Dinesh laments what Valiant has become

Thegreatmagnet · Post by **Thegreatmagnet** » Mon Oct 08, 2018 2:46 pm

Not sure if anybody else noticed it, but last week Dino was discussing the ouster of himself and the majority of the staff on Twitter. He said, "It was a heartbreaking turn of events and has been even more painful watching Valiant change into what it is now."

I know many people have wanted to be optimistic about the situation, but I thought this was a telling (and tragic) admission about the current state of affairs...

https://twitter.com/dinesh_s/status/1047527234188320768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SuperMage · Post by **SuperMage** » Mon Oct 08, 2018 3:50 pm

http://www.valiantfans.com/forum/viewto ... =1&t=51844

Sven the Returned · Post by **Sven the Returned** » Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:59 am

Thanks for keeping it real D.

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Thu Oct 11, 2018 12:36 pm

What is Valiant now? I've not followed it since Dino left.

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:16 am

StarBrand wrote:What is Valiant now? I've not followed it since Dino left.

Since Dino left, Valiant has ceased publication of comics and is now a manufacturer of house insulation and airplane parts.

wrunow · Post by **wrunow** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:34 am

I don't think anything has happened that we didn't see coming since Dinesh's ouster.

X-O HoboJoe · Post by **X-O HoboJoe** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 1:44 pm

So the new owners found the Acclaim they sought?

myron · Post by **myron** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 2:37 pm

X-O HoboJoe wrote:So the new owners found the Acclaim they sought?

jmatt · Post by **jmatt** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:56 pm

Ya know what I'm lamenting? All of the negativity on the board.

I understand that we're upset Dino and crew have departed. But the new team has just barely taken over.

Yes, with the turmoil that comes with staff change there has been some speculation about the material that was designed by the former crew and executed by the new. And we have no idea what HW2 was supposed to be -- so even if you didn't care for it, that cannot be laid at the feet of Joe Illidge and company. It was written by Matt Kindt and he's certainly no newcomer to Valiant.

We haven't seen much of anything yet that is the product of the new staff, let alone enough to be down on it.

While everyone is entitled to their own perspective, it'd be nice if posters weren't rooting for doom and gave the thing a chance. I know I am.

AnarchoMambo · Post by **AnarchoMambo** » Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:47 pm

Yeah, I’m with you. I love the Valiant characters created by people like Jim Shooter, and revived by Dinesh. Who is in charge at any one time is unimportant to me, although I can’t wait to see what the current creative team has in store.

DC has so many cool books right now. Remember, it wasn’t long ago, they were mired in Convergence, a spectacularly unsuccessful event. And now, Rebirth has them largely in a tie publishing race with Marvel, and that is mostly without support from decent movies.

The next event (starting with Incursion?) could totally hit the mark. If it does, I will certainly celebrate with Valiant, and with you guys. But I will also know that my true value to the company that allows me to follow my favorite characters, was in staying with them through thick and thin.

hawkeyeps · Post by **hawkeyeps** » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:01 pm

jmatt wrote:Ya know what I'm lamenting? All of the negativity on the board.

I understand that we're upset Dino and crew have departed. But the new team has just barely taken over.

Yes, with the turmoil that comes with staff change there has been some speculation about the material that was designed by the former crew and executed by the new. And we have no idea what HW2 was supposed to be -- so even if you didn't care for it, that cannot be laid at the feet of Joe Illidge and company. It was written by Matt Kindt and he's certainly no newcomer to Valiant.

We haven't seen much of anything yet that is the product of the new staff, let alone enough to be down on it.

While everyone is entitled to their own perspective, it'd be nice if posters weren't rooting for doom and gave the thing a chance. I know I am.

+1

I hated to see what Valiant had become when they handed Harbinger to Rafer Roberts.

SuperMage · Post by **SuperMage** » Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:34 pm

There are two threads on this, and neither thread's title actually explains what the subject is about. It's interesting how the exact same subject draw some very different responses from board members based on the thread title.

Thegreatmagnet wrote:Not sure if anybody else noticed it, but last week Dino was discussing the ouster of himself and the majority of the staff on Twitter. He said, "It was a heartbreaking turn of events and has been even more painful watching Valiant change into what it is now."

I know many people have wanted to be optimistic about the situation, but I thought this was a telling (and tragic) admission about the current state of affairs...

https://twitter.com/dinesh_s/status/1047527234188320768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

otomo wrote:https://twitter.com/dinesh_s/status/1047525871941312513

Everyone who did great work has kinda been forced out and i bet you the investors are stagnating characters intentionally for film rights.

