My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) story

How did you become a VALIANT collector?

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leonmallett
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Post by leonmallett »

Post 4K. Or 4000 for you traditionalists out there. That would include me, I suppose. Liberalism meets small 'c' conservatism, but that is by the by.

For Elveen here is the #0 issue: I am in fact very unoriginal and it is my name, except with a space. My father was a musician (with a certain amount of success across Finland and nearby countries in the 60's), and my forename came from being named after a musician by the name of Leon Russell.

Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.

All of you, pretty much. :D

:thumb:

Anyhow, I will post about these books I like a heck of lot some more, in chunks as I read more of the runs I have outstanding.
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month

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siren3-4
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Post by siren3-4 »

Congrats on 4K !!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:



It does seem like your #0 issue came out during Deathmate though . . . :)


Let's make up a better story for your #5000 post . . . it will involve ninjas in London . . . because there are no ninjas in London

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leonmallett
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Post by leonmallett »

siren3-4 wrote:Congrats on 4K !!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:



It does seem like your #0 issue came out during Deathmate though . . . :)


Let's make up a better story for your #5000 post . . . it will involve ninjas in London . . . because there are no ninjas in London
London ninjas are so stealthy that no-one knows about them. West Midlands ninjas are addicted to curry and so are not so scary. However the pirates that are scattered across the lands of the UK are trying to combat the ninja threat. An enterprising scientist has threatened to gene-splice ninja and pirate DNA to create ulti-ninja-pirate.
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month

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TKWill
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Post by TKWill »

leonmallett wrote:
siren3-4 wrote:Congrats on 4K !!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:



It does seem like your #0 issue came out during Deathmate though . . . :)


Let's make up a better story for your #5000 post . . . it will involve ninjas in London . . . because there are no ninjas in London
London ninjas are so stealthy that no-one knows about them. West Midlands ninjas are addicted to curry and so are not so scary. However the pirates that are scattered across the lands of the UK are trying to combat the ninja threat. An enterprising scientist has threatened to gene-splice ninja and pirate DNA to create ulti-ninja-pirate.
Why would he want to weaken the Pirate DNA stock with ninja DNA. Ninjas that are addicted to curry? You would smell them coming. Pirates only have three addictions: women, booze and kicking ninja *SQUEE*.

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Post by Dr. Solar »

Welcome to the bored!

(Ninjas are better than pirates)

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Elveen
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Post by Elveen »

leonmallett wrote:Post 4K. Or 4000 for you traditionalists out there. That would include me, I suppose. Liberalism meets small 'c' conservatism, but that is by the by.

For Elveen here is the #0 issue: I am in fact very unoriginal and it is my name, except with a space. My father was a musician (with a certain amount of success across Finland and nearby countries in the 60's), and my forename came from being named after a musician by the name of Leon Russell.

Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.

All of you, pretty much. :D

:thumb:

Anyhow, I will post about these books I like a heck of lot some more, in chunks as I read more of the runs I have outstanding.

what did he play? Or was he a crooner?


And congrats :thumb: It's good to have you back.

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Post by maraxusofkeld »

Congrats !!

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Post by jedimarley »

leonmallett wrote:Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.
:?

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Chiclo
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Post by Chiclo »

jedimarley wrote:
leonmallett wrote:Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.
:?
Clearly he had the zany antics of the VaultKeeper in mind.

That guy is just crazy, man.

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Post by jedimarley »

Chiclo wrote:
jedimarley wrote:
leonmallett wrote:Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.
:?
Clearly he had the zany antics of the VaultKeeper in mind.

That guy is just crazy, man.
I thought he meant MotA? :?

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leonmallett
My mind is sharp. Like a sharp thing.
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Favorite character: Shadowman (Hall version)
Favorite title: Shadowman (under Hall)
Favorite writer: Fred Van Lente
Favorite artist: Clayton Henry
Location: hunting down paulsmith56 somewhere in the balti belt...

Post by leonmallett »

Elveen wrote:
leonmallett wrote:Post 4K. Or 4000 for you traditionalists out there. That would include me, I suppose. Liberalism meets small 'c' conservatism, but that is by the by.

