VALIANT SOLD

[valiantdude]

Is it just me or does that picture make that dude look like an evil *SQUEE*, compared to dino who looks like a sweet little boy

[kinggirlfriend]

Not just you.

[valiantdude]

Hey why is the word *SQUEE* censored? That guy obviously looks like a *SQUEE*, and girls use them everyday

[myron]

Hey why is the word *SQUEE* censored? That guy obviously looks like a *SQUEE*, and girls use them everyday

iirc because of ZWH...

[Bl00dsh0t]

I hope Valiant/DMG put something out soon re: the current slate of titles, story arcs and plans for the scheduled major event in HW2 to put fans at ease.

I thought (with no insider knowledge of course) that something was amiss when the monthly slate of titles was reduced to 6, sometimes 7 when at it's height during Armor Hunters we were seeing 10 titles a month. How can you increase growth when the volume of titles per month your publishing is diminishing. It's a market saturation thing, look at DC and Marvel, heck even Dynamite put out more titles (and Titan for that matter), if all you see on the shelf at the LCS are non-valiant, how can you attract more readers? I don't know, this is just a rant. I'm hoping from some positive spin from this but given the info we know at the moment, it looks like the publishing hand will fade away in favor of movies/tv - I just hope DMG have faith the publishing and film IP's can coexist.

[Bl00dsh0t]

“This is about taking it to the next level,” said DMG CEO Dan Mintz. “I am not looking on expanding from a publishing standpoint but from a motion picture standpoint.”

http://www.comicon.com/2018/01/29/dmg-e ... ign=buffer

[TheeBaldMoose]

every minute I start to feel up, like this might turn out, and I come spiraling right back down. About the only thing I can point to in a positive sense is the verbiage he used regarding writers writing towards not just publishing, but towards scripts that could manifest itself into a movie. In order for a script to be good, it has to tell a solid story. They could test those out on the fans buying comic books, before throwing them up on the screen. Guess what I am trying to say is maybe we will still get great stories. Maybe a twist here will result in great stories that will become movies.... Maybe

[betterthanezra]

Bottom line to me is this

If Warren Simons is still EIC then the books will still be high quality the moment THAT changes THEN we have a serious problem

-Brian

[Jrosen]

I'm pretty disappointed. I got hooked on Valiant at the end of 2016, and I was really excited to meet Dinesh and the rest at C2E2. I will say this, I did feel that the books that came out in 2016 and 2017 paled in comparison to the story arcs from 2012 - 2014, but they were still top quality stories that were better then just about everything Marvel was putting out. I'd be very excited if the new guys can pull back some of the big crossover stories like what we had in the beginning. It was the whole tied together universe, where dead stays dead, that I really enjoy, and lately, it seems that the stories are more self contained and not connected.

[dornwolf]

Bottom line to me is this

If Warren Simons is still EIC then the books will still be high quality the moment THAT changes THEN we have a serious problem

-Brian

I think this is the important bit here. The editorial crew is fine so if the plan is not to mess with the publishing side then we shouldn’t notice too much of a hiccup in the books

[nycjadie]

Really hope Warren stays as editor, ensuring creative continuity and direction.

[dornwolf]

Bottom line to me is this

If Warren Simons is still EIC then the books will still be high quality the moment THAT changes THEN we have a serious problem

-Brian

I think this is the important bit here. The editorial crew is fine so if the plan is not to mess with the publishing side then we shouldn’t notice too much of a hiccup in the books

[nycjadie]

Really hope Warren stays as editor, ensuring creative continuity and direction.

[dornwolf]

Bottom line to me is this

If Warren Simons is still EIC then the books will still be high quality the moment THAT changes THEN we have a serious problem

-Brian

I think this is the important bit here. The editorial crew is fine so if the plan is not to mess with the publishing side then we shouldn’t notice too much of a hiccup in the books

[onearmedwampa3000]

I haven't read a thing that leads me to believe this was anything more than a standard VC deal. You keep on a couple of senior staff to manage through transition (Gavin, Dinesh) and the real $ man (Peter) takes his cheque and happily leaves, ready to start the next venture - that's how VC works.

You buy (or, in some cases, start) a business, set a time period to realize maximum ROI. As soon as you've got the business to a state where you can get that maximum ROI when an offer comes, you take it. As per Greg's post, the Cuneo's have had money tied up in Valiant since ~2012 so this sale, while a little outside the "general" 5 year rule for VC turnaround isn't a huge surprise as a business decision.

I'm disappointed Dinesh will be leaving. I've never met the man, but I've sure enjoyed the revamped line for the last 5+ years and it's quite clear he was the driving force. I've never heard of Ben Hung but his resume has some good stuff on it (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-hung-29b56922/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) so we'll see what happens.