The tweets don't seem to be available anymore, but all Dinesh really did was confirm that Chinese investors forced him to resign from Valiant. He was upset that other members of Valiant's staff likewise departed following DMG's takeover. Since the tweets are gone we essentially have two threads with no topic. We've always known Dinesh was forced out, and anyone could put the pieces together to realize that DMG forced out the old editorial to be replaced with a new batch. His actual words were more along the lines of him confirming this, and then bidding farewell to Valiant. He's already moved onto to bigger and better things with deals for Netflix and Amazon. Hell Dinesh was just on this board the other day posting about a charity him and Vin Diesel are participating in. That doesn't necessarily come off as someone who's lamenting. He's moved on, and he's still the Nerd Boss. He's just the Nerd Boss of a company he owns wholesale this time around.

We haven't actually seen what Valiant has become yet. DMG/Valiant hasn't actually published any new series since the takeover, with the exception of Harbinger Wars II. We can't actually judge them based on a nonexistent product. Bloodshot PRS will be the first series produced by the new editorial wholesale. If it's crap, then yeah, we'll have more of a legitimate reason to dislike the new editorial beyond Harbinger Wars II.

I'm not saying we don't all have reason to doubt the current state of things. There are plenty of legitimate concerns to be had. Joe Illidge's previous comic project was Lion Forge, which is pretty much universally considered to be trash. DMG Entertainment is borderline shell company with an embarrassingly mediocre resume. DMG/Valiant can't seem to actually hold onto any creators. Every single book published prior to the takeover has been cancelled, with the exception of Shadowman and X-O, and the creative teams attached have pretty much burned what bridges they might have previously had with Valiant.

kinggirlfriend · Post by **kinggirlfriend** » Mon Oct 15, 2018 11:57 pm

SuperMage wrote:DMG/Valiant can't seem to actually hold onto any creators. Every single book published prior to the takeover has been cancelled, with the exception of Shadowman and X-O, and the creative teams attached have pretty much burned what bridges they might have previously had with Valiant.

Jody Houser seems to still be going strong on FAITH. Kind of hard to imagine anyone else doing that book besides her.

And while it's probably just for this one last series I eagerly await THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TOYO HARADA.

But yeah, I agree. After INCURSION and X-O wrap up the future seems dim.

jmatt · Post by **jmatt** » Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:45 pm

kinggirlfriend wrote:Jody Houser seems to still be going strong on FAITH. Kind of hard to imagine anyone else doing that book besides her.

Her Dr Mirage arc was stellar. I haven't read too much solo Faith stuff but I'm gonna read this run for sure.

SuperMage · Post by **SuperMage** » Wed Oct 17, 2018 4:19 pm

jmatt wrote:
kinggirlfriend wrote:Jody Houser seems to still be going strong on FAITH. Kind of hard to imagine anyone else doing that book besides her.
Her Dr Mirage arc was stellar. I haven't read too much solo Faith stuff but I'm gonna read this run for sure.

Say what you want about Jody, but she respects the Valiant Universe. She uses established continuity in her stories, is one of the few writers who gets Archer's character, and managed to make Neela Sethi likable. I'm just worried that Faith: Dreamside might be the last time she works with Valiant, along with Matt Kindt. It seems like they're both just fulfilling obligations they had from before the takeover happened. It could be that DMG/Valiant knows there would be backlash if Houser was fired from Faith. She has 14K twitter followers that'd be curious why Valiant fired their first female writer to handle an ongoing for them. It wouldn't be a good idea to start drama with her, which is why part of me is sure they're going to start drama with Jody anyway.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Oct 17, 2018 4:38 pm

SuperMage wrote: Say what you want about Jody, but she respects the Valiant Universe. She uses established continuity in her stories, is one of the few writers who gets Archer's character, and managed to make Neela Sethi likable. I'm just worried that Faith: Dreamside might be the last time she works with Valiant, along with Matt Kindt. It seems like they're both just fulfilling obligations they had from before the takeover happened. It could be that DMG/Valiant knows there would be backlash if Houser was fired from Faith. She has 14K twitter followers that'd be curious why Valiant fired their first female writer to handle an ongoing for them. It wouldn't be a good idea to start drama with her, which is why part of me is sure they're going to start drama with Jody anyway.

14K twitter followers - # of issues of Faith Dreamside #1 shipped to comic shops - 5,752

. And that's with it being the feature title in all of the "Valiant Beyond" promotions.

Sure wish the modern comics industry cared less about twitter and more about making a good product.

kinggirlfriend · Post by **kinggirlfriend** » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:35 pm

She's consistent. And that's what I used to be able to count on from Valiant. Consistency. While Faith was never my favorite book it was always solidly readable and I agree, it was true to the universe. So now weirdly enough I'm rooting for her to stick around. Same with Matt Kindt. HW2 aside, I'd hate to lose him.

We are now down to only 5 titles a month. If we lose Houser, Kindt and Diggle then what will we have left? Not much to be excited about. It's a darn shame.

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