For Elveen here is the #0 issue: I am in fact very unoriginal and it is my name, except with a space. My father was a musician (with a certain amount of success across Finland and nearby countries in the 60's), and my forename came from being named after a musician by the name of Leon Russell.

Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.

All of you, pretty much. :D

:thumb:

Anyhow, I will post about these books I like a heck of lot some more, in chunks as I read more of the runs I have outstanding.

what did he play? Or was he a crooner?


And congrats :thumb: It's good to have you back.
bass. And thanks, and thanks! :thumb:
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month

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leonmallett
My mind is sharp. Like a sharp thing.
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Posts: 9444
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Valiant fan since: 2006
Favorite character: Shadowman (Hall version)
Favorite title: Shadowman (under Hall)
Favorite writer: Fred Van Lente
Favorite artist: Clayton Henry
Location: hunting down paulsmith56 somewhere in the balti belt...

Post by leonmallett »

jedimarley wrote:
Chiclo wrote:
jedimarley wrote:
leonmallett wrote:Anyhoo, I will eventually drag this thread back on track. One day. Despite the sabotage of you jokers. You know who I am talkin' about.
:?
Clearly he had the zany antics of the VaultKeeper in mind.

That guy is just crazy, man.
I thought he meant MotA? :?
:sumo:


:D
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month

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leonmallett
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Favorite character: Shadowman (Hall version)
Favorite title: Shadowman (under Hall)
Favorite writer: Fred Van Lente
Favorite artist: Clayton Henry
Location: hunting down paulsmith56 somewhere in the balti belt...
Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by leonmallett »

My new VALIANT story time…

I had serious doubts about VEI; very serious misgivings. A few years back they bought up the rights to the VALIANT characters and we were happy. Then time passed and the only announcements were seemingly about other media licensing deals and no comics seemed forthcoming. Then we had the Shooter debacle and I came to the opinion that VEI were not interested in comics and could have done much more, much sooner, even with those few hardcover collections.

Then we heard VEI would be publishing comics, which they did from last year onwards.

And that proved that VEI were interested in making comics. And very good ones at that; and yes, they could have published sooner, like it or not, but reading and re-reading a lot of books in the past week or so has made me realize that even if they had published sooner, that maybe the timing would not have been right. I think Simons has been a brilliant hiring, and ultimately Shooter may never have captured the same lightning in a bottle.

VEI were right, and they proved me wrong.

I have said that before, and here I say it again; VEI were right, and they proved me, and other doubters I hope, wrong.

I have had a comics-reading hiatus of sorts over the past 7-9 months (it is hard to be sure exactly how long). This has happened before, but previously only following significant life events. This time was simply due to my feelings about the medium, feelings of disappointment largely due to the actions of one of the big two publishers. But this post is not about that. This is about VALIANT.

When VEI launched their line last year I had read the first 3-4 months and then the rest just joined an ever-growing comics backlog. During that time pretty much all I read was collected editions – maybe the ‘to-read’ pile was just too much.

But a couple of weeks ago I thought I needed to get on top of things. So I sorted some DC and Marvel runs to clear some books.

Then I thought about VALIANT.


I looked at Shadowman #1-6 and #0. I thought that I needed to read those books, to form an opinion on the latest iteration of my VH1 favorite. So that meant I needed to read all those VALIANT books.

I dug through piles of comics (conservative estimate around 250, across many, many titles), in no discernible order. I assembled the runs and bagged and boarded them for reading (I had not even done that as the mountain grew in the past few months), and began to read.

Bloodshot was first. The first 2-3 issues I had read already, but reading a big chuck of 10 books meant the run had a swagger, and style that obliterated memories of the VH1 stories. I was hooked on the character, the premise and his journey from the outset. A very strong book, and possibly an under-rated gem if more people are not reading it. An excellent job guys.

Then I allowed myself to read Shadowman. Not the same book as I knew, but nor should it be. Bob Hall crafted an amazing and compelling run. Well I found this story compelling to, just in different ways. This was better structured than the original in terms of supporting cast and set-up from the start. This was a book with far clearer direction than the pre-Hall Shadowman series. I have read criticism of the current Shadowman, even suggestions that it is camp; well no more so than say the Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel TV series which I feel are the closest parallels from another medium. I think Jordan and Zircher have in fact created a great introduction to Jack Boniface 2.0. The addition of Deadside is to take the best element of the Acclaim ideas in my humble opinion, and even the surprise of Dr. Mirage was more than acceptable. I loved the first take, but this works too. Kudos VEI.

