4001 AD Issue 1 Discussion

[grendeljd]

I thought this was a great start to the series, if a bit of a quick read.

I 'd at the snide & sneaky Turok nod.

The recap pages by Dave Mack were really cool, a good way to get a new reader up to speed on what this story is gonna be about. I enjoyed Lula Lee's part in the story the most - great narration, & her need to go back to her parents was completely understandable. It made for a great way to show how much her character has changed & developed since the beginning of RAI.

As for the rest - lots of fun action and solid art by Crain throughout, there were a few pages where it was unclear what was happening in a few individual panels, but really beautiful stuff otherwise. Loved seeing the scale of the giant XO knight (want to know more about those!!) inside the mountain, and that two page spread of Dragon Japan... Soo good!!

Cool theories about the ties to Harada &/or Livewire, guys - I'm starting to think that the Father AI is a program that evolved out of Harada and Livewire somehow, but otherwise isn't directly one or the other of them.

[Keith]

Cool theories about the ties to Harada &/or Livewire, guys - I'm starting to think that the Father AI is a program that evolved out of Harada and Livewire somehow, but otherwise isn't directly one or the other of them.

Agreed. If Harada created the Positronic Livewire, and that PT Livewire then created the livewire that basically runs everything in New Japan, then its not a far reach to stay that aspects of Harada's character would be carried down into the resulting AI aka Father.

[mateo107]

Yeah, I think Rai #13-16 will be more like the X-O Armor Hunters tie-ins, serving as a prequel.

[bygranddesign]

Cool theories about the ties to Harada &/or Livewire, guys - I'm starting to think that the Father AI is a program that evolved out of Harada and Livewire somehow, but otherwise isn't directly one or the other of them.

Agreed. If Harada created the Positronic Livewire, and that PT Livewire then created the livewire that basically runs everything in New Japan, then its not a far reach to stay that aspects of Harada's character would be carried down into the resulting AI aka Father.

yeah, this is how i feel about it.

We have been theorizing that Father is Harada (or some aspect of Harada) since I think Rai #1.

And i'm hoping this theory comes to fruition because it makes a ton of sense.

[jmatt]

"pink petal tree" I gotta curb this before it sticks. They call them cherry blossoms and the tree is an oriental cherry it doesn't actually produce fruit.

Yes, thank you. I almost made this comment last night. Japan is famous for its cherry blossoms.

Loved seeing the scale of the giant XO knight (want to know more about those!!)

And I'll stop calling it the X-O Bot.

[BugsySig]

The XO knight still reminds me of a cross between an XO armor and GINGR. We know livewire is capable of stopping the XO from taking over the host...I wonder what else she could do that might have led to the creation of these. Just an assumption that she was involved somehow, not a fact.

[mateo107]

So having been following Rai, I really enjoyed the book. However, it really does read more like Rai #13 so I wonder if there's enough of a draw to new readers who haven't been following Rai. Sure, there's some X-O elements introduced and Eternal Warrior, my hope is that more ties will be established in this series, like Harbinger or Archer & Armstrong, Timewalker, etc. I know this is an "event" and not necessarily a company-wide crossover, but I was really hoping for a 4001 where we get to see every surviving character in the future, their legacy, or their fate.

[Sheikhaljabal]

It seems the Bloodshot and Shadowman one shots will take a little care of that. Great first issue, the hull crack in the hunting section was excellent, Crain is unique. I'm Very curious about War Mother as well as the 4001 Geomancer and Spylocke's roles in all this.

[jmatt]

The XO knight still reminds me of a cross between an XO armor and GINGR.

Agree. The lack of a head is an odd design choice.

[agent_graves]

Loved the introduction, genius idea on how to do the recap page, D. Mack nailed it. Lula had a good showing, her parents were bugging tho. Gilad definitely feeling his age, (that white beard and outfit is tuff) but I'd love it if Old Man Gilad, had his own 4001 mini/ongoing. I'm not impressed with the X-O bot, maybe the one-shot will change that feeling.

I at the kids yelling out scare man is coming...

[Dallow Spicer1]

Fantastic kick-off! Love the artwork like crazy but yeah, when X-O Bot meets up with New Japan it's hard to tell what's going on for a few panels. And if I could have traded splash panels, give me one with a nice big look at the X-O Bot instead of one of the others.

This is the first mention of the X-O Wars, yes? Wish the name was a little more nuanced and literary, like The X-O Interregnum or The Third Reconciliation of the Last of the McKetrick Supplicants.

Can't wait for the rest of this!

