Squee Beach Reads, Nycjadie Reads a TPB a Day

[nycjadie]

This could also be titled subway tales. I plan on reading a TPB a day until I finish the entire VEI oeuvre. Since my reading time is near zero, I plan on doing most of my reading on the train during my work commute. This is not always easy. I never get a seat, and my commute is only 30 minutes, give or take (a sick passenger).

Here is my journey.

[nycjadie]

Day 1. Divinity. It's a decent origin tale. The character is super intriguing, but we only get a glimpse. Will he traverse into Shadowman /Mirage territory? He does talk to dead people (or does he). What of the other two cosmonauts? The 3 soldiers and the climber? The Russian scientist? I liked it. A bit choppy when Unity became involved. Also, the narration kept flipping between characters without notice. Some color difference would have helped.

Highlights :
Tons of new characters.
Stunning use of color on the page to enhance the story.
Loved the fact that the choppy pencils were retained in the inks.
More questions than answers for something that will undoubtedly change the Valiant universe.

[ilzuccone]

[nycjadie]

Part I

Today, I began the Valiant Zeroes & Origins TPB. I'm breaking this post in 2 as I am only halfway through, and it's a thick volume. There are a lot of origins and first appearances in these. From a fanboy standpoint, it doesn't get better than this. Like all good origin stories, the reader is left with more questions than answers. It's a glimpse into the origin of each character, while providing a lot of character development. These are some of my favorite Valiant issues. I'm also really glad that Valiant collected these in one volume. Some of these are way off continuity of the standard arcs, and this is a great way of collecting all these key stories.

Harbinger #0 - First appearance of Darpan and a great origin of Harada. This is one of the most perfectly written Valiant issues. The artwork was stunning (I own a page). Doesn't get better than this. I need to slab this issue.

Shadowman #0 - This is all about Darque, but most importantly this is really an origin story for Sandria Darque, sister to Master Darque. I love this issue, and have read it several times. One of the best Shadowman issues yet.

Archer & Armstrong #0 - This is it for a Valiant fanboy. Seriously, this is the birth of the Valiant Universe in many ways. We learn of the Faraway, many new characters, and the distant future of Archer and Valiant Universe. The Anni-Padda recover the boon. The rest is history. A must Valiant read.

Bloodshot #0 - We get a lot of origin bits and pieces (or lack thereof) about Bloodshot in any given arc. However, this issue is different. We learn about how the PRS project developed into the character now known as Bloodshot, and how he became...human. Great story.

[nycjadie]

OK, I'm seriously behind and it's only Day 3. I didn't quite finish Origins and Zeroes yesterday, but in all fairness, it is one of the thickest volumes. I did finish it this morning on my commute, thanks to a sick passenger delaying the trains.

The Goat #0 - I think you either love Quantum & Woody, or you don't. I'm in the don't camp. I like some of the humor in this origin story of the goat, but I found the story confusing and hard to follow. I had to go to the cheat notes in the Handbook excerpts at the end of the book to truly understand what was going on. Not my cuppa tea, but great for a Q&W fan.

X-O #0 - I like this tale. We see Aric as a young man in his first real battle. It's a growing up story, about fatherhood, and we see a glimpse of Aric's potential. We also see his father's influence in his role as X-O. Not as epic or important as the first few stories in this volume, but a great story nevertheless.

Unity #0 - It's the origin of the origin. Unit-Y is a WWII era group formed by the US and UK governments to fight "Fritz." A bit cheezy at times, but effectively steeped in pulp, the story is about how that group ends, and the new Unity group begins.

Punk Mambo #0 - Another origin story of how this Mambo found her way to magic and voodoo. I thought it was a relatively clever story. Having been a fan of early punk, I like the subject. However, I would have liked to have seen a bit more about what drives Mambo in the present day. A bit more character development, maybe. Still, a fun read.

2014 Handbook Excerpts - To a Valiant fan, there is nothing new here, but it's a great intro to new fans of all the main characters.

[nycjadie]

Just posted this to Amazon as the first review for this volume.

Next volume - My choice of The Valiant, Ivar Timewalker or Armor Hunters. I grabbed all three on the way out the door this morning.

