Intro and Ramble

How did you become a VALIANT collector?

Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg

Post Reply
User avatar
riftt
Get those scissors away from my coupons
Get those scissors away from my coupons
Posts: 351
Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2004 6:17:31 pm
Location: Los Angeles
Intro and Ramble

Post by riftt »

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.

User avatar
greg
The admin around here must be getting old and soft.
The admin around here must be getting old and soft.
Posts: 22861
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 9:39:27 am
Valiant fan since: Rai #0
Favorite character: Depends on title
Favorite title: Depends on writer
Favorite writer: Depends on artist
Favorite artist: Depends on character
Location: Indoors
Contact:

Post by greg »

:applause:

Welcome to the boards!

User avatar
DawgPhan
My posts are simmered in four flavors
My posts are simmered in four flavors
Posts: 11553
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:17:39 am
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Post by DawgPhan »

welcome, welcome....please dont keep posting long and rambling messages...zeph might get upset... :lol: I kid because I love... :thumb:

User avatar
dino
Nerd Boss
Nerd Boss
Posts: 3875
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 12:14:07 am
Valiant fan since: 1993
Location: Los Angeles

Post by dino »

Thourghly enjoyed your story. Creeped me out though since Im also a 23 yr old, college grad (almost), valiant returnee in L.A.

User avatar
Vault-Keeper
Mr. Sunshine
Mr. Sunshine
Posts: 4361
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2004 9:31:29 am
Location: Harbinger Foundation

Post by Vault-Keeper »

Welcome aboard, & cool story! But Good God, I feel older than dirt! :oops:

I was 33 when I picked up my 1st Valiant in 1992. If I go back to when I was 11, that would have been when I picked up my first copy of Conan #1, brand new off the stands....!---Steve

User avatar
DawgPhan
My posts are simmered in four flavors
My posts are simmered in four flavors
Posts: 11553
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:17:39 am
Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Post by DawgPhan »

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... :think:

User avatar
Jaknife
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
Posts: 2325
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:21:13 pm

Post by Jaknife »

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.
Image

User avatar
mrwoogieman
All this talk of 'snipping' is making me keep my legs crossed.
All this talk of 'snipping' is making me keep my legs crossed.
Posts: 4048
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 8:13:44 pm
Location: THE LOST LAND

Post by mrwoogieman »

Welcome to the boards!
:hm:

User avatar
whetteon
"Don't qoute me on that" -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:

Post by whetteon »

Welcome. Enjoyed the story. :thumb:
The Site for Tracking Collectible Comic Trends on Ebay
http://www.lyriacomicexchange.com/

User avatar
tbrezz
Long Live Valiant
Long Live Valiant
Posts: 3035
Joined: Fri Jul 09, 2004 12:50:36 am
Valiant fan since: Harbinger 17 May 1993
Favorite character: Shadowman
Favorite title: Harbinger
Location: Gallipolis,OH

Post by tbrezz »

Welcome to the boards you'll love it here. Always fun and interesting :D
Long Live Valiant Because the Voices in My Head Say So
Brandon

User avatar
depluto
[custom level vored]
[custom level vored]
Posts: 19504
Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:38:47 pm
Valiant fan since: Yes
Favorite character: Yes
Favorite title: Yes
Favorite writer: Yes
Location: Pluto Beach FL

Post by depluto »

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.

User avatar
Daniel Jackson
A toast to the return of Valiant!
A toast to the return of Valiant!
Posts: 38007
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 8:33:38 pm

Post by Daniel Jackson »

Welcome fellow Valiant fan!

User avatar
myron
I do embrace my inner geekdom
I do embrace my inner geekdom
Posts: 16277
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 10:37:59 am
Valiant fan since: 1991
Favorite character: Gilad
Favorite title: Pre-Unity Harbinger
Location: watertown, wi

Post by myron »

hello hello! welcome
Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous?

User avatar
Sect
Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
Posts: 499
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:20:01 pm
Location: Fullerton, CA

Post by Sect »

dino wrote:Thourghly enjoyed your story. Creeped me out though since Im also a 23 yr old, college grad (almost), valiant returnee in L.A.
Heh, that makes three of us. I'm a 24 year old master's student in L.A. :)

ZephyrWasHOT!!
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Posts: 22414
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm

Post by ZephyrWasHOT!! »

DawgPhan wrote:welcome, welcome....please dont keep posting long and rambling messages...zeph might get upset... :lol: I kid because I love... :thumb:
And I love your ki...wait. That's just wrong.

ZWH <---not zeph.
Last edited by ZephyrWasHOT!! on Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:43:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ZephyrWasHOT!!
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Posts: 22414
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm

Post by ZephyrWasHOT!! »

Why can't I delete posts....?

ZephyrWasHOT!!
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Posts: 22414
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm

Post by ZephyrWasHOT!! »

Hey. Enough with these long, rambling, multi-syllabic, multi-paragraph, verbotic posts.

That's MY gig.

And what's up with all the LA youngins?

ZWH <who knows Dino secretly wants to steal my collection>

ZephyrWasHOT!!
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Chief of the Dia Tribe
Posts: 22414
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:55:24 pm

Post by ZephyrWasHOT!! »

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... :think:
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.

The End.


Post Reply