Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons Resigns

[geocarr]

The least they could do is a NEW 52/REBIRTH style relaunch where some cataclysmic event restarts the universe...

God NO!!! This would be awful!!

[agent_graves]

And as far as Valiant goes, I’ve been around since 2012, and while I don’t have every single book released since then, I mean, come on man, I never touched Dead Drop. I’m not aware of any agenda being shoved down our throats by Valiant, politically or otherwise. If so, please point it out for me, I’ll have no problem pulling out said issue, so I can see what I obviously glanced over....

#StayValiant

One book springs to mind, the one shot 4001ad Shadowman by Jody Houser and Rafer Roberts. I haven’t read it since it came out but from memory the subtext to this book was basically an anti-Trump message in relation to his immigration policies.

Also there was a line in the ‘Winter Wonderland’ Faith special (note to Greg* this was the war on Christmas issue ) whereby they referenced ‘getting gendered’ or something like that. Only one line but in the context of current political agendas that seem to be playing out (I’m looking at you Canada on this one) it seemed unnecessary and ‘forced’.

That’s why I missed it, I have neither of those issues, the first by accident, the latter purposely...

But I do recall those topics you point out being addressed in the discussion threads...

I get your point, and it’s valid, but twice in six years ain’t so bad, right?

[OhioValiantNut]

The consensus the other day at my LCS was that VEI is crashing and burning like the Hindenburg.

Consensus at my LCS was that VEI wouldn't last a year. That was 2012.

None of us want it to die out ... that would be horrible.

[greg]

The consensus the other day at my LCS was that VEI is crashing and burning like the Hindenburg.

Consensus at my LCS was that VEI wouldn't last a year. That was 2012.

None of us want it to die out ... that would be horrible.

My point was that the consensus at the LCS about Valiant is like getting a consensus about food from people who refuse to taste it.

[Dallow Spicer1]

And as far as Valiant goes, I’ve been around since 2012, and while I don’t have every single book released since then, I mean, come on man, I never touched Dead Drop. I’m not aware of any agenda being shoved down our throats by Valiant, politically or otherwise. If so, please point it out for me, I’ll have no problem pulling out said issue, so I can see what I obviously glanced over....

#StayValiant

One book springs to mind, the one shot 4001ad Shadowman by Jody Houser and Rafer Roberts. I haven’t read it since it came out but from memory the subtext to this book was basically an anti-Trump message in relation to his immigration policies.

Also there was a line in the ‘Winter Wonderland’ Faith special (note to Greg* this was the war on Christmas issue ) whereby they referenced ‘getting gendered’ or something like that. Only one line but in the context of current political agendas that seem to be playing out (I’m looking at you Canada on this one) it seemed unnecessary and ‘forced’.

That’s why I missed it, I have neither of those issues, the first by accident, the latter purposely...

But I do recall those topics you point out being addressed in the discussion threads...

I get your point, and it’s valid, but twice in six years ain’t so bad, right?

Don’t waste your money on either issue mate, politics aside they were both very mediocre reads.

Absolutely agree, I don’t think Valiant has an issue with forced politics and I hope it stays that way

[Phoenix8008]

And as far as Valiant goes, I’ve been around since 2012, and while I don’t have every single book released since then, I mean, come on man, I never touched Dead Drop. I’m not aware of any agenda being shoved down our throats by Valiant, politically or otherwise. If so, please point it out for me, I’ll have no problem pulling out said issue, so I can see what I obviously glanced over....

#StayValiant

One book springs to mind, the one shot 4001ad Shadowman by Jody Houser and Rafer Roberts. I haven’t read it since it came out but from memory the subtext to this book was basically an anti-Trump message in relation to his immigration policies.

Also there was a line in the ‘Winter Wonderland’ Faith special (note to Greg* this was the war on Christmas issue ) whereby they referenced ‘getting gendered’ or something like that. Only one line but in the context of current political agendas that seem to be playing out (I’m looking at you Canada on this one) it seemed unnecessary and ‘forced’.

That’s why I missed it, I have neither of those issues, the first by accident, the latter purposely...

But I do recall those topics you point out being addressed in the discussion threads...

I get your point, and it’s valid, but twice in six years ain’t so bad, right?

