingers. Everyone with powers comes from this one event somehow. Unity was a great storyline. Then during Unity, Jim Shooter got fired, I guess, and everything goes downhill from there. There are good post-unity books. Archer and Armstrong continues being quality. Solar drops off quickly. David Lapham stuck around for a few months and turned out good books. But the difference in quality is noticeable. The comics are still good, but not as artful or compelling. Especially Solar, which was such a unique and interesting story for the first year.
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Jul 22, 2012 15:08
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Let us know if you make it all the way through, I've never gotten past the Chaos Saga in most of the books although I did finish XO and Solar and was appalled by how bad they turned out towards the end. The Crossover they did with Image really was a low point too, bad artwork, crappy writing and late books from the Image side ruined it completely.
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Jul 22, 2012 17:16
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I am up to the serial number contest now. Some books have already gotten bad but it seems like the quality doesn't go completely downhill until the original writer leaves. It really is a shame they can't even reprint most of this stuff. I remember not liking Rai as a kid but if you read up to Magnus #8 it makes sense and is a good story. The key books were so rare back then, it was difficult just to read most of the early issues. The only pre-unity books I collected from the start were Shadowman and XO, so going back and reading early Solar or Magnus is very cool. I am sure by Birthquake these books get awful, though. At that point they were hiring interns as writers and pencilers. Valiant Vision was another bad idea.
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Jul 22, 2012 18:09
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Birthquake actually brought a bunch of new talent back onto the books but it was too late, sales were in the shitter. That lead to the Acclaim relaunch which was overall very enjoyable. And they may not currently be able to physically reprint some of the books, they are going to be available in digital (if not already).
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Jul 22, 2012 19:53
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Rhyno posted:Birthquake actually brought a bunch of new talent back onto the books but it was too late, sales were in the shitter. That lead to the Acclaim relaunch which was overall very enjoyable.
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Jul 23, 2012 13:49
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They're bringing Shadowman back! http://ifanboy.com/articles/teaser-valiant-casts-a-shadow/ I always had a place in my heart for Shadowman because it took place in my hometown, I hope this works out well.
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Jul 24, 2012 15:12
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Or is it Sputnik posted:I know a young Alex Maleev worked for Armada/Acclaim in 1994. Could that be some of his earliest american work? He drew a few Magic the Gathering comics and I thought those were his first comics ever, american or not. Does he have previous work I was unaware of?
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Jul 24, 2012 15:27
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The earliest work Wiki lists for Maleev are a couple The Crow books for Kitchen Sink in 96', for whatever that's worth. Edit: Scratch that, this site: lists his earliest work as some Magic the Gathering comics for Acclaim in 95'. Madrox fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Jul 24, 2012 |
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Jul 24, 2012 16:19
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mints posted:They're bringing Shadowman back! So awesome. I still fondly remember that weird crossover with Aerosmith. A Solar relaunch is also very welcome.
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Jul 25, 2012 09:31
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BGrifter posted:A Solar relaunch is also very welcome.
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Jul 25, 2012 13:55
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Endless Mike posted:Won't happen. They're not using the Gold Key characters. I have made really good friends with one of the guys at Valiant, we hung out at C2E2 and they had a presence at our local con earlier this year. So let me say this. Endless Mike posted:They're not using the Gold Key characters. Not yet.
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Jul 25, 2012 22:02
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Rhyno posted:I have made really good friends with one of the guys at Valiant, we hung out at C2E2 and they had a presence at our local con earlier this year. So let me say this. Reading this, Rich? 
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Jul 25, 2012 22:38
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Endless Mike posted:Reading this, Rich? I bet he is.
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Jul 25, 2012 22:39
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I just read Harbinger #1 and I've decided to not buy it anymore. The main guy rapes some girl he knew and I'm supposed to root for him? No.
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Aug 7, 2012 18:49
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I don't think you are supposed to root for him at all. He is a really lovely person. I havent read issue 3 but in issue 2 it is more apparent how hosed up what he does is. How little the organisation that rescues him cares is what bothers me the most. Like raping someone is a needed part of hitting rock bottom which is needed to fufill his potential.
