Intro and Ramble
Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg
- riftt
- Get those scissors away from my coupons
- Posts: 351
- Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2004 6:17:31 pm
- Location: Los Angeles
Intro and Ramble
First off I want to say that this is a great board and website that obviously has a lot of love for Valiant and that is really cool considering I thought we had all died off. I just wanted to introduce myself, more as a thereputic way of getting my Valiant thoughts that I have been storing for ages off my chest than anything else.
I started collecting Valiant when I was very restless with Marvel and needed something different (I was 11). I was always into the fringe Marvel titles (cosmic stuff, what if, power pack) and I needed to go the next step into something darker and harder (this urge would continue until I discovered Grendel and Stray Bullets). That's when Solar #16 leapt off the shelf at me. This was one f-d up book. Not only was there sick spider alien munching on humans, but the main character of the book not only completey killed the badguys (unheard of at marvel), but I later come to find that he killed an entire universe, with his girlfriend first to die!
I soon began buying many titles going into 1993 with the main series I was interested in being X-O, Magnus/Rai, and my favorite, Harbinger. I spent that year in a Valiant bubble, enjoying the tight continuity, great characters and writing, and the apparent collectability of all the cameo appearences and chromium covers.
The a few things happened; events which if taken separately may not have driven me so far away but taken as a whole ended up killing my desire to continue buying Valiant. By 94 I was already feeling a bit itchy - the market was so saturated and I felt like I had to buy so many titles to keep up. I also felt like the scales were tipping too far into the 'superhero-y' category and less of the drama of the early titles, where being a superhero was the backdrop. But 3 events shook me up:
1. Harbinger #25 - aka the death of everything I love and hold dear. the story arc of 23-25 is great and is probably what I re-read the most, but I only wish it could have been done in issues 73-75, or at least that something less initially revolting could have followed the major shake-up. Shallow or not, I basically looked at the ad for issue 26, took one glance at the ugly, awkward logo for 'The New Harbingers' and knew I would never buy the book again.
2. The end of the Malev war - Unlike many people on this board (or so it seems) I really dug Rai and the Future Force. I thought the 'new' Rai was great and one of the more complex characters introduced in the Valiant Universe. When I saw the promo ad of him lying dead, and then saw the book jumpstarted with yet another rai...
3. X-O Manowar #27 - I was rereading an issue of Secret Weapons last night and saw the promo ad for this issue. At the very bottom is a sentence in parenthesis that says: "Please don't shoot us for this". Well I won't shoot you, but I did drop the book, and with it the final blow to my Valiant enthusiasm. Shanhara even went out like a *SQUEE*, being destroyed by some dumb spider-alien gun.
So I stopped collecting Valiant, and by 1996 I had stopped buying any comics altogether (buying trades wasnt a big thing then). Cut to the present day 2004: 23 yr old college grad transplanted across the country to L.A. with a decent job and disposable income. Hanging out in a Border's one day I glance at the comic rack and pick up an issue of "New X-Men" by some writer named Grant Morrison. I was never a big fan of X-Men while at Marvel (I was way too cool for that popular stuff), but this comic was different and after reading a few more I decided to get the three really nice HC trades that made up his run. Thus my interest in comics was re-awakened in the form of trades (great for putting on the bookshelf) and I began grabbing up trades of old titles I used to collect (Grendel, Stray Bullets) and new titles I never read (Ultimate Spiderman, DKSA). I also ran across www.valiantcomics.com, and suddenly all the joy flooded back. I was very interested in reading about what went on with the end of VH1 and the life of VH2 and the information on the site was very gratifying if not a constant downer. I'm now very interested in reading what I missed and in collecting some of the old stuff I never had. I couldn't believe that things like Rai # 3 and 4 were going for so cheap after seeing them in the top ten priciest comics in Wizard for so long in 93. It looks like I am arriving just too late to get the really good deals however, as Valiant collecting seems to be experiencing an upswing now.
This is getting long so I will end it here. Thanks for listening.
I started collecting Valiant when I was very restless with Marvel and needed something different (I was 11). I was always into the fringe Marvel titles (cosmic stuff, what if, power pack) and I needed to go the next step into something darker and harder (this urge would continue until I discovered Grendel and Stray Bullets). That's when Solar #16 leapt off the shelf at me. This was one f-d up book. Not only was there sick spider alien munching on humans, but the main character of the book not only completey killed the badguys (unheard of at marvel), but I later come to find that he killed an entire universe, with his girlfriend first to die!
I soon began buying many titles going into 1993 with the main series I was interested in being X-O, Magnus/Rai, and my favorite, Harbinger. I spent that year in a Valiant bubble, enjoying the tight continuity, great characters and writing, and the apparent collectability of all the cameo appearences and chromium covers.
The a few things happened; events which if taken separately may not have driven me so far away but taken as a whole ended up killing my desire to continue buying Valiant. By 94 I was already feeling a bit itchy - the market was so saturated and I felt like I had to buy so many titles to keep up. I also felt like the scales were tipping too far into the 'superhero-y' category and less of the drama of the early titles, where being a superhero was the backdrop. But 3 events shook me up:
1. Harbinger #25 - aka the death of everything I love and hold dear. the story arc of 23-25 is great and is probably what I re-read the most, but I only wish it could have been done in issues 73-75, or at least that something less initially revolting could have followed the major shake-up. Shallow or not, I basically looked at the ad for issue 26, took one glance at the ugly, awkward logo for 'The New Harbingers' and knew I would never buy the book again.