Don’t waste your money on either issue mate, politics aside they were both very mediocre reads.

Absolutely agree, I don’t think Valiant has an issue with forced politics and I hope it stays that way

I agree, Valiant isn't too bad in this area (not like Marvel), but they did do that Hillary Clinton story in Faith #5 right before the election. I wasn't pleased to see that. There was also mention (in Bloodshot USA maybe) of the villains PRS talking about funding a rich guy they could control and help him win the presidency or something so they could have a bigger seat at the table. It was obviously implying Donald Trump was the one they were talking about and making him out to be villainous.

I'd rather them stick with fictional political figures, and not portray real ones of either political side.

[lorddunlow]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

[Dallow Spicer1]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

I think to be fair LD, the issue is that it’s a one way flow in the popular media. If for example, Valiant occasionally did stories that were anti-Obama (when he was president) or did stories where the ‘bad guys’ were reflective of what’s really happening in the world then it might seem a little more balanced and therefore palatable.

[kinggirlfriend]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

I think to be fair LD, the issue is that it’s a one way flow in the popular media. If for example, Valiant occasionally did stories that were anti-Obama (when he was president) or did stories where the ‘bad guys’ were reflective of what’s really happening in the world then it might seem a little more balanced and therefore palatable.

But why would they do an anti Obama story, what would prompt that? Did Obama get on twitter and bully everyone who didnt agree with him? Was Obama being blackmailed by a porn star he slept with while Michelle was pregnant with Sasha? Was Obama laundering money for a communist government?

Valiant seems to be portrating Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

[Chiclo]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

I think to be fair LD, the issue is that it’s a one way flow in the popular media. If for example, Valiant occasionally did stories that were anti-Obama (when he was president) or did stories where the ‘bad guys’ were reflective of what’s really happening in the world then it might seem a little more balanced and therefore palatable.

But why would they do an anti Obama story, what would prompt that? Did Obama get on twitter and bully everyone who didnt agree with him? Was Obama being blackmailed by a porn star he slept with while Michelle was pregnant with Sasha? Was Obama laundering money for a communist government?

Valiant seems to be portrating Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

I visited a Fox News bubble just yesterday. I went to my parents' house.

[tell]

Diversity is great, I'm a white dude and I find white dudes played out. Most the time people complain about diversity, or "PC culture", or "SJWs", or "politics in comics" they usually just want people to shut up about opinions they don't like or subjects don't want to think about. Especially when it's based solely on expectations based on previous work history.

Sorry but I have to disagree. I find the opposite. There’s a blatantly clear political agenda from some creators to push an agenda on the reader and that’s why people object :? Marvel have been pushing this hard in recent years and you have to ask yourself ‘why’? For the most part it’s insulting to the intelligence and transparently obvious. IMO comic readers mainly come for escapism and not for more of what passes for ‘mainstream culture’ (?) these days. Thankfully, Valiant have only done this on a few odd occasions and it’s not prevalent.

I think Valiant did it the right way by launching books with diverse characters and letting them sink or swim rather than hijacking established characters and fundamentally changing them solely for political ideology.

I’m not a fan of diversity for diversity’s sake, but if it’s natural and organic and reflective of society, then by all means. Like, I see no reason to change a character’s race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/etc just to make a splash and get some cheap attention (Look Iceman is Gay! Nick Fury is Black now!). But if you’re creating new characters, there’s no reason some shouldn’t be black/Muslim/gay/disabled/etc. If there really were superpowered individuals, a very large proportion of them would not be white, Christian, straight men.

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI. All good art is divorced from reality, I know I was drawn to Valiant because of it's unrecognizable fantasy universe, fingers crossed for the reboot so we can right these wrongs.

Valiant seems to be portraying Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

That's not the point, the point is "Shut up and keep politics out of comics!".

[kinggirlfriend]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

I think to be fair LD, the issue is that it’s a one way flow in the popular media. If for example, Valiant occasionally did stories that were anti-Obama (when he was president) or did stories where the ‘bad guys’ were reflective of what’s really happening in the world then it might seem a little more balanced and therefore palatable.