Harbinger and Harbinger Wars 1 and 2 were next. I think Pete Stanchek is a pretty unsympathetic character due to his mental control of Kris. Only after a number of issues does that feeling start to fade. The matter has not really been faced head-on and I think it needs to be, for the implications are pretty monstrous when you really consider them. I cannot see how that factor can translate easily into a 2-hour movie for example, but after reading the run, I have engaged more with the damaged figure that is Pete, and I have enjoyed the book. The build-up is there. Characters are developing well, as is the plot-arc driving the book and other parts of the line forwards. It has shaped up into an intriguing title.

So now I am working through Archer and Armstrong. Again I had read the first couple of issues which were fun then, and remained so at the second reading almost a year on. 4 issues in and I love the book’s tone and its mythology, and once again have to give credit to VEI for getting this right. If the rest are just as good I will be very happy indeed

There is just X-O Manowar to go once I finish with Archer and Armstrong, and then I will be up to speed until my next LCS visit. I had lukewarm feelings about those first few new X-O Manowar issues (for a start, it seemed a foolish idea for him to not even be in the suit by the end of that first issue), but I am buoyed by all those other great books.


The thing is, and this is why I am posting, but VEI have got it so largely right in my opinion, far in excess of what I expected. Not perfect, but nothing truly can be perfect (and I defy anyone who states anything can be), but the line is so good, so enjoyable, and so varied that it works so well. This line does not feel it misses the GK3 to my mind, so much so that I hope there is no thought about interfering with the magic they have now to even consider such a move.

So thank you VEI for proving me wrong. I am not so self-absorbed to suggest that is their aim of course, but what I mean is that I had such strong doubts that I could not see how VEI could produce comics I could enjoy this much, and yet they did; so thanks for doing so, from all of us, but also from me - a fan who did not get to appreciate VH1 as it happened, only after the fact, but who is lucky enough to have given this new line a chance from the start and has felt so rewarded for doing so.
Last edited by leonmallett on Thu May 23, 2013 1:14:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
VEI - I look forward to you one day publishing MORE than 9-10 books per month

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greg
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by greg »

Awesome post! :clap:

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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by lorddunlow »

Wel...come? You know you've been here way before me, right? You have a crapload of posts as well. :? :kidaround:

I agree with Greg. Awesome post. Glad you found your way back. I had been out of comics for almost 20 years, and now I'm back in a bigger way than I ever was, all because of VEI.

I agree Bloodshot is very underappreciated.

In case you don't already know: The Canadian board members are not to be trusted. They're evil.
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by comicsyte95 »

Welcome back! :clap:
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by grendeljd »

Excellent post, sir. Glad you have seen the light that is VEI! :clap:
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by MarkRoseHFX »

lorddunlow wrote: In case you don't already know: The Canadian board members are not to be trusted. They're evil.
One of these days dunlow...i'm gonna stick moose antlers up your *SQUEE*

congrats leon!
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by Chiclo »

MarkRoseHFX wrote:
lorddunlow wrote: In case you don't already know: The Canadian board members are not to be trusted. They're evil.
One of these days dunlow...i'm gonna stick moose antlers up your *SQUEE*

congrats leon!
One of these days, Dunlow, Bang! Zoom! Right to Yellowknife!

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MarkRoseHFX
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by MarkRoseHFX »

Chiclo wrote:
MarkRoseHFX wrote:
lorddunlow wrote: In case you don't already know: The Canadian board members are not to be trusted. They're evil.
One of these days dunlow...i'm gonna stick moose antlers up your *SQUEE*

congrats leon!
One of these days, Dunlow, Bang! Zoom! Right to Yellowknife!
:lol: gotta love the Honeymooners

to Yellowknife would be a fate much worse than the moon, he'll freeze to death.
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Re: My VALIANT (all capitals, all the time and all that) sto

Post by Burrito Boy »

Welcome back.

Here, have a taco. :D


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