What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

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valiantdude
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What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by valiantdude »

Well this is it my final post here.. I’m done..

Its been a great 18 years and I think it’s time for me to pack it up..

Before I go though, I want to map out what I think went wrong with VEI , or really what I wouldve done.

And here we are at now, where somehow books are still being printed but they don’t really make any sense.

It’s over …you know it, I know it, and it feels like flogging a dead horse, but it’s still strange to observe.

It reminds me so much of vh3 these days..

Jim Shooter and co’s creations are trapped in china now…for now, or forever..

But I want to point out that I’ve been here since the very beginning, I was the 1st person to ever post on the boards, so I do have a history here, but its my ending..

When I think about the relaunch and how everything played out, I couldn’t help but imagine if I had the keys to the valiant universe, what would I have done..

So I thought for my final post I would (briefly) outline, ‘What I would have done’

In a nutshell I would’ve started with the classic titles(assuming there was no GK):

Harbinger
X-O
Eternal Warrior
A&A
Rai
Shadowman

And built from there, but stick to the classic storylines.. They diverted too far, everything had to be the opposite, and they cut core concepts.

Let the spider aliens be spider aliens

Let harbingers be harbingers

Let grandmother be grandmother, I mean the list is TOO long for that stuff

So think of all the titles with an ‘ultimate’ style update, modernized but retelling the same stories, the same names, the same costumes.. that is what people wanted, that would have made the titles stronger..

Keep the corporate intrigue.. VEI right away left out orb industries which killed the dynamic of ORB vs Harbinger Foundation vs The other corporations. That was a key part of what made the valiant universe special originally, why they chose to ignore that in the relaunch I’ll never know.

X-O getting a country? That was so lame, and not the world outside your window. It was all about the fact that their conflicts happened on multiple fronts. Including abstract corporate warfare..

Then I would have, having basically told the same interconnected story within the framework of the original universe but updated, I would have then created a unity event, and springboard from there to the framework designed originally but stick to the same character developments and expand.

This next part is the biggest failure VEI made.

What VEI in its original form failed to understand is that the characters and situations were designed by serious comic professionals, professionals who had worked with the original comic book characters, those original characters where the amalgamation of archetypes that somehow poked at the subconscious racial memory in such a way that we gave them special attention. Look where marvel and dc characters are now

So at the time those creators (Jim, Bob, Barry and co.) were working with new comics and characters that drew from every reservoir of knowledge that they had about creating meaningful archetypal characters that would create a desire to return to their story month after month, knowledge that stretched all the way back to the beginning of comics. They used everything they knew and perfectly crafted these original characters and stories in the vein of timeless comic book characters.

So the best move would have to been to recreate exactly what they did; names, costumes, situations, conflicts, attitudes, characterizations, everything. Revamp it in an ‘Ultimate’ comics style fashion (more sophisticated), and then bring back a classic comic universe in the correct way.
That would've been the most successful Valiant relaunch, it would've brought back a lot of old readers like myself, and hit the nostalgia cycle perfectly.

That's what I would have done.

Instead we got everything but.. and I really thought Dinesh would get this, I thought he understood these aspects, but it seemed like, in the end, he let the writers be the director and didn’t stay true to made the original comics special.

So many changes for the sake of changing…everything had to be the opposite.. It could have really been something, now the newest comics seem like the kind you get packaged with an action figure.

It’s sad, but whatever, there could have never been a relaunch at all..

There’s a Bloodshot movie coming for goddsakes haha..

Maybe one day, after DMG sells, someone will really understand what made Valiant stand out originally and do it right..

Perhaps then I will come back…but not likely….


Goodbye Greg and all those I’ve debated/chatted with here..
It’s been fun being attached to comics at their best
an art form I truly love.

18 years 1 Board 1 Final Post

Later guys
:)

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by Blood of Heroes »

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by syzhang28 »

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by SwiftMann »

I dont think VEI was perfect but just redoing the same thing?

Sounds like you could just re-read the first two years of 90s books and be content.
"If you think any of these [older comics/shows/movies] do not carry a political content and is not using the medium of science fiction to explore real-world ideas, than you have not been paying attention." - Dan Abnett, VCR #246

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by Ryan »

Always sad to lose an old school Valiant fan who has invested countless hours and $$ into the universe, and the sad thing is for every fan who says goodbye with a final post there are dozens who just lose interest and wander off to other things, never to be heard from again. Are these new comics bringing in any new fans who will care passionately about these characters in 18 years? It's amazing for me to think there have been new Valiant comics coming out for 8 years now and the overall fan interest seems much less than the 10ish years (2000-2010) when there was little hope there would ever be new Valiant comics again.