[nycjadie]

Day 3 - The Valiant. I had to pick a thin volume to catch up. This is one of my favorite Valiant miniseries. The Valiant is a great narrative story on many levels. It tells the story of how the Eternal Warrior received his scars and his 4 historic battles against the Immortal Enemy. We also see the story (no spoilers) of Kay, the current Geomancer, protector of Earth. There is a also a major development with Bloodshot, and new character at the end of the story. Lemire and Kindt did an amazing job weaving in the different subplots. They also weave in plots within the other books. We see Breaker, from the flashback story in Unity #0. We see Unity help out in the battle against the Immortal Enemy (and the entire V Universe in one panel). Another star here is the art. Paolo Rivera did a masterful job creating the pencils and colors. This book is important for understanding the Valiant universe moving forward a must read.

[nycjadie]

Day 4 - Armor Hunters. For some reason, I always want to spell it Armour. Perhaps it's the Mi6 participation. I dunno. It just comes out that way. I suppose that's better than Amor Hunters. That would be gross, and probably relegated to the 18+ section.

Malgam and Aric are prey in this story by a group of armor hunters led by Primary Reebo. He and his band of crazy aliens seek to eradicate the collective universe of any X-O armor suits, as well as anyone and anything that has been "tainted" by the suits. Collateral damage ensues, including a major city and Aric's people. What drives this purpose? We're not sure, but given their methods, it appears that the armor is far more dangerous than has been indicated in previous stories. The first issue gives us a first appearance of GIN-GR (pronounced Ginger, and it's a she - I confirmed with Robert Venditti). It's building-sized robot with abilities and firepower that exist nowhere on earth. And despite the fact that GIN-GR is a robot, and doesn't truly have any feelings, we can't help but read some personality in her. I really like this series. I really like GIN-GR. She's one of my new favorite characters. A couple subplots worth noting that we will probably see in the future are implications to Livewire's exposure to the X-O armor, and X-O's alleged remission of the armor's replication efforts. Helix appears to escape. Quartz is contained...for now. GIN-GR? She joins Unity.

[nycjadie]

BTW - Only 20 reviews on Amazon for Armor Hunters.

[nycjadie]

Day 5 - Ivar, Timewalker 1. This is admittedly late. I read this one Friday. Great volume. Fred Van Lente did a fantastic job setting the stage for Ivar's first flagship title for the new Valiant. We see a new character, Neela Sethi, in her first appearance. Ivar interrupts Neela in an important discovery, a chase ensues, during which Ivar sets the stage on who he is, how he time travels, and we learn a bit about Neela's future. I thought the scripts was super tight. Amazing clean art by Clayton Henry. Van Lente puts a lot of comedy in his books. Honestly, I had hoped this title would be a little less comic, but for fans of Archer & Armstrong, this is should fill the void. Also, there are a lot of inside jokes that only Valiant fans will understand. That might be a bit confusing to the new reader.

[nycjadie]

BTW - I just left the 4th Amazon review on this title.

[nycjadie]

Day 6 - Weekend are optional, for the record. Just can't manage it with the family.

Harbinger 1 - This is my 5th read of Harbinger. Harbinger collects the first 5 issues, and what a first four. For old skool fans, we are reintroduced to Peter and Harada, two of the key players in the Valiant Universe. This is the classic origin tale in the Valiant U. Peter, a troubled kid, finds that he has great power, but is dealing with all the issues of an unhappy and angry teenager. Harada, an immensely powerful and calculated success story, has all of the capabilities and mental acuity to create positive change, but with a moral compass that assumes there will be collateral damage. This is the tale about how the two meet, and Peter discovers both the Harbinger Foundation and Project Rising Spirit, both of which would like to utilize them for their own needs. We also see the first appearance of Bleeding Monk in issue 1, an curious and potentially key player in the Valiant U. Issue 2 sees the first appearance of Darpan. We see his capabilities in later issues, but for now, we just see Harada meet him for the first time. That alone foretells just how important this kid will be in the future. Finally, the new Livewire makes an appearance. Super key player in the Valiant U now, and a main character in the Unity series.

[mkb28]

[nycjadie]

Day 7 - Already behind. I blame running into colleagues on my commute, as well as the train being so crowded, I can't even hold a book.

Harbinger 2. This is one of my favorite arcs. Peter, Faith and Kris go on a shopping expedition to activate and recruit new psiots. They pick up Flamingo and Torque, and chaos ensues. We see a lot of character development in the team that will shortly be called the Renegades (officially in TPB 3). Of course, fights occur, with an epic showdown featuring both PRS and Harada. For old skool fans, this story is inspired by the original pre-Unity Harbinger series. It's a great one, with a whole bunch of VEI First Appearances of classic Valiant characters.

Next up: Harbinger 3 - Harbinger Wars.