With the passing this week of Don Perlin, one of its first editors, it seemed like a good time to revisit Valiant Comics. Founded in 1989 by Jim Shooter, the first Valiant title published in 1991 and instantly saw success both commercially and critically. Shooter left in 1992, and in 1994 the company was sold to Acclaim, the video game publisher. This ended the first ‘golden’ era of Valiant, though the Acclaim era was where many folks got their first taste for the characters through video games like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal.
After filing for bankruptcy in 2004, the line remained dormant while, behind the scenes, rights were purchased and plans were being formed. In 2012, Valiant Entertainment relaunched with some of the best comics of the era under the leadership of Warren Simons, Dinesh Shamdassani, Hunter Gorrinson, and others. This era ended in 2018 when DMG Entertainment bought the company and much of the staff left. DMG has continued to publish comics, though at a much slower pace, ever since.
I purposely didn’t want to say too much about each era, because I wanted folks to vote without prejudice for the era that got them hooked on these characters/books. So, vote for your favorite era and check back on Monday for the results!