But why would they do an anti Obama story, what would prompt that? Did Obama get on twitter and bully everyone who didnt agree with him? Was Obama being blackmailed by a porn star he slept with while Michelle was pregnant with Sasha? Was Obama laundering money for a communist government?

Valiant seems to be portrating Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

I visited a Fox News bubble just yesterday. I went to my parents' house.

You have my condolences.

[kinggirlfriend]

Diversity is great, I'm a white dude and I find white dudes played out. Most the time people complain about diversity, or "PC culture", or "SJWs", or "politics in comics" they usually just want people to shut up about opinions they don't like or subjects don't want to think about. Especially when it's based solely on expectations based on previous work history.

Sorry but I have to disagree. I find the opposite. There’s a blatantly clear political agenda from some creators to push an agenda on the reader and that’s why people object Marvel have been pushing this hard in recent years and you have to ask yourself ‘why’? For the most part it’s insulting to the intelligence and transparently obvious. IMO comic readers mainly come for escapism and not for more of what passes for ‘mainstream culture’ (?) these days. Thankfully, Valiant have only done this on a few odd occasions and it’s not prevalent.

I think Valiant did it the right way by launching books with diverse characters and letting them sink or swim rather than hijacking established characters and fundamentally changing them solely for political ideology.

I’m not a fan of diversity for diversity’s sake, but if it’s natural and organic and reflective of society, then by all means. Like, I see no reason to change a character’s race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/etc just to make a splash and get some cheap attention (Look Iceman is Gay! Nick Fury is Black now!). But if you’re creating new characters, there’s no reason some shouldn’t be black/Muslim/gay/disabled/etc. If there really were superpowered individuals, a very large proportion of them would not be white, Christian, straight men.

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI. All good art is divorced from reality, I know I was drawn to Valiant because of it's unrecognizable fantasy universe, fingers crossed for the reboot so we can right these wrongs.

Valiant seems to be portraying Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

That's not the point, the point is "Shut up and keep politics out of comics!".

I guess I'll have to throw out all my X-Men comics.

Lol, you had me there for a second, I was like, wth?! Oh wait!

[greg]

I visited a Fox News bubble just yesterday. I went to my parents' house.

I know the part of the country where you live... how are you not in one every day?

[geocarr]

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI.

Wow, if you're serious, then it sounds like you bought a lot of comics you didn't like which doesn't make sense why you kept buying them. If you didn't buy them, then what are you complaining about?

That's not the point, the point is "Shut up and keep politics out of comics!".

Or just buy different comics that have more of the traits and characteristics you're looking for. Use your power as a buyer.

If your whole post was meant to be sarcastic, my apologies and no offense meant.

[kinggirlfriend]

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI.

Wow, if you're serious, then it sounds like you bought a lot of comics you didn't like which doesn't make sense why you kept buying them. If you didn't buy them, then what are you complaining about?

That's not the point, the point is "Shut up and keep politics out of comics!".

Or just buy different comics that have more of the traits and characteristics you're looking for. Use your power as a buyer.

If your whole post was meant to be sarcastic, my apologies and no offense meant.

He's joking. His original post read:

Diversity is great, I'm a white dude and I find white dudes played out. Most the time people complain about diversity, or "PC culture", or "SJWs", or "politics in comics" they usually just want people to shut up about opinions they don't like or subjects don't want to think about. Especially when it's based solely on expectations based on previous work history.

[geocarr]

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI.

Wow, if you're serious, then it sounds like you bought a lot of comics you didn't like which doesn't make sense why you kept buying them. If you didn't buy them, then what are you complaining about?

That's not the point, the point is "Shut up and keep politics out of comics!".

Or just buy different comics that have more of the traits and characteristics you're looking for. Use your power as a buyer.

If your whole post was meant to be sarcastic, my apologies and no offense meant.

He's joking. His original post read:

Diversity is great, I'm a white dude and I find white dudes played out. Most the time people complain about diversity, or "PC culture", or "SJWs", or "politics in comics" they usually just want people to shut up about opinions they don't like or subjects don't want to think about. Especially when it's based solely on expectations based on previous work history.

All good. Nothing to see here. Keep moving. Thanks for your cooperation.

[OhioValiantNut]

Vin Diesel playing Bloodshot should cover the diversity bases for the sjw crowd.

