In a lot of ways, the holidays are about tradition. Everyone’s got ’em. It might be a family latke recipe, or getting together to watch Die Hard, or arranging the Christmas tree ornaments so the cats don’t knock them off the lowest branches. Here at Multiversity, we have an annual tradition of looking at shared comic book universes and politely ask them to do something differently. It’s one part new years resolution, one part gift giving- to us, every one!
Valiant is a really special publisher- they offer a shared universe of superhero comics without decades of baggage. It’s a unique opportunity but in 2019, Valiant hasn’t seemed sure what to do with it. So we put our heads together and tried to think of the best direction for Valiant Comics in the new year. Come check it out!
More titles are nice, but it would be nicer to see them meshing together
In the beginning, Valiant’s greatest strength was how they managed to give all their characters their separate stories while maintaining an incredibly cohesive universe. It was so cool to see the Anni-Padda brothers play off each other in their separate titles, it was amazing to see the Unity team come together, and it was fun to see a Ninjak villain make an appearance in a 4000AD story.
Nowadays, it seems that Valiant is preferring to grow by focusing more on separate stories that don’t have a whole lot of overlap. Not that it’s a bad thing, the new “Dr. Mirage” is gorgeous, “Psi Lords” is interesting, and while “Roku” felt a bit off it’s still a great character and a fun idea. While it would be difficult, it would be fun to see how any of these newer books mesh with the rest of the Valiant Universe. -Matthew Blair
Radical Explosions Dude
I worry that the Valiant line is starting to slip from the thoughtful, different and intriguing stories it was telling with its relaunch in 2012 to a runny-gunny-shooty action line of grit and explosions. This doesn’t mean it’s true across the board, nor is it indicative of the quality of the books, but I worry that all the wonderful deconstruction and analysis of these characters is gone in favor of the superficial. I felt this in “Fallen World” and in both new “Bloodshot” series. Actually, “Bloodshot” is my litmus test.
“Bloodshot: Reborn” is one of my favorite titles from their line. It was focused, character oriented and examined the person behind the hero and how constant violence destroys a person and their relationship with the world. It’s introspective and turns Bloodshot into a compelling character. “Bloodshot” 2019 doesn’t have that same heart as of yet. It’s 90% cool explosions and has Bloodshot in a fairly standard superhero X military situation. Again, not a bad book but not quite the same. But I have faith it will remain. “Doctor Mirage” is hitting all the right notes and “The Visitor,” sounds like it’s going to be something that ticks those same boxes. Time will tell what direction they’re going in but I have faith things will come out good; the tight line of books is already a great boon. -Elias Rosner
No, but what are we even doing?
There was a time when I was collecting trades of most Valiant series. Now I’m not even sure what they are putting out month-to-month. Part of this is on me- I could be more diligent. But a lot of this in on Valiant. The whole line feels really directionless, adrift. And if I could be so bold, I think it’s felt that way since Dinesh Shamdasani was pushed out of the company in 2018. New Valiant was in many ways, his baby. Without his direction, Valiant feels like an annual set of disconnected reboots, desperately trying to find versions of their characters that connect.
I don’t think there’s one solution to this problem. Maybe the thing to do is entice a lot of exciting creators to do strange series, and Valiant becomes a home for bold new storytelling. But I got a feeling what’s needed is strong editorial control, a unified vision of who these characters are and what the story of this world is. A Kevin Feige if you will. Or someone doing what Jonathan Hickman is doing with the X-Men. Because I shouldn’t have to work this hard to be excited about reading comics starring characters I care about. -Jake Hill
Continued belowHey Bloodshot movie! Please…please please pleeeeeeeease be good
Valiant is the little publisher that managed to build a reputation for quality comics through great characters and great stories. This has allowed them to develop a comparatively small yet dedicated fan base who has loved and supported this publisher since its beginnings in the 1990’s and the 2012 relaunch.
Now, with the arrival of the Bloodshot movie we finally get to see if all the hard work and devotion that went into creating and maintaining the Valiant Universe will pay off. For the first time, Valiant is going to be stepping out of the proverbial shadows and millions of potential new fans will get to see what the Valiant faithful have been seeing for years.
