Valiant Relaunch

mike3717

mike3717

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Has anyone checked these books out yet? XO and harbinger seem to be getting decent reviews. I'm thinking of picking up Harbinger and giving it a try. I'm reluctant since I was caught up in the original Valiant hoopla in the 90's. But the books were very good so if the relaunched books are that good it should be worth it.
 
I never read any of the 90s books so I didn't think much of the announcement that it was being relaunched. The books were just never on my radar.
 
I downloaded the first two issues of XO Manowar and the first of Harbinger (on my iPhone and legally, thank you very much).

XO was ok, nothing really exciting or new, but a solid combination of historical action drama and sci-fi, and there seems to be plenty of set up going on. The books do a good job of avoiding pointless decompression and pointless dialogue. Everything seems to be heading somewhere.

Harbinger was pretty good. Liked that off the bat we're introduced to a troubled main character who isn't a hero or antihero, just a kid struggling with his powers. And while that's a mainstay of modern comic books, the way the character uses his powers to his advantage in questionable and downright despicable ways is interesting, and establishes a very low beginning for what I assume is a transition/evolution into something better as the series progresses. The journey there promises to be interesting if the first issue is a good measure of the books (and writer's) capabilities.

So far I'm enjoying it, and look forward to the other relaunches of classic Valiant characters later this summer (Archer & Armstrong and Ninjak--though admittedly it's difficult to take Ninjak seriously merely because of the name alone).
 
Thanks. I might give Harbinger a look. The preview looked pretty interesting. Probably gonna give Archer and Armstrong a try also since that was one of my favorites during the original runs.
 
Harbinger was good, it felt like an episode of Breaking Bad but with telepaths. That doesn't make much sense until you read it and pick up on the tone.

XO Manowar, as said, was also pretty good, just not as interesting as Harbinger.

I'll probably end up picking up all the Valiant relaunch titles, and I'm looking forward to Archer & Armstrong also. I never read ANY Valiant books when they came out in the 90's, but I can't deny I have a huge interest in this relaunch, probably because I researched the older Valiant titles and loved the "real-science approach" they took (or as close as possible in a comic book).

I'm also glad the Gold Key characters aren't appearing (Magnus, Turok, Solar, etc) as it allows the original Valiant characters to work on their own and not be cluttered by confusing issues of continuity (though the tight continuity of the 90's series and the same approach in these titles is very appealing to my timeline-oriented mind :) ).
 
I read the XO preview and it felt a lot like the original. And while I liked the original, there was nothing drawing me back in with what I was seeing. Harbinger on the other hand I thought felt pretty new. I liked the new less heroic take on Pete. I am hoping A&A mixes it up a little too. Also hoping they bring back Shadowman at some point.
 
I read Harbringer #2 and Bloodshot #1.

Harbinger #2 was interesting, especially the flashback with the baby who forces those it comes in contact with to relive the worst moments of their past as if they're reliving it in every way. Other than that Pete was finally found by the Harbringer Corp. Mainly set up for the future issues.

Bloodshot was quite good. Love the fact that neither the reader or main character can be sure of who Bloodshot actually is, and thought it was handled well. Definitely a series which will raise plenty of questions, just hope the answers are worth it and not drawn out (like Lost).

I am enjoying this new Valiant universe. There's nothing incredibly ground breaking about it, but I am enjoying the off hand references and foreshadowing to events in the other books, a nice cohesive universe. I also am looking forward to Archer & Armstrong, as the premise and characters sound like it'll be interesting.
 
I think I am going to pick up the first couple issues of Harbinger and Bloodshot this week and give them a shot. If I like them I'll prob give A&A a go also since that was one of my favorites originally.
 
mike3717 said:
I think I am going to pick up the first couple issues of Harbinger and Bloodshot this week and give them a shot. If I like them I'll prob give A&A a go also since that was one of my favorites originally.
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I've enjoyed them quite a bit, and apparently online critics are enjoying them even more. Reviews for ALL the books so far are extremely high, so that's encouraging in the sense the the company hired the right people, and even more so since they're starting small and gradually increasing the number of titles through next year. It is worth noting that with only two books out, they're already the eighth highest selling publisher for July. Should be interesting to see how sales increase once they've gotten a few more titles released.

All 3 books (XO Manowar, Harbinger, and Bloodshot) are quite good, so if you haven't checked them out give them a read.
 
mike3717 said:
I read the XO preview and it felt a lot like the original. And while I liked the original, there was nothing drawing me back in with what I was seeing. Harbinger on the other hand I thought felt pretty new. I liked the new less heroic take on Pete. I am hoping A&A mixes it up a little too. Also hoping they bring back Shadowman at some point.
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http://www.newsarama.com/comics/shadow-valiant-zircher-simons-interview.html

You've got your wish. #1 comes out in November.
 
mike3717 said:
I saw that yesterday. Pretty psyched. Art looks pretty nice.
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Agreed. I know nothing about the character (I was pretty ignorant of the Valiant verse up until I started reading this new universe), so I'm going in as a clean slate and looking forward to meeting Mr. Boniface.

But so far I've been very impressed by the artwork on all the books, and of course the writing.