I love his tweet today ... looks like the film is going to actually happen.

[BugsySig]

Vin Diesel playing Bloodshot should cover the diversity bases for the sjw crowd.

I love his tweet today ... looks like the film is going to actually happen.

Isn’t he straight up Italian?

[SuperMage]

Vin Diesel playing Bloodshot should cover the diversity bases for the sjw crowd.

I love his tweet today ... looks like the film is going to actually happen.

Isn’t he straight up Italian?

Though the actor knows his mother's ethnicity, — of English, German, Irish and Scottish ancestry — Diesel never knew his father, nor his father's heritage and background. "I am truly multi-racial," he said, according to IMDB. "I never knew my biological father. I've always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.

His mom is white. His step-father was black. His ethnic features come from his unknown father. Certain Mediterranean groups have North African/Arabic ancestry from the Moorish occupation of Europe. So those ethnic Europeans you see mostly likely have distant North African or Arabic ancestry. Not everyone from Italy, Spain, and Portugal have mixed ancestry though. A lot have German ancestry. Spain was also occupied by, wait for it, the Visigoths during Moorish rule. The lead singer of A Sound of Thunder, Nina Oseguenda, is half Catalan for example. Catalan's are an ethnic group in Spain who were under Phoenician rule for some time. You can check out Nina's Instagram, and see screenshots where mainland Spaniard throw racial slurs at her. Mainly accusing her of being "a jew" because of her Catalan ancestry. Vin does look like he could be at least half Sicilian, but no one knows.

He strongly identifies with the Latin American community. A lot of my family members think he's mixed with afro-latino ancestry. He has the features aside from his skin tone. He's racially ambiguous.

[ShadowTuga]

Vin Diesel playing Bloodshot should cover the diversity bases for the sjw crowd.

I love his tweet today ... looks like the film is going to actually happen.

Isn’t he straight up Italian?

Though the actor knows his mother's ethnicity, — of English, German, Irish and Scottish ancestry — Diesel never knew his father, nor his father's heritage and background. "I am truly multi-racial," he said, according to IMDB. "I never knew my biological father. I've always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures.

His mom is white. His step-father was black. His ethnic features come from his unknown father. Certain Mediterranean groups have North African/Arabic ancestry from the Moorish occupation of Europe. So those ethnic Europeans you see mostly likely have distant North African or Arabic ancestry. Not everyone from Italy, Spain, and Portugal have mixed ancestry though. A lot have German ancestry. Spain was also occupied by, wait for it, the Visigoths during Moorish rule. The lead singer of A Sound of Thunder, Nina Oseguenda, is half Catalan for example. Catalan's are an ethnic group in Spain who were under Phoenician rule for some time. You can check out Nina's Instagram, and see screenshots where mainland Spaniard throw racial slurs at her. Mainly accusing her of being "a jew" because of her Catalan ancestry. Vin does look like he could be at least half Sicilian, but no one knows.

He strongly identifies with the Latin American community. A lot of my family members think he's mixed with afro-latino ancestry. He has the features aside from his skin tone. He's racially ambiguous.

This is completely irrelevant to the discussion, but I Mage's knowledge of ethnicities here in Europe. I have a mother-side that is as white as they come (my grandma could have passed for Slavic or Irish Celtic, actually- white, white, white, same as my mom), but my father's side has a line of darker looking skin tone, and that's where I got my "mixed" look, although I am white according to portuguese social norms. My wife is as white as they come, red face immediately after a little sun.
In the states I would be a latino or an arabic dude. My doctor used to say that I also must have far-east blood, because he thought my dad looked a wee bit Japanese.

But "blue-eyed devils" are as equally common- see our current Pres; then compare the guy with our current PM, or the Secretary-General of the UN. That's my country in a shell, we have tons of different looking peeps.

[agent_graves]

I could not imagine being so thin-skinned that I would get upset about a comic book company taking a shot at a politician I like. Or lionizing one I hate. Of course I think they all suck, so maybe I'm the weirdo.