Please don’t screw it up. -Matthew Blair
Don’t lose Joshua Dysart
I hate to keep being negative, but a lot of Valiant’s ‘A-list’ creators have shipped off for other shores over the past few years. And while it is rough without folks like Jeff Lemire, Robert Venditti, and Matt Kindt, Joshua Dysart is the creator that is most needed, in some capacity, for Valiant in 2020. His “Harbinger” saga was both a critical success and the glue binding together the Valiant Universe. He doesn’t need a monthly book, but he needs a presence in their line, this year, and every year for the foreseeable future. – Brian Salvatore
Excited Creators
It’s not like Valiant doesn’t have a deep bench of awesome creators. They’ve launched two new series in the last month, one written by Cullen Bunn, the other by Dan Abnett. Neither are lightweights. But I can’t find an interview where either of them seem that stoked to be working in this world. Now sure, Bunn is a laid back guy and Abnett is an old hand at this, but its undeniable that where once there was a powerful energy behind Valiant’s output, that doesn’t seem to exist any longer. It feels like the publisher you turn to if you want to do superhero work for hire and don’t feel like navigating the Big Two. There are many reasons for this, some of them are unavoidable, but I’m gonna blame company culture. Looking into what’s going on in Valiant’s behind the scenes work, you see a lot of words like “global media conglomerate,” “Chinese equity,” and “intellectual property value management.” I think this is where the problem lies.
You can pay creators a ton, give them incentive to market their books, point a gun at their head and tell them to get out there, or whatever- if people aren’t stoked to work for you, that’s going to come across. I think the Valiant universe is exciting and full of lovable characters. I’m sure creators agree. Valiant needs to create a working environment that doesn’t feel like a grind. It should be a special opportunity to play in this sandbox. Do some work to make your creators feel special. -Jake Hill
Try something new
As has been alluded to in a number of these entries, things just feel off with Valiant lately. When the company returned in 2012, it was synonymous with restraint, effective planning, and top notch talent. For a myriad of reasons, a lot of that has changed at Valiant. But the line is still being presented, more or less, in the same way that it was when Shamdasani and Simons were running the show. But that’s not the reality anymore.
I’m not saying they need to rebrand everything as ‘ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT,’ but there should be an overt attempt to put a flag in the ground and say “this is what Valiant in 2020 is.” Maybe their ‘Year of Heroes’ will be that, and here’s to that being the case. Because the ‘hey, everything is still fine, we promise!’ approach just isn’t working. – Brian Salvatore
Put Raúl Allén and Patricia Martin on a Book Again
Much as I love Cafu as an artist, the biggest disappointment of the year at Valiant was finding out those two were only handling the art for the first arc of “Livewire” along with Vita. The two of them were PERFECT for the title and it was such a shame to have that drastic shift in stylization happen. I have a feeling the two work best on mini-series length titles but that still doesn’t stop me from wishing they would come back for another fun romp. -Elias Rosner
Do More Books like “Faith: Dreamside” and “Doctor Mirage
Basically, more Doctor Mirage and Faith. And weird, psychedelic horror. -Elias Rosner
Flashy Flashy Crisis
Every so often, Valiant has done a big crossover or event story, and they’ve been pretty good. The original “The Valiant” and “Unity” series really shook up the status quo with the Geomancer. “Book of Death” brought one of their coolest heroes head to head with one of their coolest villains. “4001” was a great cross-time epic that opened up a lot of the far future story. But all of those are local, effecting pockets of the universe. They need to go bigger.
What I propose is a massive shakeup, a story that changes the rules of what this world is. Maybe Peter Stanchek literally takes over the world. Maybe Project Rising Spirit overthrows the US Government and installs a police state. Maybe time gets ripped apart and Rai, Anatonius Axia, the Forgotten Queen, and War Mother all find themselves on the island from Savage and have to duel for the continued linear progression of time. I don’t know. I’m not the writer here. My point is that it’s got to big and bold, something like a DC Crisis. A clear statement that this is what Valiant is about, and these are the kinds of books it will be publishing for the foreseeable future. Because right now, having a mishmash of superhero books of varying quality isn’t enough. – Jake Hill
Have a Faith ongoing
Do you not like money? A plus-sized female superhero with an incredible supporting cast seems every bit as necessary and cool as it did when the character was first brought back by Jody Houser. This is a no-brainer in just about every sense.
And no, an OGN in July doesn’t count.- Brian Salvatore