As fans, that's all we can do.

Right on. Thanks for the rational voice.

[agent_graves]

Bottom line to me is this

If Warren Simons is still EIC then the books will still be high quality the moment THAT changes THEN we have a serious problem

-Brian

This.... It’s all we got to hold onto... Sad sh!t...

I really hope Dinesh speaks out at some point...

[onearmedwampa3000]

I'm really bothered by this new trend that the pinnacle of a comic's success is to be turned into a movie. I've been saying for years that I don't want movies until the comics stood on their own. Not to say Valiant didn't have some great stuff since 2012, they absolutely did. I feel like they were the only publisher organically pushing the medium forward. I think Dinesh and crew believed in what they had so badly that they got dollar signs in the eyes, and forgot to execute their passion. Ended up in bed with people that didn't share that vision. It took Marvel 60 years to get a movie right with Iron Man, and the movie industry longer than that to accept a comic book movie as legit. It's too bad Valiant couldn't have waited at least another 5 years before jumping head first into the movie pool. This should be a lesson. Comics shouldn't be slave to movies. That's why Marvel comics have become stagnant.

[pixierosa]

Although, I like Mintz's one quote... “You can expect more strong storytelling with a defined road to other platforms,” he says. “I’m also looking forward to bringing the writers close to the filmmaking process, which is something that is also important, and not keeping them siloed into the comic book area.”

That quote is exactly what worries me. Claiming that comic writers are being "siloed" into writing for comics is BS. That's the medium and the audience. The creators have chosen this medium. The minute you introduce a different medium-aka movies/tv - and write with that as a goal or outlet, your audience and focus automatically changes. That's what will change the quality of the stories and character development. DMG is dangling that carrot of "now you can write for movies" in order to try to entice the creators, same as that golden carrot of money money money enticed the Cuneo partners away before Valiant could release a movie on their terms. And ultimately, I highly doubt that Valiant writers will have anything more than a nod given to them on any screenplays.

The focus won't be on quality stories. It'll be on what can be splashy and draw viewers, not readers. That pretty much sums up what happened to Acclaim. Valiant has had some sure fire hits and some misses, as to be expected in any creative business. DMG could have left things as is and worked to develop the quality books into movies - that's what they were there for in the first place. A 2,000 strong character universe with international recognition was too tasty of a morsel for a business like DMG who is starving to be big players in the Hollywood game. Pushing out Dinesh means they have creative control now - and no matter what they claim, Valiant's style will change (Just like Acclaim.)

Warren has been instrumental to Valiant's success - as has Fred - it's been a team effort of love and dedication. But all they can do is recommend now if controlling interest is now in the hands of DMG. Hopefully they can keep it from jumping the shark within a few years.

[onearmedwampa3000]

Although, I like Mintz's one quote... “You can expect more strong storytelling with a defined road to other platforms,” he says. “I’m also looking forward to bringing the writers close to the filmmaking process, which is something that is also important, and not keeping them siloed into the comic book area.”

That quote is exactly what worries me. Claiming that comic writers are being "siloed" into writing for comics is BS. That's the medium and the audience. The creators have chosen this medium. The minute you introduce a different medium-aka movies/tv - and write with that as a goal or outlet, your audience and focus automatically changes. That's what will change the quality of the stories and character development. DMG is dangling that carrot of "now you can write for movies" in order to try to entice the creators, same as that golden carrot of money money money enticed the Cuneo partners away before Valiant could release a movie on their terms. And ultimately, I highly doubt that Valiant writers will have anything more than a nod given to them on any screenplays.

The focus won't be on quality stories. It'll be on what can be splashy and draw viewers, not readers. That pretty much sums up what happened to Acclaim. Valiant has had some sure fire hits and some misses, as to be expected in any creative business. DMG could have left things as is and worked to develop the quality books into movies - that's what they were there for in the first place. A 2,000 strong character universe with international recognition was too tasty of a morsel for a business like DMG who is starving to be big players in the Hollywood game. Pushing out Dinesh means they have creative control now - and no matter what they claim, Valiant's style will change (Just like Acclaim.)

Warren has been instrumental to Valiant's success - as has Fred - it's been a team effort of love and dedication. But all they can do is recommend now if controlling interest is now in the hands of DMG. Hopefully they can keep it from jumping the shark within a few years.

I 100% agree. Well said. His quotes make me feel like he doesn't care about the creativity side at all, and none of what he said sounds like it will help the comic industry as a whole at all. In fact it's the opposite. This kind of thought is a detriment to the already waning comic industry. Every comic book creator should be concerned about this.