The simple fact that valiant comics have been coming out monthly for 8 years and there's a Bloodshot movie coming out shows that the VEI venture has been very successful in many ways. It seems that one of their main goals was always to use the comics to show that the characters could be valuable in other mediums. But as a comics reader and fan, those things aren't that important, we just want great comics. Since we're doing gif I'll throw one in
Image
This was the major problem with the comics imo, they could get the reader's curiosity but couldn't really hold their attention. If I could simplify and point to one reason I would say the writing. The writers didn't seem like they were ever Valiant fans so they didn't really GET on a deep level what it was that made early Valiant special and what connected so strongly with the readers. It wasn't plot points, or Spider aliens, or anything superficial like that. A weekend binge reading of Harbinger is going to give you an idea of the characters, plot points, etc. but I think more is needed to really understand what made it special.

Theres a lot more to it imo, but this thread is for valiantdude, pour one out, he's gone too soon
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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by Oxmyx »

syzhang28 wrote: Sun Feb 23, 2020 4:52:48 am Image
+1 (China, China, China)
I've been looking everywhere for the ultra-rare Turok vs Blister issue. Anybody able to help me out?

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by buff-beardo »

Sorry to see you feel like leaving the forum. This place is VALIANT!
Muse Rocks! Check out “The Handler”.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by greg »

It's true that Valiant fans have come and gone from this board for many years with or without any fanfare, however, this message board reaches back to the origins of ValiantComics.com online in 1999 and some of its content comes from even earlier Valiant fan websites.

This is the third board that ValiantComics.com has had and since 2004 it has been online continuously at ValiantFans.com. Both of those domains pre-date the Acclaim bankruptcy and pre-date the auction for Valiant assets to what-would-become VEI.

We were here before Acclaim died, we were here before VEI was born, we were here before DMG, and we'll most likely still be here after DMG.

If this message board is like a tree, we'll always have leaves that come and go from season to season, and some branches that are here for years might even break off once in a while, but the roots go back to at least 1999, and today's weather isn't much of a concern on that timeline.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by nycjadie »

greg wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:38:43 pm It's true that Valiant fans have come and gone from this board for many years with or without any fanfare, however, this message board reaches back to the origins of ValiantComics.com online in 1999 and some of its content comes from even earlier Valiant fan websites.

This is the third board that ValiantComics.com has had and since 2004 it has been online continuously at ValiantFans.com. Both of those domains pre-date the Acclaim bankruptcy and pre-date the auction for Valiant assets to what-would-become VEI.

We were here before Acclaim died, we were here before VEI was born, we were here before DMG, and we'll most likely still be here after DMG.

If this message board is like a tree, we'll always have leaves that come and go from season to season, and some branches that are here for years might even break off once in a while, but the roots go back to at least 1999, and today's weather isn't much of a concern on that timeline.
Truth Grandmother!

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by lorddunlow »

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by Dallow Spicer1 »

Shame to see a long term fan call it a day. Understandable given the current slump but I guess if you don’t like the 2012 launch then maybe it’s the right call as I don’t see DMG producing better books than that any time soon.

Side bar, couple of responses to Valiantdude’s post seemed a bit disrespectful but maybe they were meant as humour? :?

Gregg - traffic on the site does seem to have declined since the DMG takeover, do you see that in the site visit numbers?

Anyway, I hope DMG gives Valiantdude or any other lapsed readers a reason to come back.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by slym2none »

I mean, I am still here, so... :?

:lol:



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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by oldjello »

slym2none wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:15:26 pm I mean, I am still here, so... :?

:lol:



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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by greg »

Dallow Spicer1 wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 11:59:17 am Gregg - traffic on the site does seem to have declined since the DMG takeover, do you see that in the site visit numbers?
Traffic is down since DMG's takeover, from around 1,600 visitors per month to around 1,000 visitors per month with around 500 as "returning visitors".
February saw an increase to 1,400 visitors, easily a result of the Bloodshot movie.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by depluto »

Sack up, gentlemen.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by nycjadie »

greg wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 1:19:40 pm
Dallow Spicer1 wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 11:59:17 am Gregg - traffic on the site does seem to have declined since the DMG takeover, do you see that in the site visit numbers?
Traffic is down since DMG's takeover, from around 1,600 visitors per month to around 1,000 visitors per month with around 500 as "returning visitors".
February saw an increase to 1,400 visitors, easily a result of the Bloodshot movie.
I would have expected more conversation about the movie, as it's so imminent. I was at a bar/restaurant last night, and the Bloodshot trailer came up. I thought that was pretty cool.

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Re: What I would've done if I owned VEI (final post)

Post by Blood of Heroes »

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