Rai #7 unpublished version (VH1)

[Ryan]

I found this a while back browsing Rai original art on comicartfans. In the gallery of someone named justin manis https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypie ... ce=1368364

Here's what he says about the art:

It was told to me by the artist that there was great debate as to whether or not Rai should die during Unity. So much so that 8 pages of Rai #7 were drawn before the decision was made to have him killed by Mother God. These 8 pages are all that exist of the issue that would have been had it been decided that Rai would survive UNITY. These 8 pages are a very rare glimpse into Valiant history.

Would be interesting to compare to the published version. I also wonder what the alternate ending to Unity would have been.

Pencils by Joe St. Pierre. Inks by Kathryn Bolinger?

[ManofTheAtom]

Very cool.

[Ryan]

Very cool.

Totally! When looking at pre-Unity (and Unity) original art it always strikes me how many paste-up and whiteout corrections there are on the page. It's like John Romita used to do at Marvel, fix faces and make sure everything stays 'on model'. It's part of the attention to detail in early VALIANT that makes everything feel so consistent.

Is it a pipe dream to hope we get Artist's Edition books made for early VALIANT? Probably. Maybe there's a chance to do a book of just BWS art, that would sell. Not sure if they can reprint Alpha and Omega though.

[aj583]

Cool. Thanks for posting this.


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[ManofTheAtom]

Very cool.

Totally! When looking at pre-Unity (and Unity) original art it always strikes me how many paste-up and whiteout corrections there are on the page. It's like John Romita used to do at Marvel, fix faces and make sure everything stays 'on model'. It's part of the attention to detail in early VALIANT that makes everything feel so consistent.

Is it a pipe dream to hope we get Artist's Edition books made for early VALIANT? Probably. Maybe there's a chance to do a book of just BWS art, that would sell. Not sure if they can reprint Alpha and Omega though.

That would be awesome. ALL that art from '90s VALIANT has to still exist somewhere.

[Ryan]

Very cool.

Totally! When looking at pre-Unity (and Unity) original art it always strikes me how many paste-up and whiteout corrections there are on the page. It's like John Romita used to do at Marvel, fix faces and make sure everything stays 'on model'. It's part of the attention to detail in early VALIANT that makes everything feel so consistent.

Is it a pipe dream to hope we get Artist's Edition books made for early VALIANT? Probably. Maybe there's a chance to do a book of just BWS art, that would sell. Not sure if they can reprint Alpha and Omega though.

That would be awesome. ALL that art from '90s VALIANT has to still exist somewhere.

Yeah I assume that high quality scans of all the original art at least exists in the archive that Valiant owns? I don't really know.

[ManofTheAtom]

Very cool.

Totally! When looking at pre-Unity (and Unity) original art it always strikes me how many paste-up and whiteout corrections there are on the page. It's like John Romita used to do at Marvel, fix faces and make sure everything stays 'on model'. It's part of the attention to detail in early VALIANT that makes everything feel so consistent.

Is it a pipe dream to hope we get Artist's Edition books made for early VALIANT? Probably. Maybe there's a chance to do a book of just BWS art, that would sell. Not sure if they can reprint Alpha and Omega though.

That would be awesome. ALL that art from '90s VALIANT has to still exist somewhere.

Yeah I assume that high quality scans of all the original art at least exists in the archive that Valiant owns? I don't really know.

That would be great.

[magnusr]

That would be awesome. ALL that art from '90s VALIANT has to still exist somewhere.

Yeah I assume that high quality scans of all the original art at least exists in the archive that Valiant owns? I don't really know.

First of all, big thanks for posting this.

Then to be a bit of a downer, I have seen art treated with such carelessness that I strongly doubt ALL art still exists. Hope I'm wrong.

/Magnus

[Ryan]

That would be awesome. ALL that art from '90s VALIANT has to still exist somewhere.

Yeah I assume that high quality scans of all the original art at least exists in the archive that Valiant owns? I don't really know.

First of all, big thanks for posting this.

Then to be a bit of a downer, I have seen art treated with such carelessness that I strongly doubt ALL art still exists. Hope I'm wrong.

/Magnus

That stinks, but I guess understandable. I'm still hoping the extra pages from Steel Nation emerge someday and we get that extended edition, so I guess I'm delusional

[magnusr]

I'm still hoping the extra pages from Steel Nation emerge someday and we get that extended edition, so I guess I'm delusional

I've been wondering about the attached page. Doesn't seem to fit anywhere in the story so probably it's a promo or even a practice page. But just maybe it's a real Steel Nation page.

/Magnus

EDIT, also page 1 of Magnus 49 is a look back to Steel Nation and it feels like they reused an old page.

[Ryan]

I'm still hoping the extra pages from Steel Nation emerge someday and we get that extended edition, so I guess I'm delusional

I've been wondering about the attached page. Doesn't seem to fit anywhere in the story so probably it's a promo or even a practice page. But just maybe it's a real Steel Nation page.

/Magnus

Wow what an amazing page! Thanks for sharing!

That's definitely Steel Nation era, I wonder if there was a subplot about Timbuc that was edited out? Beautiful!

[Ryan]

I can't find the original solicitation, but here's the info about Steel Nation uncut from the Valiant Comics Database:

In 1992, Valiant Comics had already solicited two trades called "Magnus: Steel Nation Vol. I & II" but they were later cancelled for unknown reasons.

