HARBINGER: THE BEGINNING, more details for fans! 5/28-5/31

[ManofTheAtom]

I hope the paper stock in the HC is similar or better than the one that was used in the singles and not the same that was used in the trade... though I love the smell of a VALIANT trade in the morning...

Have you guys ever noticed how VALIANT trades have their own particular smell?

Why is that?

[400yrs]

The recent hardcover printings of Dr. Solar and Magnus (Gold Key reprints)
have the same number of pages (about 200) and retail for $49.95.

I'd say $24.95 is fair.

Yeah. Also, a #1 alone would cost you at least $25 on ebay. I think the price is very fair.

[Todd Luck]

This is all great news. Shooter and Hall now that is a Valiant dream team. Bob Hall just did a piece of art for me and I tell you all now that the man is at the top of his game. This is going to be something special.

I'd be interested to hear from a source in the know if the new story is in fact separate from the hc or included. I know MOTA broke it down but those numbers could be off if they don't give each cover it's own page, maybe it's all eight spread over two pages or they don't have two pages for credits. The only thing Greg's post states is that the new story will have it's own cover but we don't know if that cover is printed in the book and we don't know how long this new story is.

Regardless I'm getting a bit excited about this.

Could be an insert (it does have it's own cover) that's 8-22 pages. It could be in the hardcover and be less than 10 pages, "cover" and all, since that's a fairly average length for an original extra of this sort. Regardless, 25 bucks just for that is too much for me (and I'd imagine for most folks). I can only rebuy the same material so many times.

Like I said, I hope VEI goes the route of Dark Horse and puts it online.

Pay 25 dollars today or pay 50 dollars tomorrow, your choice

Don't let what happened the first time happen again... buy now or regret it later, lol.

Seriously, people who buy the HC will try to sell the insert by itself for much more than the HC is worth.

Don't look at it as buying something you already own for 25 dollars... think of it as buying something you don't have (the origin) for 25 dollars now instead of 50 or more later.

Regret making a mistake that'll cost me more? LOL

Every Valiant tradepaperback I've ever seen in a comic shop was avaiable for between $1 and $5 at my LSCs within 5 years of its release. I can't imagine anyone who lost money if they waited to buy those. Every insert in those trades I've seen as dollar bin foder.

I don't know if history will repeat itself since the press run sould be so tiny due to a much smaller audience but I'm not too worried about the price shooting up. I'm just saying I'd like to see that new short(?) story online like Dark Horse and other companies regularly do with similar stories.

[ManofTheAtom]

Online comics aren't real comics, though.

I'm getting a webcomic published in the coming weeks and I've been promised it'll see print some day soon.

As awesome as having a comic published is, for me it won't be real until I can hold it in my hands.

As for the HC going down in price, will you really wait five years for it?

[Dr. Solar]

$25 for this hardcover is a bargain any way you look at it. I would hope that VEI will keep it in print so that it is widely and easily available. This is far more important for bringing in new casual readers than a lively secondary market.

[siren3-4]

$25 for this hardcover is a bargain any way you look at it. I would hope that VEI will keep it in print so that it is widely and easily available. This is far more important for bringing in new casual readers than a lively secondary market.

I was ready to pay double this for a homemade version HC with no new material . . . are you kidding me . . this is fantastic !! Most pre-orders can be gotten at a discount . . . if I find a good one I will post the details . . .

[Ryan]

Awesome news! Shooter and Hall is a perfect team for the first new real VALIANT story in years! And a NEW character!! Shows they're thinking about the future...

How could anyone complain about this!?!? Don't think of it as paying $25 (great price btw) for comics you already own, it's more like investing in the future of these characters and this company, and you get a beautiful new edition of one of the best runs in the VALIANT history as well as a new story by JIM SHOOTER!! If you are not geeked right now you should check your pulse.

Maybe Dark Horse can put new content up for free online, but this is a new company trying to raise our favorite characters from the ashes in a very tough business, we need to support them in any way we can.

[Donovan]

Is that picture recolored? Man it looks SWEET!

It does look great!

At the risk of being unpopular, I find the ONLY weak spot of Valiant's books was the airbrushed colouring.

I'm (cautiously) happy that the books are being recoloured. It's tough to say without seeing it, but hopefully it improves it!

If the cover above is any indication, I'm pumped!

(And if anyone from Valiant is listening... if you're looking for more colourists, I'd love to send in a portfolio! )

[ckb]

Is that picture recolored? Man it looks SWEET!

It does look great!

At the risk of being unpopular, I find the ONLY weak spot of Valiant's books was the airbrushed colouring.

You'll get a lot of disagreement on that one. Many of us find it to one of the features that set Valiant apart from the rest of the crowd in 1992.

The coloring process at Valiant was developed by Shooter and Janet Jackson. It involves Dr. Martin watercolor dyes. I'm under the impression it was hand done with real brushes. I believe "airbrushed" to be an inaccurate characterization.

Welcome to the boards!

[magnusr]

At the risk of being unpopular, I find the ONLY weak spot of Valiant's books was the airbrushed colouring.

The airbrushed pages were so few I guess you can complain about them without any risk. The watercolor-painted books though, those are loved. Anyway, the method used is not as important as the artistic skills of the colorist and Valiant had some great artists whose pages would look great whatever techique they used.

Edit: Just saw Chris' post. I agree.

