Fred Pierce Speaks!

[WrathOfArmstrong]

http://www.comicsbeat.com/valiants-fred ... -industry/

Worth the read, very insightful look.

[nycjadie]

Thanks for posting. I appreciate Fred's enthusiasm, and positivity about Valiant today. A few things make me go hmmm though. For example:

"The industry is telling us that the covers are better than they’ve ever been. It’s very hard to follow in Warren’s footsteps but we’ll do the best we can. Everybody’s more excited and more ambitious than they’ve ever been. At our Tuesday meetings everybody’s laughing. It’s really nice."

[wrunow]

Appreciate the link.

Fred's a straight shooter and a great guy. I am sure he is showing his value every day in that office.

[greg]

Good read.

[jmatt]

Thanks for sharing. It's nice to see some positive energy!

[syzhang28]

Appreciate the link.

Fred's a straight shooter and a great guy. I am sure he is showing his value every day in that office.

He reads like the opposite of a straight shooter here.

He takes jabs at both Warren and Dinesh who I haven't seen say bad things about him.

He loses credibility when he says that the covers are better now. They are clearly struggling in that department and he's trying to mask it. In fact, that gives me an idea for a new thread.

And Dan Mintz taking credit for green-lighting a movie that we've all been publicly watching make its way to production is another sign of who he is. Fred being the mouth piece is worrying because he's our last hope for protecting Valiant. Maybe he's got a gun to his head. The whole interview reads like something out of North Korea.

[Aram]

Appreciate the link.

Fred's a straight shooter and a great guy. I am sure he is showing his value every day in that office.

He reads like the opposite of a straight shooter here.

He takes jabs at both Warren and Dinesh who I haven't seen say bad things about him.

He loses credibility when he says that the covers are better now. They are clearly struggling in that department and he's trying to mask it. In fact, that gives me an idea for a new thread.

And Dan Mintz taking credit for green-lighting a movie that we've all been publicly watching make its way to production is another sign of who he is. Fred being the mouth piece is worrying because he's our last hope for protecting Valiant. Maybe he's got a gun to his head. The whole interview reads like something out of North Korea.

Wow. Just wow. I’m sorry but you are way off. Fred is nothing like you imply. I’ve talked with him. I’ve spent time with him. Fred was always the number 3 person that made Valiant(VEI) great imho after Dinesh and Warren.

[Dallow Spicer1]

Lots of positive talk but I’ve not seen any evidence what so ever that the company is in better shape than the ‘previous administration’? Are sales any better? The books are pretty average at the moment, Bloodshot Salvation seems to have had creative changes after the first issue and there’s only 4 books scheduled for release in January.

“Valiant is NOT in better shape now than before, change my mind”

[nonplayer]

Dmg is not valiant they may own the valiant charaters but by no means will I call them Valiant (yet) They need to have birthday parties as a kid and love the charaters longer than me. Or B make good quality comics with the valiant charaters. So far nither has happened.
I am hoping that the four new series coming out soon will be their premire into good quality comics and the change of my opinion.
It is easy to say hey Fred make a positive word for us.

[jmatt]

He reads like the opposite of a straight shooter here.

He takes jabs at both Warren and Dinesh who I haven't seen say bad things about him.

He loses credibility when he says that the covers are better now. They are clearly struggling in that department and he's trying to mask it. In fact, that gives me an idea for a new thread.

Wait, let me take a wild guess. It will be about how the covers suck, right? You seem to dislike pretty much everything about Valiant without even having read a lot of it. You even start threads about how much content that hasn't even been published "sucks".

Why are you even here? Why spend so much effort criticizing stuff you haven't read and don't like? I don't get it.

[depluto]

To me that read like Fred being Fred. This seemed in line with every conversation I’ve had with him (just a few) and every interview of his I have read. He’s a good dude, in my book.

[syzhang28]

He reads like the opposite of a straight shooter here.

He takes jabs at both Warren and Dinesh who I haven't seen say bad things about him.

He loses credibility when he says that the covers are better now. They are clearly struggling in that department and he's trying to mask it. In fact, that gives me an idea for a new thread.

Wait, let me take a wild guess. It will be about how the covers suck, right? You seem to dislike pretty much everything about Valiant without even having read a lot of it. You even start threads about how much content that hasn't even been published "sucks".

Why are you even here? Why spend so much effort criticizing stuff you haven't read and don't like? I don't get it.

No, it wasn't negative. Actually it posed the question and people have been taking both sides. I'm not always negative, I'm actually very positive about Valiant but most of what has happened this year is in my opinion a ploy to convince readers that everything is okay when from what I see it's very, very wrong. I'm just calling it like it is.

[AnarchoMambo]

jmatt has a really good point here.

And I’m not totally sure if I love or hate when people who love to talk about how much they hate the thing that they love echo their hate in repetitive ways, especially because I love the thing that I love and that they hate. But I’ve always been taught to love all people, even those who hate the thing that I love, but that doesn’t make it any easier to love the people that love to spread hate.

[nycjadie]

All doom and gloom is just as exhausting as all rainbows, no matter whether it’s for the books, marketing or people. There is always 2 sides to anything. It’s great to hear Fred speak positivity, but that’s also his job right now, and you can read in between what he says that not everything is rosy. And that’s fair to point out.

[ckb]

All doom and gloom is just as exhausting as all rainbows, no matter whether it’s for the books, marketing or people. There is always 2 sides to anything. It’s great to hear Fred speak positivity, but that’s also his job right now, and you can read in between what he says that not everything is rosy. And that’s fair to point out.