[pixierosa]

To be fair, I don't know that the Cuneos took a buyout, but that is what their venture capitalist company does, so it would have happened eventually. With Dinesh being forced out, it seems obvious that the timing is not what he had hoped.

I know some of their books weren't big sellers but were critically acclaimed - like Imperium, which I loved. But can you imagine DMG being supportive of Dysart's Imperium?

I feel like comics expanding is always a double-edged sword. You need to attract new readers, so you try to reach out into other areas to draw them in. But by doing so, you've changed your audience, and potentially, the content you create for them, thus alienating the original readership to an extent. Never seems to make anyone happy in the end.

If my Valiant Femmes get turned into Trinity-esque bimbos, I will not support the company at all, no matter who is at the helm. Quality characters first. Can you imagine Kris or Achillia all vampy? It fit for Flamingo's character, but that wasn't any other character's defining feature. I've enjoyed their approach to characters.

[grendeljd]

I'm really bothered by this new trend that the pinnacle of a comic's success is to be turned into a movie. I've been saying for years that I don't want movies until the comics stood on their own. Not to say Valiant didn't have some great stuff since 2012, they absolutely did. I feel like they were the only publisher organically pushing the medium forward. I think Dinesh and crew believed in what they had so badly that they got dollar signs in the eyes, and forgot to execute their passion. Ended up in bed with people that didn't share that vision. It took Marvel 60 years to get a movie right with Iron Man, and the movie industry longer than that to accept a comic book movie as legit. It's too bad Valiant couldn't have waited at least another 5 years before jumping head first into the movie pool. This should be a lesson. Comics shouldn't be slave to movies. That's why Marvel comics have become stagnant.

Well said.

[krylox]

It was always meant to happen, in some way or the another. Let's not kid ourselves: Yes, Valiant was always planned as an "IP farm". The sales generated in the comic market could never have paid for the initial and perpetual investments made by the investors.

In a perfect scenario, they could have kept Dino in a publisher role, and the fact that they didn't shows us that, yes, we should be alarmed about the publishing side of things for the foreseeable future.

I really liked quite a few of Valiant's books, the quality in production, the reliability, the collections and of course quite few of the creatives involved. Especially Dysart, Kindt and Lemire have done a good job at creating interesting takes on old characters and even expanding them into new ideas/concepts.

But.... As some of you have pointed out, something WAS missing. Not that I blame anyone (after all Dinesh who was a newbie to comic publishing and he was great at his job), but the new VEI just never got that New52/Unity/SecretWars-thing, that ONE, line-wide-excitement going on. Not just an event, a crossover, a rehash, but a wholly original presentation of Valiant's inherent potential. I know it's easy to be a smart-*SQUEE* about it, and I am sure there were many talks about how and when something like the original Unity could come into action. The market is hypercompetitive now and I appreciate the amazing talent, which VEI was able to attract. But still: the larger architecture and an unique, "Auteur" take on it, was missing. One could always feel the underlying "IP farm" reality of the entire endeavor.

Still, thanks to Dinesh & team for some great comics and reasons for future nostalgia and I sincerely hope they got the (monetary) reward they deserved. It's clear that all things considered the VEI project will go down as a creative success.

Let's see how the "new Acclaim" era will play out...

[BugsySig]

My question is this: How long until Rob Leifeld scams DMG into naming him EIC? I mean, I never liked Bloodshot’s feet anyway.

[jmatt]

DMG has announced grand plans for Valiant and has a $6 Billion company to make it happen.

All those things are HUGE for Valiant, but we have the memory of how things changed in the 1990s when Acclaim wanted to do big things for Valiant.
We shouldn't automatically assume the "DMG thing" will be anything like the "Acclaim thing". It could be incredible.

Same here. Cautiously optimistic. Sad to see Dinesh go. He was the heart and soul of the relaunch of Valiant. I hope he made a fortune.

But this could be the start of something big. DMG has a big investment here, they aren't gonna play around. Big budget movies are coming now, for certain.

I doubt very much they will stop publishing and if they continue to do so, quality will not suffer. The cost of publishing comics is a pimple on the *SQUEE* of what it costs to launch a third interconnected movie universe.

If Dino was let go, I'd guess it was because he wanted creative input and DMG just wanted movie guys to handle the movies. I doubt very much Shooter will be brought on board for pretty much the same reason.

With the exception of our beloved Nerd Boss, this could be great news. I hope he made a ton of money!

[onearmedwampa3000]

This is going on live right now with Ryan Winn and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRHrYrJ ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;