2. The end of the Malev war - Unlike many people on this board (or so it seems) I really dug Rai and the Future Force. I thought the 'new' Rai was great and one of the more complex characters introduced in the Valiant Universe. When I saw the promo ad of him lying dead, and then saw the book jumpstarted with yet another rai...
3. X-O Manowar #27 - I was rereading an issue of Secret Weapons last night and saw the promo ad for this issue. At the very bottom is a sentence in parenthesis that says: "Please don't shoot us for this". Well I won't shoot you, but I did drop the book, and with it the final blow to my Valiant enthusiasm. Shanhara even went out like a *SQUEE*, being destroyed by some dumb spider-alien gun.
So I stopped collecting Valiant, and by 1996 I had stopped buying any comics altogether (buying trades wasnt a big thing then). Cut to the present day 2004: 23 yr old college grad transplanted across the country to L.A. with a decent job and disposable income. Hanging out in a Border's one day I glance at the comic rack and pick up an issue of "New X-Men" by some writer named Grant Morrison. I was never a big fan of X-Men while at Marvel (I was way too cool for that popular stuff), but this comic was different and after reading a few more I decided to get the three really nice HC trades that made up his run. Thus my interest in comics was re-awakened in the form of trades (great for putting on the bookshelf) and I began grabbing up trades of old titles I used to collect (Grendel, Stray Bullets) and new titles I never read (Ultimate Spiderman, DKSA). I also ran across www.valiantcomics.com, and suddenly all the joy flooded back. I was very interested in reading about what went on with the end of VH1 and the life of VH2 and the information on the site was very gratifying if not a constant downer. I'm now very interested in reading what I missed and in collecting some of the old stuff I never had. I couldn't believe that things like Rai # 3 and 4 were going for so cheap after seeing them in the top ten priciest comics in Wizard for so long in 93. It looks like I am arriving just too late to get the really good deals however, as Valiant collecting seems to be experiencing an upswing now.
This is getting long so I will end it here. Thanks for listening.
- greg
- The admin around here must be getting old and soft.
- Posts: 22861
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- Valiant fan since: Rai #0
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- Mr. Sunshine
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- DawgPhan
- My posts are simmered in four flavors
- Posts: 11553
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:17:39 am
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
hey greg...I remember when I first started here there was an "intro" thread where everyone could tell their story and everything..I remember reading those and enjoying it and I also enjoyed making my first post there...think that we could get that up again? Or is it up and I have lost my mind. Maybe you could make it a sticky in the registered group. just a though. I do like to read everyone's story and i think that it would be neat thing to have...all the old timers could post their story again...that way all the new comers could check it out and atleast get an idea about who they are talking to without having to spend a ton of time on here....make the place more inviting and all...
After being around you great guys, i have come to a conclusion. i am a collector anomaly. i am the collector every comic writer and artist wants.
i have a subscription for ult. xmen and spiderman. no matter hoiw dumb i think an issue is, or how bad the art is, i keep buying simply for my love of the characters.
oh, and welcome to the boards.
i have a subscription for ult. xmen and spiderman. no matter hoiw dumb i think an issue is, or how bad the art is, i keep buying simply for my love of the characters.
oh, and welcome to the boards.
- mrwoogieman
- All this talk of 'snipping' is making me keep my legs crossed.
- Posts: 4048
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- whetteon
- "Don't qoute me on that" -whetteon
- Posts: 3704
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 12:07:05 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1993
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Magnus
- Location: Pittsburg, KS
- Contact:
Welcome. Enjoyed the story.
The Site for Tracking Collectible Comic Trends on Ebay
http://www.lyriacomicexchange.com/
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- depluto
- [custom level vored]
- Posts: 19504
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- Location: Pluto Beach FL
Great story. I think we all had a point where we bailed out on Valiant.
For me it was not long after they moved away from the "house art" style (even their new house ads started to ridicule their original style). Some of the art was pretty vanilla, but the consistency through all the titles appealed to me.
It made the universe feel cohesive. I wish it had gone on forever.
For me it was not long after they moved away from the "house art" style (even their new house ads started to ridicule their original style). Some of the art was pretty vanilla, but the consistency through all the titles appealed to me.
It made the universe feel cohesive. I wish it had gone on forever.
- Daniel Jackson
- A toast to the return of Valiant!
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- Chief of the Dia Tribe
- Posts: 22414
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm
And I love your ki...wait. That's just wrong.DawgPhan wrote:welcome, welcome....please dont keep posting long and rambling messages...zeph might get upset... I kid because I love...
ZWH <---not zeph.
Last edited by ZephyrWasHOT!! on Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:43:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- Chief of the Dia Tribe
- Posts: 22414
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm
-
- Chief of the Dia Tribe
- Posts: 22414
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm
-
- Chief of the Dia Tribe
- Posts: 22414
- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm
I was 17. Got tired of not making money with coins. Walked into a used book store in Ukiah, CA, of all places. Found comics with $2.50 cover prices for FIFTY CENTS. Thought I could make money. Figured 'heck, someone'll buy 'em for cover price'. No one ever did.DawgPhan wrote:hey greg...I remember when I first started here there was an "intro" thread where everyone could tell their story and everything..I remember reading those and enjoying it and I also enjoyed making my first post there...think that we could get that up again? Or is it up and I have lost my mind. Maybe you could make it a sticky in the registered group. just a though. I do like to read everyone's story and i think that it would be neat thing to have...all the old timers could post their story again...that way all the new comers could check it out and atleast get an idea about who they are talking to without having to spend a ton of time on here....make the place more inviting and all...
The End.