+1

Enjoyed this issue and it bodes well for a great 2016 Valiant event. Agree wit Jmatt on the unclear panels when XO knight shows up, it threw me out of the story slightly as I couldn't be sure what was happening. Not sure why it hasn't got a proper head (?) but that aside very good.

4/5

[dornwolf]

Cool theories about the ties to Harada &/or Livewire, guys - I'm starting to think that the Father AI is a program that evolved out of Harada and Livewire somehow, but otherwise isn't directly one or the other of them.

Agreed. If Harada created the Positronic Livewire, and that PT Livewire then created the livewire that basically runs everything in New Japan, then its not a far reach to stay that aspects of Harada's character would be carried down into the resulting AI aka Father.

yeah, this is how i feel about it.

We have been theorizing that Father is Harada (or some aspect of Harada) since I think Rai #1.

And i'm hoping this theory comes to fruition because it makes a ton of sense.

Don't forget Fall of Ninjack, Livewire was involved as a positron and the system is named after her.

[Sven the Returned]

Fantastic kick-off! Love the artwork like crazy but yeah, when X-O Bot meets up with New Japan it's hard to tell what's going on for a few panels. And if I could have traded splash panels, give me one with a nice big look at the X-O Bot instead of one of the others.

This is the first mention of the X-O Wars, yes? Wish the name was a little more nuanced and literary, like The X-O Interregnum or The Third Reconciliation of the Last of the McKetrick Supplicants.

Can't wait for the rest of this!

+1

Enjoyed this issue and it bodes well for a great 2016 Valiant event. Agree wit Jmatt on the unclear panels when XO knight shows up, it threw me out of the story slightly as I couldn't be sure what was happening. Not sure why it hasn't got a proper head (?) but that aside very good.

4/5

Why would a head be needed?

[jmatt]

Why would a head be needed?

To satisfy my aesthetic need. You build a Mech-warrior, it gets a head.

[Brapbrap]

when you think about it Rai piloting X-O against the dragon city is basically a re-enactment of Ninjak piloting Gin-Gr against the normal city, it's weird how he's sometimes more like a ninjak 4001 character than a bloodshot

[nonplayer]

Moving a head to issue 2 I'm hopeful for more Momo action namely with Rai.

[grendeljd]

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

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr63/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to any who listen in

[Sven the Returned]

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

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr63/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to any who listen in

I turned of my adblock for the site and will listen to it.

Why would a head be needed?

To satisfy my aesthetic need. You build a Mech-warrior, it gets a head.

Eh, it's not a MechWarrior and i am sure some BTech mech have no heads.

[QUARTZ]

I enjoyed it, but thought it was over way too quick. The way Father is jettisoning portions of itself to morph into giant robot space dragon is cool, but I thought a lot of the dialogue didn't work with what's her name and her parents. It just seemed very generic and not moving at all, like it didn't sound at all like a conversation between hysterical parents and their child who has just been identified as the most wanted terrorist New Japan has ever known. I did like the scene with the dinosaurs burning up in space and how Father wiped out the human council without hesitation. Not very impressed overall but still on for the long haul.

[jeremycoe]

I enjoyed it, but thought it was over way too quick. The way Father is jettisoning portions of itself to morph into giant robot space dragon is cool, but I thought a lot of the dialogue didn't work with what's her name and her parents. It just seemed very generic and not moving at all, like it didn't sound at all like a conversation between hysterical parents and their child who has just been identified as the most wanted terrorist New Japan has ever known. I did like the scene with the dinosaurs burning up in space and how Father wiped out the human council without hesitation. Not very impressed overall but still on for the long haul.

I think the conversation between Momo and her parents showed that her parents cared more for Father than family. I think that's a common dynamic of New Japan.

[nutflush76]

I enjoyed it, but thought it was over way too quick. The way Father is jettisoning portions of itself to morph into giant robot space dragon is cool, but I thought a lot of the dialogue didn't work with what's her name and her parents. It just seemed very generic and not moving at all, like it didn't sound at all like a conversation between hysterical parents and their child who has just been identified as the most wanted terrorist New Japan has ever known. I did like the scene with the dinosaurs burning up in space and how Father wiped out the human council without hesitation. Not very impressed overall but still on for the long haul.

I think the conversation between Momo and her parents showed that her parents cared more for Father than family. I think that's a common dynamic of New Japan.

It is also a parallel to religion.

I liked the story, loved the art, and can't wait to read the tie-ins! I did feel like this was just a continuation of the Rai plot and not so much of an event. Hopefully that changes as the series progresses. I wonder if this will end with Japan crashing down to earth as in the original Valiant series?