Sent from my HTC U Ultra using Tapatalk

I think to be fair LD, the issue is that it’s a one way flow in the popular media. If for example, Valiant occasionally did stories that were anti-Obama (when he was president) or did stories where the ‘bad guys’ were reflective of what’s really happening in the world then it might seem a little more balanced and therefore palatable.

But why would they do an anti Obama story, what would prompt that? Did Obama get on twitter and bully everyone who didnt agree with him? Was Obama being blackmailed by a porn star he slept with while Michelle was pregnant with Sasha? Was Obama laundering money for a communist government?

Valiant seems to be portrating Trump consistently, IMO. Valiant universe is the world outside your window, not the world trapped inside the Fox news bubble.

I visited a Fox News bubble just yesterday. I went to my parents' house.

You have my condolences.

[Chiclo]

You guys are right, imagine how much better the line would be if they didn't force Livewire to be black, Dr. Mirage to be a woman, Kris to be a lesbian, or Torque to be crippled. This is Political Correctness run mad. Also if we could take all the politics out of Harbinger, XO, Secret Weapons, and Bloodshot imagine how much more interesting they would have been. It really ruined Imperium when they had Obama show up (propaganda much?!). If Joshua Dysart didn't force his SJW opinions and socioeconomic world-views down our throats people would probably remember Harbinger/Imperium as the peak VEI. All good art is divorced from reality, I know I was drawn to Valiant because of it's unrecognizable fantasy universe, fingers crossed for the reboot so we can right these wrongs.

Keeping in mind that I am a right-wing, Trump voting, southern Baptist sunday school teacher, firearm salesman from Texas who might miss the comic book show this weekend because I am going to a presentation from the Institute for Creation Research about science viewed through the lens of the worldwide flood from Genesis and Noah's Ark -

The line is just fine the way it is, with a black Livewire, a lesbian Kris and a crippled Torque. Joshua Dysart is not forcing any SJW opinions on anybody, he is just masterfully telling a story. I don't feel like any less of a right-winger for having read Dysart's Harbinger or Imperium.

Livewire was white in the original Valiant and one could laud that iteration of the character as forgettable and generic. I beat Dino once at a Valiant trivia contest before the new Valiant was released and I had to think to remember who Livewire was. This new Livewire is one of the best and most memorable characters in the new Valiant line. And I can see the appeal to retooling such a forgettable character to a writer like Dysart - it is not like she brought over much baggage from the old Valiant.

I was pitching Harbinger to a friend of mine and I pointed out that even for me my favourite character is a lesbian. Little old Trump-voter me, who regularly calls for the repeal of the 16th and 17th amendments.

[Chiclo]

I visited a Fox News bubble just yesterday. I went to my parents' house.

I know the part of the country where you live... how are you not in one every day?

Because I am not very often around tvs that are playing the channel. Even the oil change place had a different channel on the last time I was there.

It has been different since the kids took over Fox News, around the time they kicked Bill O'Reilly off. It is like they have gone soft. Fox News is not as good as it used to be.

Ideologically, I do hang out in a Fox News bubble. They cast aspersions at me because I will occasionally watch MSNBC just so I can see what they are up to. But the last MSNBC host I really liked was Melissa Harris-Perry.

[Chiclo]

I would like to follow up my criticism of tell's reaction by saying that forced diversity or a focus on diversity for diversity sake or seeking diversity merely as an end to justify itself are all things that are worthy of criticism. Valiant did not do any of these things. Valiant does not crow about its diversity. No Valiant characters discuss how much they value their diversity, they just are diverse. And that is how diversity is done properly.

Diversity is a little bit like power or grace or intelligence. If you have to go around talking about how powerful you are or how smart you are or how much of a lady you are, you probably aren't. If you go around bragging about how diverse you are, you are 1) being diverse for the wrong reasons, just to be diverse, and that is worthy of criticism and 2) probably not representing those diverse viewpoints properly. Valiant isn't doing that.

If you shy away from media that represents the left-leaning viewpoints, you will not have much media available to you. We lost Hollywood half a century ago. They are still mad about the great American Hero, Tailgunner Joe, standing up and calling out the commies and chumps for the commies that were making movies in the 50s. And they have managed to establish a monolithic united stance against us ever since. If you don't challenge what you know is right, how can you know that you are right or what is wrong?