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Aug 7, 2012 21:25
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I finally read Archer and Armstrong #1 this morning and it was definitely worth the wait. I mean, flipping bullcorn, this was probably worth the whole relaunch. I never read the original series but Van Lente laid down the premise in a really solid way and still put us in the middle of the action. It's really just four scenes but it felt so well-paced. I'm already in love with both our protagonists and getting a real Incredible Hercules vibe out of this so far. Clayton and Milla do a phenomenal job on the art. It's great to see that between Armstrong's flashbacks, of which there will be presumably many more, and the modern day story, that the tone they've established works so well. Henry's pencils are really smart and spot-on. He does drop the backgrounds in the two big action scenes but it does come out very smooth for it. And man, Milla's colors pop so drat well. As you can see, I'm gushing and a little incoherent. But there's just so much to like. And so much punching. Please, go out and give this book a chance. I've been reading X-O Manowar and I like it as it's own thing... but it's taken me three issues in to decide whether or not I'm sold on the book and Archer and Armstrong did it in a single take.
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Aug 9, 2012 16:06
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Yeah! It was a really fun book, and I already can't wait for the next issue. X-O had a slower burn, but I think I'm sticking with it, and I think I'm dropping Harbinger if the next issue doesn't do anything for me. Bloodshot I'm still waiting to see where it goes.
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Aug 9, 2012 16:08
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Going to have to second the a&a love. A few months back I marathoned the original series and loved it. This is definitely an awesome relaunch. I'm not really a comics fan per se, but this series is just so drat solid. Hell, I even set up a pull at my lcs. OWLS! fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Aug 9, 2012 |
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Aug 9, 2012 16:15
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Office Sheep posted:I don't think you are supposed to root for him at all. He is a really lovely person. I havent read issue 3 but in issue 2 it is more apparent how hosed up what he does is. How little the organisation that rescues him cares is what bothers me the most. Like raping someone is a needed part of hitting rock bottom which is needed to fufill his potential. What bothered me the most was that it was glossed over almost inmediately, with only a few lines referencing it after ("I've never done something like that before" is as hosed up as saying "But I'm a good person"). I really liked Dysart's Unknown Soldier and I'm sure the guy is smart enough not to use rape as just "a thing that he did", but the fact that it seemed like just, as you said, a stepping stone bothered the hell out of me.
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Aug 10, 2012 14:45
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Action Missile Eye posted:I finally read Archer and Armstrong #1 this morning and it was definitely worth the wait. I mean, flipping bullcorn, this was probably worth the whole relaunch. I took your advice and picked this up this weekend. It's awesome. I won't repeat everything you've said, but I will heartily second this endorsement.
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Aug 13, 2012 08:55
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 Now mark your calendar for Sept. 5th!I did some vague hunting for sales numbers (even though I'm fairly ignorant of how those stack up) and found an article from June stating X-O #1 sold around 45,000. Is this pretty decent or am I getting my hopes up on this relaunch?  Variant cover to #2.
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Aug 13, 2012 14:16
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Action Missile Eye posted:
45k is a good sales figure. For comparison, in March (newest that came up on the first page of Google), that would have made it the highest selling comic not by Marvel or DC by a good 8000 copies (Saga #1 sold 37k) and it would be somewhere in the low 30s in sales ranking, around books like Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Batwoman, Batgirl, Kick-rear end 2 (I guess Icon books are not separated), and Green Lantern Corps.
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Aug 13, 2012 15:17
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Action Missile Eye posted:Is this pretty decent or am I getting my hopes up on this relaunch? I think it's important to remember that Valiant was a successful company until Acclaim ruined them. I might be wrong about this, but shooting completely from the hip, I think they were the largest selling non-big two company for a time. So, assuming folks still remember the good ol' days before Shooter got kicked to the curb, this has a chance.
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Aug 14, 2012 07:51
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I think they got rid of Shooter before they became the biggest indie, I seem to remember his term ending not long after Unity.
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Aug 14, 2012 15:13
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mints posted:I think they got rid of Shooter before they became the biggest indie, I seem to remember his term ending not long after Unity. Correct, he was out long before Acclaim came into the picture.
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Aug 14, 2012 16:27
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So Acclaim actually made them more popular? Have I been wrong all these years about this? My paradigm! It's shifting!
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Aug 15, 2012 07:28
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meltor posted:So Acclaim actually made them more popular? Have I been wrong all these years about this? Honestly the only good thing about the Acclaim deal was us getting Quantum and Woody.
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Aug 15, 2012 07:34
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Rhyno posted:Honestly the only good thing about the Acclaim deal was us getting Quantum and Woody. That's the one where they have to fistbump each day or they become intangible right? Because if so, that was a pretty awesome book. Now I hope they reboot that.
