Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

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Keith
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Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Keith »

Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
See, I disagree. I think it was a perfect passing of the torch. This Rai is set to lead a new world, and EW passed along all his failures and successes (more failures were talked about though). I didn't look at it as a "Book of Death" type of read, more of a Presidential "State of the Union" address where the Big Dog stated all his failures to teach the New Dog what not to do. "We were young. Rash. Stupid. And we suffered for our pride." It was darker than I thought it would be, a lot of hidden sadness throughout the book. To me, this was perfect Rafer, as Renegades has a similar flavor with the little hidden bits of sadness.

I also think it's a perfect set up for the next Rai book. Sets the ground work for what and who Rai will be in any upcoming book based in 4002.

My personal favorite was the very last panel, Where he is carrying out what looks to be a massive sniper riffle. Rai says "Our work is just beginning" and EW says "Our work... Indeed". This also leads me to believe that whatever Rai has in store for any future book, that it will involve Warmother, the only character NOT highlighted on in this book. Maybe I missed someone that plays a bigger role in the VU, but I think that last panel says a great deal.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Keith »

TheeBaldMoose wrote:
Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
See, I disagree. I think it was a perfect passing of the torch. This Rai is set to lead a new world, and EW passed along all his failures and successes (more failures were talked about though). I didn't look at it as a "Book of Death" type of read, more of a Presidential "State of the Union" address where the Big Dog stated all his failures to teach the New Dog what not to do. "We were young. Rash. Stupid. And we suffered for our pride." It was darker than I thought it would be, a lot of hidden sadness throughout the book. To me, this was perfect Rafer, as Renegades has a similar flavor with the little hidden bits of sadness.

I also think it's a perfect set up for the next Rai book. Sets the ground work for what and who Rai will be in any upcoming book based in 4002.

My personal favorite was the very last panel, Where he is carrying out what looks to be a massive sniper riffle. Rai says "Our work is just beginning" and EW says "Our work... Indeed". This also leads me to believe that whatever Rai has in store for any future book, that it will involve Warmother, the only character NOT highlighted on in this book. Maybe I missed someone that plays a bigger role in the VU, but I think that last panel says a great deal.
Great perspective, Moose. Do you think our different takes might be from the historical "baggage" that I hold towards the original Rai#0 vs. your view as a newer reader without that history?
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

Keith wrote:Great perspective, Moose. Do you think our different takes might be from the historical "baggage" that I hold towards the original Rai#0 vs. your view as a newer reader without that history?
Yes, I think that is exactly it! While I love VEI, I am not a huge reader of VH1, so I have no real context regarding the original Rai. 4001 was my first real introduction to the Rai character, and I back-read his series. This futuristic Rai is the only Rai I know, and although in the minority, I have always loved Rafer's dark writing style.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by grendeljd »

If anyone would like to hear our OTV:VCR podcast discussing/reviewing this issue, please follow the link;

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr120/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to any who listen in :thumb:
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by grendeljd »

I really enjoyed the artwork of Portella in this issue (I'm a fan of his work in general) - I thought it was cool to see his drawing interpretations of a bunch of highlights of other VEI moments.

I also enjoyed the small bits of the story set in 4001 - I really want to read more new tales from that time period! Otherwise... I felt this book could have been called;

"RAI: History Of The Valiant Universe*"
(*Note: events depicted from 2012-2017 only)

Not to sound bitter ('cause I'm not, I promise! :) ), but to me this 'story' was essentially a greatest hits collection of already existing VEI stories. Great for the ever-elusive New Reader to try and hook them in, but an utterly unnecessary & hollow read otherwise for anyone else. I have already read all the stories touched on in this book, I didn't need a rehash slide-show of a short 5 year time span of Valiant's 4000+ year history.

When I'm into a good band I buy their full albums, not the greatest hits collections. Why buy that when you already have all the songs you like? Same feeling here for me, this largely felt like a missed opportunity.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by agent_graves »

Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
This... :?
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Keith »

agent_graves wrote:
Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
This... :?
What's the :?
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Thegreatmagnet »

grendeljd wrote:I really enjoyed the artwork of Portella in this issue (I'm a fan of his work in general) - I thought it was cool to see his drawing interpretations of a bunch of highlights of other VEI moments.

I also enjoyed the small bits of the story set in 4001 - I really want to read more new tales from that time period! Otherwise... I felt this book could have been called;

"RAI: History Of The Valiant Universe*"
(*Note: events depicted from 2012-2017 only)

Not to sound bitter ('cause I'm not, I promise! :) ), but to me this 'story' was essentially a greatest hits collection of already existing VEI stories. Great for the ever-elusive New Reader to try and hook them in, but an utterly unnecessary & hollow read otherwise for anyone else. I have already read all the stories touched on in this book, I didn't need a rehash slide-show of a short 5 year time span of Valiant's 4000+ year history.

When I'm into a good band I buy their full albums, not the greatest hits collections. Why buy that when you already have all the songs you like? Same feeling here for me, this largely felt like a missed opportunity.
My review, in case anyone is interested: http://comicsthegathering.com/review/th ... universe-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I very much agree with the VCR guys. There is not really anything satisfying here for longtime fans, and they probably did themselves a disservice by comparing the book to Rai 0. This would've been much better as a FCBD book aimed at new readers. If the book had been promoted differently, it might have gotten a better reception. But honestly, I don't feel like I got $4 worth of comic in this issue.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jmatt »

I enjoyed the issue quite a bit. Knowing the subtitle "The History of the Valiant Universe", I was not expecting revelations of things to come and hence didn't miss them.

I think the issue was a very nice recap of five years (Five!) of VEI stories and sets the stage for Rai and Karana moving forward. :clap:

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by slack »

I liked it overall, but it was missing out on that expected revelation of events to come.

