How far ahead did Shooter plan?

[shaxper]

I know there were times when he was writing issues at the last minute, barely finding time to check other writers' continuity problems, but he definately had some plans for Valiant up to the time of Unity. I can only assume Rai #0 (though not exactly what he would have had in mind), must have been his brainchild. Similarly, I wonder if the Master Darque we see in Unity 2000 was Jim's original idea for the character.

So, based upon interviews, scripts, overheard talk at conventions, or what have you, do we have any idea what else Jim had planned for VH1? I'd love to have particularly seen his treatment of Magnus, X-0, and the Harbinger kids, all of which took major plunges in characterization and story after Unity.

Do you think Jim wanted to kill Rai? Considering how lost the title got after that, and that Rai's death may very well have been in response to particularly low sales (even for Valiant), I've always assumed it was a business decision rather than a creative one.

Also, forgive my ignorance but did Jim stay on until the completion of Unity, or did he leave mid-way? The set up for Unity (the first half) seemed much stronger than the resolution to me, and I wonder if Jim's absense or lack of control over the project at that point affected this.

[Todd Luck]

I know there were times when he was writing issues at the last minute, barely finding time to check other writers' continuity problems, but he definately had some plans for Valiant up to the time of Unity. I can only assume Rai #0 (though not exactly what he would have had in mind), must have been his brainchild. Similarly, I wonder if the Master Darque we see in Unity 2000 was Jim's original idea for the character.

So, based upon interviews, scripts, overheard talk at conventions, or what have you, do we have any idea what else Jim had planned for VH1? I'd love to have particularly seen his treatment of Magnus, X-0, and the Harbinger kids, all of which took major plunges in characterization and story after Unity.

Do you think Jim wanted to kill Rai? Considering how lost the title got after that, and that Rai's death may very well have been in response to particularly low sales (even for Valiant), I've always assumed it was a business decision rather than a creative one.

Also, forgive my ignorance but did Jim stay on until the completion of Unity, or did he leave mid-way? The set up for Unity (the first half) seemed much stronger than the resolution to me, and I wonder if Jim's absense or lack of control over the project at that point affected this.

Lots of good questions. Under "Site Index" on this site look for the archived Joe Petrilak site. He's got a couple interviews with Shooter that could answer your questions.

Quick run down: Shooter didn't create Darque, the character was created right after he left. I'm not sure what the story was with the creation, but a caption on the Barry Windsor Smith site cites Barry as his creator.

Shooter had plans for Valiant, many of which ended up being hinted at or shown in Unity 2000 (check out the plots also on the Petrilak site).

Rai's death was a group descision based on the direction the book was going, atleast that's what was claimed in an interview. I've never heard it stated one way or the other, but my impression was they probably didn't know what they were going to do with the "new Rai" when Rai #0 came out.

Shooter wrote all the Unity crossover issues he was credited with. Then they kicked him out. Unity #1 they only had his plots and someone else did the dialog. Same with Rai #0 (the visuals were based off what Shooter wrote, but the dialog sometimes wasn't, like the mention of Master Darque). Shooter had plots of some sort for every book he normally did for two monthes or so after he left that were completed by other people.

[shaxper]

Quick run down: Shooter didn't create Darque, the character was created right after he left. I'm not sure what the story was with the creation, but a caption on the Barry Windsor Smith site cites Barry as his creator.

That's probably true, but the source is certainly biased

Rai's death was a group descision based on the direction the book was going, atleast that's what was claimed in an interview. I've never heard it stated one way or the other, but my impression was they probably didn't know what they were going to do with the "new Rai" when Rai #0 came out.

Yes, but was it a Shooter/Layton/BWS/Massarsky group decision, or a Layton/BWS/Massarsky/Goawayshooternooneneedsyouasshole group decision ?

Shooter wrote all the Unity crossover issues he was credited with. Then they kicked him out. Unity #1 they only had his plots and someone else did the dialog. Same with Rai #0 (the visuals were based off what Shooter wrote, but the dialog sometimes wasn't, like the mention of Master Darque). Shooter had plots of some sort for every book he normally did for two monthes or so after he left that were completed by other people.

Yeah. That's apparant in the next Magnus issue, which is a great plot concept with a decent execution. Since X-O is all in the writing of the character, it's hard to tell with him. No immediate recollection of the first Harbinger, Solar, and Shadowman issue after Unity. Rai #8 would obviously depend upon the previous question.


Thanks for your answers, Todd!

[FunkiTron]

Was one of the arguments between them (Shooter and the others) the naming of Bloodshot? In early ads for Rai #0 the name Rising Spirit is mentioned, but in later ads it's changed to Bloodshot. Anyone know?

[shaxper]

I always liked Rising Spirit better, but I suppose it's less catchy. Too elegant for a Punisher-style hero.

[Todd Luck]

Rai's death was a group descision based on the direction the book was going, atleast that's what was claimed in an interview. I've never heard it stated one way or the other, but my impression was they probably didn't know what they were going to do with the "new Rai" when Rai #0 came out.

Yes, but was it a Shooter/Layton/BWS/Massarsky group decision, or a Layton/BWS/Massarsky/Goawayshooternooneneedsyouasshole group decision ?

Shooter wrote all the Unity crossover issues he was credited with. Then they kicked him out. Unity #1 they only had his plots and someone else did the dialog. Same with Rai #0 (the visuals were based off what Shooter wrote, but the dialog sometimes wasn't, like the mention of Master Darque). Shooter had plots of some sort for every book he normally did for two monthes or so after he left that were completed by other people.

Yeah. That's apparant in the next Magnus issue, which is a great plot concept with a decent execution. Since X-O is all in the writing of the character, it's hard to tell with him. No immediate recollection of the first Harbinger, Solar, and Shadowman issue after Unity. Rai #8 would obviously depend upon the previous question.


Thanks for your answers, Todd!

Rai's death was discussed in a creative meeting involving Shooter and all the writers according to an interview I read.

As for his plots, if Shooter's name isn't in the credits he's given over the writing to someone else usually (from interviews he would've probably preferred to do this more often than it actually happened while he was at Valiant:) ) Layton started to take over the writing chores on X-O just before Unity and kept doing the book for about a year. Barry Windsor Smith (who did the plots on the first few issues) took over full writing chores on A & A. After Eternal Warrior #3 (1rst post Unity issue) a different writer took over on that book. Harbinger and Solar were based on Shooters's plots for the first two post-Unity issues. Shadowman was taken over by Bob Hall starting with the first post-Unity issue.

BTW, a wonderful buried treasure, if you don't already have it, is Magnus 20 that features a tale of Magnus's childhood fully writen by Shooter (probably was intended as a fill in issue so he could have written it at any point before he left).