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Aug 15, 2012 07:39
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meltor posted:That's the one where they have to fistbump each day or they become intangible right? They became linked together in a shared energy pool that required their quantum bands to come into contact once every 24 hours in order to keep themselves from dissipating. So yeah, fistbump. Love that book, I hope they give Priest and Bright a chance if they do bring it back.
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Aug 18, 2012 05:30
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I still have my XO ring they sold  Quantum and Woody were my favorite though. I had all the TP's, but then they just stopped and everything started to kinda suck. I think I still have the old valiant books laying around in a box somewhere. Gonna have to check these guys out. Had no idea they were relaunching.
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Aug 20, 2012 14:20
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I still have my XO ring they sold You got one?! I wanted one of those so bad, but it would have killed my allowance for 2 months when I saw it listed in Advance Comics. I almost got one from ebay a few months back but got sniped at the last second.
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Aug 20, 2012 16:20
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Comixology is having a labor day sale on all things Valiant (new and old). Pretty much everything is 99 cents.
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Sep 1, 2012 20:08
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A&A #2 was even better than the first. I haven't read through all my books yet, but it's my favorite so far. Bloodshot 2 and 3 (I guess I missed #2 coming out) were much better than the first, too. I think I'm going to drop Harbinger.
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Sep 6, 2012 12:05
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So after messing up where I should post this, just wanted to say I've been digging the relaunch so far. I'm a pretty big continuity junkie (it's not a make or break thing, I just like when books reference each other) so hearing that Valiant tried to have things line up generally among their books (and having not read any before the reboot) got me interested in the relaunch in the first place. Harbinger has probably been my favorite so far, partly because I like that the main character is a dick and getting superpowers doesn't mean you'll instantly become a superhero or a comical villain. It also reminds me of Akira in a weird way, what with the shadowy organization of psychics and the on the road delinquent aspect of it. Archer & Armstrong is working it's way to a close second though, both despite and because of how hilariously left wing it's been so far. They seem to be going about it with a good dose of humor though, and Archer himself isn't presented as zonkers like his parents are. I particularly enjoyed that the cover of this week's issue had a review quote that called the book "Brain numbing propaganda."
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Sep 6, 2012 15:16
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Endless Mike posted:A&A #2 was even better than the first. I loving loved Archer and Armstrong #2. It's funny, over the top, has great art and writing, and is a hell of a lot of fun. It almost gives a slightly more serious Venture Brothers feel.
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Sep 7, 2012 02:35
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I just got my hands on this re-launch. I didn't get into the original Valiant but I haven't collected comics since I was a kid and got the itch. So, I figured this relaunch was a great way to get in on the ground floor of something. So far I love em. Bloodshot is kinda meh but i hope it will pick up. Archer & Armstrong...awesome! When I read the general plot summary i didn't think it would be any good but I loved #1. Just two great and unique characters. Spent some time on ebay and in my local shop and got all but the 1:60 variants for the #1's of the first four. Did manage to get the 1:100 for A&A too!
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Sep 12, 2012 16:22
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Went to Baltimore Comic Con this past weekend, and Valiant had their first big public event as part of the mainstream comic consciousness again Went to the panel they had too; it was pretty rad when they announced the return of the Eternal Warrior
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Sep 12, 2012 20:09
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brianerickson posted:Went to Baltimore Comic Con this past weekend, and Valiant had their first big public event as part of the mainstream comic consciousness again They said it was the first? I attended a Valiant panel at C2E2, it wasn't huge but it was all Valiant. WEIRD.
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Sep 12, 2012 20:48
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enigmahfc posted:I loving loved Archer and Armstrong #2. It's funny, over the top, has great art and writing, and is a hell of a lot of fun. It almost gives a slightly more serious Venture Brothers feel. I'm only halfway through #2 (I have a bit of a backlog), and I love this comic. Is Valiant always this good, or is this just a result of Fred Van Lente being one of the bestest comic-book writers on Earth? 
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Sep 30, 2012 23:39
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prefect posted:I'm only halfway through #2 (I have a bit of a backlog), and I love this comic. Is Valiant always this good, or is this just a result of Fred Van Lente being one of the bestest comic-book writers on Earth? It's definitely the best of the bunch.
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Oct 1, 2012 01:29
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