Not sure if you read XO #1, but apparently the Eternal Warrior makes an appearance at the very beginning, the guy with the scars on his face who responds "Yes, my King" (think that's what he said), on the second or third page.

I like that if you didn't know it you'd overlook it (I did), but it shows even early on they have a plan and are sowing the seeds. Hopefully it pays off, but as it stands now, with the writing and art being awesome and an overall plan for the universe, I think it will be worth seeing where these books are heading, both individually and collectively.
 
DIrishB said:
I like that if you didn't know it you'd overlook it (I did), but it shows even early on they have a plan and are sowing the seeds. Hopefully it pays off, but as it stands now, with the writing and art being awesome and an overall plan for the universe, I think it will be worth seeing where these books are heading, both individually and collectively.
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They were a bit famous for having very discreet first appearances of characters in their books their first go around. It does sound like the have a plan and so far it seems like a good one. I really liked the first 2 issues of Harbinger. Now that I know this is good stuff I will wait and purchase in trades. Apparently they will be releasing them relatively soon. I hope this goes well for them and it makes my extensive collection from the 90's worth something again.
 
Yup, and in case you missed anything from the 90s era that interests you, they've announced plans to release trade collections of the classic stories, some with completely new story and artwork. I'll probably stick with the new universe for now, but if I continue to enjoy it as much as I am, I may be motivated to explore the origins of many of those characters and ideas via the 90s trades.
 
DIrishB said:
I'll probably stick with the new universe for now, but if I continue to enjoy it as much as I am, I may be motivated to explore the origins of many of those characters and ideas via the 90s trades.
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I'll prob just stick to buying the trades of the relaunch. I have all the 90's stuff. Although I would like to get a bunch of my original 90's issues graded so if this relaunch happens to get popular I can get rid of my old stuff.
 
I'll definitely be buying the trades of the new Valiant titles as well.

I'm impressed by some of artwork from the interior preview pages of Shadowman. Very detailed grotesquery. Me likey. Honestly the artworks been pretty amazing on all the titles, but I think Zircher's detailed lines and wonderful array of tones and shading take the cake. Can't wait to see those in color.
 
So I just went back and re-read all the issues released so far of the new Valiant universe. Seriously, I definitely recommend at least giving them a try to see if they're you're speed.

Personally, my favorites are Bloodshot (manages to somehow make the Wolverine approach of a hero who can heal from almost any wound and is ultra-violent fresh and exciting).

Archer & Armstrong (enjoyable commentary on society and religion with a humorous slant on history). Can't recommend that or Bloodshot enough. They're no Miracleman or Watchmen, but they're better than a lot of whats coming out from the big two, even more impressive from a company thats just relaunched and seems to be doing it right.

Harbinger is also quite good, has a sort of seedier side of the X-Men (or other team books) to it, in large part due to its subject matter of reading minds, inability to keep secrets, using mind-control for personal or financial gain, etc.

X-O Manowar is decent, though I'm not overly impressed by it yet. Its probably the weakest of the four ongoing titles so far released. Shadowman debuts next month, looking forward to seeing its tone, approach, and artwork.

Seriously, at least give the books a look onzewebz to see what you think.
 
These books overall are still going strong. Harbinger is great, and probably pays off even more for fans of the old series (that's probably true for all the titles), but even as someone who has never read the old series, I'm enjoying it based on the stories alone.

Archer & Armstrong is a lot of fun. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing concerning it's readers' opinions, but I'm enjoying it. Bloodshot is an interesting and still fresh take on the whole antihero type character. XO is probably my least favorite, though still decent title. Shadowman is still only a few issues in, and I'm admittedly not sold on the tone and approach, but given the quality of the other books I'm willing to give it a bit to let the story and characters develop.

The upcoming Harbinger Wars mini seems like it'll be interesting. Loving the approach the editorial team has taken with the universe in general: letting the writers tell their stories, but still shaping a cohesive and well-planned universe.

I'd definitely recommend checking these books out, would love to hear the opinions of my fellow board members.
 
DIrishB said:
These books overall are still going strong. Harbinger is great, and probably pays off even more for fans of the old series (that's probably true for all the titles), but even as someone who has never read the old series, I'm enjoying it based on the stories alone.

Archer & Armstrong is a lot of fun. It seems to be a love it or hate it thing concerning it's readers' opinions, but I'm enjoying it. Bloodshot is an interesting and still fresh take on the whole antihero type character. XO is probably my least favorite, though still decent title. Shadowman is still only a few issues in, and I'm admittedly not sold on the tone and approach, but given the quality of the other books I'm willing to give it a bit to let the story and characters develop.

The upcoming Harbinger Wars mini seems like it'll be interesting. Loving the approach the editorial team has taken with the universe in general: letting the writers tell their stories, but still shaping a cohesive and well-planned universe.

I'd definitely recommend checking these books out, would love to hear the opinions of my fellow board members.
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I recently bought the XO trade (reprints first 4 issues) and I really liked it. I bought the first couple issues of Harbinger also and I thought that was excellent. I can't wait for more trades to come out. I'm hoping their trade release schedule is regular since that is how I plan on reading this stuff.
 
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