-Steel Nation Vol. I – Featuring MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER. This sixty-four page deluxe-format book represents the first two parts of Magnus's struggle against 0-1X first seen in MAGNUS ROBOTS FIGHTER Volume 2 #1 & #2. – Prestige Format, 64 pages, Full, painted color, $5.95

-Steel Nation Vol. II – The second sixty-four page deluxe-format book, presenting the final chapters of the war story that rocked the comics world, from Magnus's struggle against 0-1X first seen in MAGNUS ROBOTS FIGHTER Volume 2 #3 & #4. – Prestige Format, 64 pages, Full, painted color, $5.95

-Note: If you read the original comics version of STEEL NATION, you know that the story was too big to be wedged into the usual twenty-two pages per issue that most comics offer. We averaged over 28 pages per issue, and it still wasn't enough. These special volumes showcase the uncut version of STEEL NATION, including never-before-seen pages that were edited out of the original. Also, a magnificent 2 part connecting cover by David Lapham and Bob Layton adorn both volumes of STEEL NATION. No Magnus fan can do without these books. -- SHIPPING IN JANUARY

It's unknown how many extra pages there were, looks like this is one so far.

[ManofTheAtom]

I can't find the original solicitation, but here's the info about Steel Nation uncut from the Valiant Comics Database:

In 1992, Valiant Comics had already solicited two trades called "Magnus: Steel Nation Vol. I & II" but they were later cancelled for unknown reasons.

-Steel Nation Vol. I – Featuring MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER. This sixty-four page deluxe-format book represents the first two parts of Magnus's struggle against 0-1X first seen in MAGNUS ROBOTS FIGHTER Volume 2 #1 & #2. – Prestige Format, 64 pages, Full, painted color, $5.95

-Steel Nation Vol. II – The second sixty-four page deluxe-format book, presenting the final chapters of the war story that rocked the comics world, from Magnus's struggle against 0-1X first seen in MAGNUS ROBOTS FIGHTER Volume 2 #3 & #4. – Prestige Format, 64 pages, Full, painted color, $5.95

-Note: If you read the original comics version of STEEL NATION, you know that the story was too big to be wedged into the usual twenty-two pages per issue that most comics offer. We averaged over 28 pages per issue, and it still wasn't enough. These special volumes showcase the uncut version of STEEL NATION, including never-before-seen pages that were edited out of the original. Also, a magnificent 2 part connecting cover by David Lapham and Bob Layton adorn both volumes of STEEL NATION. No Magnus fan can do without these books. -- SHIPPING IN JANUARY

It's unknown how many extra pages there were, looks like this is one so far.

Cool.

[sonicdan]

I'm still hoping the extra pages from Steel Nation emerge someday and we get that extended edition, so I guess I'm delusional

I've been wondering about the attached page. Doesn't seem to fit anywhere in the story so probably it's a promo or even a practice page. But just maybe it's a real Steel Nation page.

/Magnus

EDIT, also page 1 of Magnus 49 is a look back to Steel Nation and it feels like they reused an old page.

I have some Steel Nation prelims that look like they were used to layout the additional material for the deluxe editions.
Looks like that splash page was intended to be inserted between pages 7&8 from issue #3.

[Ryan]

I'm still hoping the extra pages from Steel Nation emerge someday and we get that extended edition, so I guess I'm delusional

I've been wondering about the attached page. Doesn't seem to fit anywhere in the story so probably it's a promo or even a practice page. But just maybe it's a real Steel Nation page.

/Magnus

EDIT, also page 1 of Magnus 49 is a look back to Steel Nation and it feels like they reused an old page.

I have some Steel Nation prelims that look like they were used to layout the additional material for the deluxe editions.
Looks like that splash page was intended to be inserted between pages 7&8 from issue #3.

Duuuude! Holy $#%@! This is gold!

Its interesting that it says its for the reprints, so maybe not all the pages were finished and that's why they never came out. They might have been cut out earlier in the process. At least one was fully finished though.

Thanks for sharing this Sonicdan!

[Ryan]

I thought that 2 page spread looked familiar. Looks like Nichols finished it off for the flashback at the beginning of Magnus #49. Looks a little different since it looks like he inked it himself.

[ManofTheAtom]

I thought that 2 page spread looked familiar. Looks like Nichols finished it off for the flashback at the beginning of Magnus #49. Looks a little different since it looks like he inked it himself.

Nice.

[sonicdan]

Duuuude! Holy $#%@! This is gold!

Its interesting that it says its for the reprints, so maybe not all the pages were finished and that's why they never came out. They might have been cut out earlier in the process. At least one was fully finished though.

Thanks for sharing this Sonicdan!

Yeah, Man! Always nice connecting the dots on some of this stuff. Years after the fact even.
Dan

[magnusr]

Duuuude! Holy $#%@! This is gold!

My feeling exactly.

/Magnus

[geocarr]

Very very very cool
Thanks Ryan, Magnus, and Dan!


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[sonicdan]

Very very very cool
Thanks Ryan, Magnus, and Dan!


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[Ryan]

Found this ad in my archives, looks like the only shot we have of the Lapham connecting cover.

steelnatmed.jpg

[ManofTheAtom]

Found this ad in my archives, looks like the only shot we have of the Lapham connecting cover.


steelnatmed.jpg

Nice.

[magnusr]

Found this ad in my archives, looks like the only shot we have of the Lapham connecting cover.

Would have loved to have these books. Thanks for sharing.

/Magnus

[JCP]

Wonder if that OA is available for sale from David.