Like, does it not seem odd that nothing of value worth discussing happened between current day valiant characters lives thru 4001ish? There's like 1500 years of history that they just skip. Aside from stealing a Geomancer named Tama from somewhere in the 3000s, there's nothing else that stood out to Gilad or Karana as valuable.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by agent_graves »

Keith wrote:
agent_graves wrote:
Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
This... :?
What's the :?
An emoji, shrugging its shoulders. It seemed appropriate. :hm:
#StayValiant

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Keith »

agent_graves wrote:
Keith wrote:
agent_graves wrote:
Keith wrote:Nice little sum up of the Valiant Universe as we have seen it over the past 5 years, but that was pretty much all it was. Sadly, as a tribute to Rai 0, it didn't explore what made Rai 0 so legendary - the unknown future revelations. Anything future related were items we already saw in Book of Death or 4001 AD, so there were no revelations here. Bit of a bummer, but still an enjoyable issue that would be a great primer for anyone brand new to Valiant.
This... :?
What's the :?
An emoji, shrugging its shoulders. It seemed appropriate. :hm:
Well then, in that case - :thumb: :clap:
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Summydad1 »

I enjoyed it. Good art and a nice recap for new VEI readers like me. I think it is just a cool extra book to add to a collection. Will probably never have any value to anyone other than true fans but definitely has a place in my collection.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jeremycoe »

Enjoyable, but nothing revelatory. The 2 typos (that I saw) were really bad. If they need me to proofread the books for free I'll happily do it :D
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jmatt »

jeremycoe wrote:Enjoyable, but nothing revelatory. The 2 typos (that I saw) were really bad. If they need me to proofread the books for free I'll happily do it :D
I caught one: cloud or judgment. What was the other?

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jmatt »

slack wrote:Like, does it not seem odd that nothing of value worth discussing happened between current day valiant characters lives thru 4001ish? There's like 1500 years of history that they just skip. Aside from stealing a Geomancer named Tama from somewhere in the 3000s, there's nothing else that stood out to Gilad or Karana as valuable.
That's a good point. But if you want to play along, it's easy to think that perhaps we didn't hear every word of dialogue during Gilad's narration. There's gotta be some wiggle room for future stories.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jeremycoe »

jmatt wrote:
jeremycoe wrote:Enjoyable, but nothing revelatory. The 2 typos (that I saw) were really bad. If they need me to proofread the books for free I'll happily do it :D
I caught one: cloud or judgment. What was the other?
I looked back and couldn't find it. Maybe there was only the one?
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by DirtbagSailor »

Was delayed a few days. Here is my review: :thumb:
“ History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man.”
― Percy Bysshe Shelley
http://all-comic.com/2017/rai-history-v ... niverse-1/

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

This should have been a Free Comic Book Day special!

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by nonplayer »

Sunlight on Snow wrote:This should have been a Free Comic Book Day special!
See now you know why I don't buy one shots. It's like being turned on for a quick min by a hot naked girl and she runs off with my five bucks. It's a tease with more oportunitys missed. No place in my box for one shots.
When will Valiant connect the world or give us some relief?
Agree free comic book day probably it was but they thought it was more important to advertise xo. Which I agree but this would have been perfect for free comic book day.
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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by kinggirlfriend »

Finally read this and have to add my disappointment to the chorus. It wasn't bad, just should have had something in there that would have given us some food for thought. I guess my biggest disappointment was the lack of things we haven't seen yet, ala Book of Death. Some of those future things like Unity Beast Brigade or Pirate Armstrong and Bloodshot should have been called out. I guess my favorite part was seeing the Shadow Woman from 4002AD. That was neat. I'm afraid the upcoming DIVINTY #0 will cover the exact same ground.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

nonplayer wrote:
Sunlight on Snow wrote:This should have been a Free Comic Book Day special!
See now you know why I don't buy one shots. It's like being turned on for a quick min by a hot naked girl and she runs off with my five bucks. It's a tease with more oportunitys missed. No place in my box for one shots.
When will Valiant connect the world or give us some relief?
Agree free comic book day probably it was but they thought it was more important to advertise xo. Which I agree but this would have been perfect for free comic book day.
I like one-shots. There's nothing wrong with the format and not everything needs to be a never-ending (ongoing) story.

The first two of these one-shots were pretty funny and brutal, and I bet the BSDO one-shot will fit in nicely between BSR and BSS. This one, on the other hand, it does a good job for what it is -the history of the VU in a nutshell- but Valiant made us pay $3.99 for something that we already knew.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

kinggirlfriend wrote:Finally read this and have to add my disappointment to the chorus. It wasn't bad, just should have had something in there that would have given us some food for thought. I guess my biggest disappointment was the lack of things we haven't seen yet, ala Book of Death. Some of those future things like Unity Beast Brigade or Pirate Armstrong and Bloodshot should have been called out. I guess my favorite part was seeing the Shadow Woman from 4002AD. That was neat. I'm afraid the upcoming DIVINTY #0 will cover the exact same ground.
There's only so much you can tell in 20 pages.

We do see Old Man Harada and the Livewire clone being with the team that sends (New) Japan into orbit, plus the Giant Knights, and Ninjak dying. These aren't huge revelations but the Fall of Ninjak part of the future is pretty much still happening (as of now).

I don't expect Divinity to be another history lesson. More like fixing history.

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Re: Rai & the History of the Valiant Universe - Discussion

Post by jmatt »

Sunlight on Snow wrote:...and the Livewire clone being with the team that sends (New) Japan into orbit...
I was wondering what that panel was. We've seen that before, yes? My memory of it is hazy.


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