I love Fred too but there definitely was a "Baghdad Bob" aspect to that interview. You are right, it's his job.

[Ryan]

All doom and gloom is just as exhausting as all rainbows, no matter whether it’s for the books, marketing or people. There is always 2 sides to anything. It’s great to hear Fred speak positivity, but that’s also his job right now, and you can read in between what he says that not everything is rosy. And that’s fair to point out.

I love Fred too but there definitely was a "Baghdad Bob" aspect to that interview. You are right, it's his job.

I don't agree that his job is to blow smoke up his customer's tailpipes. We're all adults, just tell it like it is. Like someone else said, this type of press release 'interview' is insulting to the fan's intelligence.

So many head scratching statements were made. It's telling that the only thing he mentioned about the actual comics were the covers. What about the stories? A glass cover is not 'innovative', it's a gimmick. The worst thing about VEI (IMO) was that they seemed to focus more on covers and gimmicks than making great stories. It seems the DMG era is just doubling down on those choices.

I don't give a goat's tail about covers and movies, just make truly great comics and readers will come. Meanwhile the comics industry is swirling the toilet. I don't agree that the 'entertainment industry revolves around comics' just because comic characters are popular in other mediums. If anything, it makes the comics industry even more irrelevant when people can get all the best stories without having to read a single comic.

Even if Bloodshot the movie is successful, it won't automatically save the comics. Remember when Turok and Shadowman had a bunch of AAA video games that were bought by millions of people, how many comics were bought from that? The only thing that will save the comics is great comics.

[nycjadie]

That is the truth. I think it’s fair to say that the video games brought very few readers.

[Juki]

Personally, I think there is a big difference between the draw of a movie vs. home video game. Especially knowing that, in my eyes, the quality of the Acclaim Valiant comics went down. I know that I lost interest at that point.

[WrathOfArmstrong]

That is the truth. I think it’s fair to say that the video games brought very few readers.

I came based on the games. But... it took years... when I showed up after Shadowman N64... I got... Ennis' terrible Shadowman...and figured it was a bad cash in... I didn't bother to go backward. Keeping that torch alive for a good trip to deadside is what got me to try VEI.

If they want to keep fans of the movie, that series Fred is talking about has to be the highest caliber. Not a rush job because they need something on the shelf. Has to be as good as Bloodshot Reborn... or The Valiant...and close enough to the film not to alienate that audience...

[SuperMage]

Literally the only reason why I ever read a superhero comic in my life is because of the Teen Titans animated series. If that show didn't exist I never would have picked up a comic in a my life. The people who curiously pick up a comic will mostly be the young kids who grow up with the adaptions, and become curious about the source material. Granted it will only be a fraction of that audience. The structural issues with the comic book industry as whole generally hurt that potential growth.

Picking up a Batman comic to see five different Robins is going to be a pretty big turn off for most people. Trying to understand why X-23 is Wolverine will have the same effect. Legacy characters, and inconsistent character morality/characterization are the biggest issues with Marvel and DC. It's confusing when five different writers are trying to reconcile why Hal Jordan turned evil and killed the Green Lantern Corp, or why there are multiple characters using the same codename.

[syzhang28]

Literally the only reason why I ever read a superhero comic in my life is because of the Teen Titans animated series. If that show didn't exist I never would have picked up a comic in a my life. The people who curiously pick up a comic will mostly be the young kids who grow up with the adaptions, and become curious about the source material. Granted it will only be a fraction of that audience. The structural issues with the comic book industry as whole generally hurt that potential growth.

Picking up a Batman comic to see five different Robins is going to be a pretty big turn off for most people. Trying to understand why X-23 is Wolverine will have the same effect. Legacy characters, and inconsistent character morality/characterization are the biggest issues with Marvel and DC. It's confusing when five different writers are trying to reconcile why Hal Jordan turned evil and killed the Green Lantern Corp, or why there are multiple characters using the same codename.

Preach brother! Couldn't agree more.

[syzhang28]

That is the truth. I think it’s fair to say that the video games brought very few readers.

I came based on the games. But... it took years... when I showed up after Shadowman N64... I got... Ennis' terrible Shadowman...and figured it was a bad cash in... I didn't bother to go backward. Keeping that torch alive for a good trip to deadside is what got me to try VEI.

If they want to keep fans of the movie, that series Fred is talking about has to be the highest caliber. Not a rush job because they need something on the shelf. Has to be as good as Bloodshot Reborn... or The Valiant...and close enough to the film not to alienate that audience...

I hope they can do that. I think of Valiant like a sports team. I will always support them but I am honest about whether they can win the title. If in 2017 they won the league title and the cup and then the manager, coach, 90% of the back room staff and half the players leave and are replaced with people who have never played at this level I don't kid myself that they are going to win a title again. That's what I see here. How can Valiant put out a book as good as Bloodshot Reborn unless they get a new Dinesh, a new Warren, a new Hunter, a new Atom, a new Jeff Lemire, a new Lewis LaRosa and a new Mico Suayan and I'm sure I'm unaware of a few people who played a role in making that series great that have left.

I also agree that whatever they do needs to keep the continuity of the movie but from what I've read the movie is in line with everything published from 2012-2017 under Dinesh. This new book is retconning a lot of stuff which I worry will not be the same as the movie now.