/Magnus

[Daniel Jackson]

Regret making a mistake that'll cost me more? LOL

Every Valiant tradepaperback I've ever seen in a comic shop was avaiable for between $1 and $5 at my LSCs within 5 years of its release. I can't imagine anyone who lost money if they waited to buy those. Every insert in those trades I've seen as dollar bin foder.

I don't know if history will repeat itself since the press run sould be so tiny due to a much smaller audience but I'm not too worried about the price shooting up. I'm just saying I'd like to see that new short(?) story online like Dark Horse and other companies regularly do with similar stories.

While most of the trades are cheap and easy to get ahold of, there are exceptions. The two Magnus trades and one of the Solar trades sell for about double to triple cover price. The Solar Hardcover has been consistently selling for over 50 bucks for quite awhile too.

[Donovan]

Is that picture recolored? Man it looks SWEET!

It does look great!

At the risk of being unpopular, I find the ONLY weak spot of Valiant's books was the airbrushed colouring.

You'll get a lot of disagreement on that one. Many of us find it to one of the features that set Valiant apart from the rest of the crowd in 1992.

The coloring process at Valiant was developed by Shooter and Janet Jackson. It involves Dr. Martin watercolor dyes. I'm under the impression it was hand done with real brushes. I believe "airbrushed" to be an inaccurate characterization.

Welcome to the boards!

Thanks for the welcome!

I figured I'd be alone in mentioning the colouring. I called it a "weak" spot, but it's all relative - Valiant's "weak" is still far better than some other company's "strong"! The original colouring is great, and it's very distinctive (you know with one look that it's a Valiant book). I guess for me, it's one of those things that they could change and it wouldn't affect my enjoyment, or my decision to purchase.

I am hoping that the remastering at least follows the original colour scheme, but like I say, to have these stories and art bound in hardcover is enough for me!

[Daniel Jackson]

The coloring was what first attracted me Valiant. Then I read the stories and they blew me away.

[Donovan]

At the risk of being unpopular, I find the ONLY weak spot of Valiant's books was the airbrushed colouring.

The airbrushed pages were so few I guess you can complain about them without any risk. The watercolor-painted books though, those are loved. Anyway, the method used is not as important as the artistic skills of the colorist and Valiant had some great artists whose pages would look great whatever techique they used.

Edit: Just saw Chris' post. I agree.

/Magnus

I don't know the Valiant coloring process very well, but I'm wondering if the coloured files didn't age well, or are difficult to reproduce somehow. Hence the "remastering".

The "remastering" term is tricky - I've done some colouring work on Dark Horse's "Chronicles of Conan" series, which boasts "remastered" colour. The use of the term there means "completely redone" colour, ignoring the original colour scheme. It's made me the enemy of many a Conan fan.

Like I say, it would be great to at least respect the original colouring scheme.

[magnusr]

I'm wondering if the coloured files didn't age well, or are difficult to reproduce somehow. Hence the "remastering".

They do fade in sunlight, especially the blue colors. But the main problem is that there is no archive of color originals. Or any originals. I would guess that the HC is based on washed scans of the books.

Like I say, it would be great to at least respect the original colouring scheme.

/Magnus

[Daniel Jackson]

I'm wondering if the coloured files didn't age well, or are difficult to reproduce somehow. Hence the "remastering".

They do fade in sunlight, especially the blue colors. But the main problem is that there is no archive of color originals. Or any originals. I would guess that the HC is based on washed scans of the books.



/Magnus

You know, I was wondering how they managed to do that. I thought maybe they had some sort of backup art copies that came with the sale in case reprint issues were ever needed. You're probably right though.

[SnotDrip]

The coloring was what first attracted me Valiant. Then I read the stories and they blew me away.

Well said DJ and exactly what got me into VALIANT from the get go

[ManofTheAtom]

but this is a new company trying to raise our favorite characters from the ashes

More like a new company trying to bring back the characters from the pile of dung Nicieza left in his wake.

They even took pictures of it, you can find it in some of the VH 2 comics.

[jedimarley]

The coloring was what first attracted me Valiant. Then I read the stories and they blew me away.

Some of the colorests (sp?) like JJ, Gonzales, and Cavalero put more time and artistic ability in to these books then some of the artists and inkers.
It's sad to see them go to computer coloring.

[Daniel Jackson]

The coloring was what first attracted me Valiant. Then I read the stories and they blew me away.

Some of the colorests (sp?) like JJ, Gonzales, and Cavalero put more time and artistic ability in to these books then some of the artists and inkers.
It's sad to see them go to computer coloring.

Yeah, Janet was/is my favorite. She can really make a book stand out.

[b3studios]

but this is a new company trying to raise our favorite characters from the ashes

More like a new company trying to bring back the characters from the pile of dung Nicieza left in his wake.

They even took pictures of it, you can find it in some of the VH 2 comics.

That's the Mike I remember!

[ManofTheAtom]

but this is a new company trying to raise our favorite characters from the ashes

More like a new company trying to bring back the characters from the pile of dung Nicieza left in his wake.

They even took pictures of it, you can find it in some of the VH 2 comics.

That's the Mike I remember!

[oldjello]

Sweet.

[x-omatic]

yeah!

[twofour]

I'm so happy! New Valiant material! I think that I will have me a little drinky drink!!!