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“Rai: The History of the Valiant Universe” #1

By | June 15th, 2017
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Rai and the audience gets to learn the history of the Valiant Comics universe in order to better understand the present and, hopefully, change the future.

Cover by Clayton Crain
Written by Rafer Roberts
Illustrated by Francis Portela
Colored by Andrew Dalhouse
Lettered by Dave Sharpe

It is the year 4002 A.D….Rai, the spirit guardian of Earth, has uncovered an ancient tome filled with history’s greatest tales and civilizations darkest moments. Charting the dawning days of ancient Mesopotamia, all the way to the rise of New Japan, the history of the Valiant Universe is laid bare in shocking and revelatory detail. From X-O Manowar to Bloodshot to Faith to Divinity…history will reveal untold revelations for Valiant’s greatest heroes and antagonists!In the tradition of the original RAI #0, Harvey Award-nominated writer Rafer Roberts (Harbinger Renegade) and acclaimed artist Francis Portela (Faith) unleash a celebration of Rai’s 25th anniversary with the third of four standalone specials honoring the most famed Valiant stories ever told!

The writing, reading, and study of history is, in a sense, the examination of the past to better understand the present and near future. The history of people and places is more than a rote recitation of the chronological order of events, but an effort to explain what they valued, represented, and how that came into conflict with other outside forces. Tacitus’ Annals are as much a history of Rome as it is an attempt to understand the process and conditions that led to the transformation from Republic to Principate. Henry the VII effectively rewrote the historical record to justify the Tudor claim to power. History is the “official” story we tell about ourselves.

Which is why “Rai: The History of the Valiant Universe” is such an intriguing book that serves multiple purposes. “The History of Valiant” gives Valiant a chance to write about and tell a story about itself. It is at once an homage to the original “Rai” #0, one of several homages in recent months to celebrate Valliant’s 25 years. It is also the first of several stabs by the publisher to condense, narrate, into form effective on-ramps into their publishing line that has grown in the past 5 years. Having something, akin to “X-Men: Prime” #1 provides a much better reading and onboarding experience compared to a straight previews magazine like “ResurrXion Free Previews Spotlight.” The one shot also isn’t something entirely meant for new readers, as with “Rai” #0, it subtly acts as something of a bridge to more stories beyond “4001 A.D.” as Rai, the Geomancer Karana, and the Eternal Warrior, lead the remains of humanity through the wasted Earth.

As a history, “Rai” splits between the historiographic and narrative implications and an uneven execution of those ideas by the main creative team of writer Rafer Roberts and artist Francis Portela. Robert’s script does an effective job condensing most of Valiant’s important titles and events, while working in references to more obscure stuff like “Britannia.” Writing and crafting comics is all about synergy and efficiency and his dialog carries a measured weight to it. Portela’s page design through this trip down history lane is nicely unified by lightly yellowed gutters, as if we were reading straight from the Book of the Geomancer. It forms a nice frame for what is effectively a clips show/recap episode in comic book form. Portela’s art, however left me slightly wanting. As Rai learns about the various heroes and villains of Valiant, Portela recreates or retells from a slightly different point of view key moments and sequences throughout history.

While it would likely have been a crediting nightmare, I wonder if this book wouldn’t have been better served by remixing all of the original art from the various series into something like a sequential collage akin to the opening recap of the “Harbinger Renegade” series. None of Portela’s art really pops or carries with it a dramatic weight because of the highly segmented layouts and Robert’s tight script. The biggest things get is about a 1/3 sized panel every now and again. It’s all too small, and similar, for any thing to feel important or appear to be a turning point. If this is meant to sell readers on the depth and breadth of the Valiant U, homogenous aesthetics aren’t helping the pitch.

Continued below

To drill down into an even nerdier level though, the historiographic aspect of “Rai” is fascinating. What kind of story is it telling and what sorts of arguments is it making? What is it trying to tell us about itself ? This isn’t the first time a publisher or story universe has published its own history. “Marvels” by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross is a history of Marvel’s Golden and Silver Age, and by telling it through the lens of people on the street and Phil Sheldon cements the conception of Marvel’s U as inhabited and viewed from the POV the everyman. “Rai” tells something of a People’s History of the Valiant U.

If by “people” we mean the headlining characters and not the more traditional Marxist definition. It is nevertheless a surprisingly humanist narrative, that places the blame and failure of teams like Unity, Aric of Dacia, and by extension the ravaged state of Earth on the fallibility of humanity. This is a narrative that downplays (or omits) the role of outside socio-economic forces in the shaping of history. On one hand this narrative feels in line with Valliant’s publishing ethos, being highly character focused. On the other, these omissions downplay the key roles that capitalism and the military-industrial-complex played as actors in deriving and unleashing these destructive forces upon the world.

And still these omissions make narrative sense when considering “Rai” as a sort of prequel, bridge to more stories in this section of the timeline, like the forthcoming “War Mother.” As seen in the first issue of “Rapture” the Book of the Geomancer is always changing and trying to tell the reader what they need in order to make the next correct action. Rai and Karana are trying to figure out what to do next with the remnants of humanity, so telling a humanist narrative about fallible and failed leaders makes perfect thematic sense. They have no use for understanding or conception of what the military-industrial-complex or nation state entails. To best presage the future, a focus on human nature makes the most sense.

“Rai: The History of the Valiant Universe” has been a book I’ve been picking at and rereading for several days. While it’s theoretical value for me out way its execution, it is still an enjoyable read that largely succeeds at what it set out to do. With a strong humanist approach to its history, it manages to encapsulate the understandable, humanity, for a wide cast of characters with absurd origins and personal mythos. Seriously, Archer & Armstrong punch bears and X-O Manowar is a Space Visigoth.

Final Verdict: 7.5 – If you wanted to give someone a single comic to “sell” them on a universe, this wouldn’t be to bad.


Michael Mazzacane

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