Shooter's column and reader mail from MAGNUS #8, Jan. '92

[CLA]

I love reading the editor's letter and fan mail in older comics. I thought it would be cool to share this one, to remember Shooter's optimism and enthusiasm in VALIANT and to read the letters from the fans of the title.

Shooter's Column:
A guy named Daniel
H. Bigelow wrote me a wonderful letter to me
recently. It was a general rave, combined with
a number of insightful observations and
thoughtful suggestions. He took issue with my
claim that VALIANT was a "no-frills" comics
company, citing the special insert origin of
Solar, the Magnus Trading Cards, etc. as
"gimmicks." It wasn't that he was disturbed by
these--in fact, he closed the paragraph with
"...if you feel this will help your chances to
succeed, more power to you."

I wrote a brief thank you note to Daniel that
also explained that I never said "no-frills." I
happen to like frills, if they add value. We offer
premiums, or "gimmicks" if you prefer, but we
don't do rip-offs. A flip-book, in my opinion, is
neat. Five "variations" of one issue is blatant greed.

I'm pleased to report that MAGNUS RO-
BOT FIGHTER and SOLAR, MAN OF THE
ATOM are thriving and have gone up in sales
each issue--despite the tidal wave of product
from Marvel and DC. People are discovering
us. People are also beginning to realize that
they're witnessing the birth of a universe, into
which each new VALIANT title is carefully merged.
The newest title, HARBINGER debuts
this month. Please try it. If you pass it up, I think
you're making a mistake roughly equivalent to
passing up Avengers # 1 back in 1963. If that
statement makes you smile, then take a look at
what VALIANT's MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER
#1 is going for in the trade ads (between
$8.00 and $15.00). Now, check and see how
much your X-Force # 1 is worth.

HARBINGER is largely the brainchild of
penciler David Lapham. As I've mentioned
before in this column, this guy is emerging as a
major talent. I warned you about Frank Miller
back in the late seventies--check my Marvel
Bullpen Bulletins from that era--now, I'm
warning you about David. Pay attention this time.

And now, for something completely different:

There once was a king who
couldn't spell.
His cort was full of jesters .
They said, "oh king, we can't call
you king for you can't spell,
so you are kig."
The kig's cort was always making jests
and of course the kig was jestured about the most!
As odd as this crew, as wild as could be, when deadline battles
came The Kig and his Court wouldn't settle for nothing but
victory!

Siged,
Jade, Kig of Pain

Jade Moede is a superb artist and calligrapher.
He supervises VALIANT's hardy young
crew of colorists and artists-in-training known
as the "knobs." They call him Kig. When they
color as a group, they like to be credited as the
"Kig's Cort." Though they love him like a rock,
they never let on. He takes it well. See above.
More about them knobs later .

Sincerely,
Jim Shooter

Next time: Tweezing with JJ.

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Magnus Mail:
Dear MAGNUS creators,
Your MAGNUS book continues to interest and intrigue me, particularly in the new wrinkles you've been
throwing into it with issue #6. With the readers probably
in the corner against the robots, you've added the twist
of robot rights, and now, with the readers of RAI, who
most likely, were for the humans of Japan and their
struggle for freedom from Grandmother, you've come
along and had 1-A show up on the side of the all powerful
machine! Who is the reader supposed to side with?
The conflicting loyalties you've set up of MAGNUS,
RAI, Grandmother, 1-A and the struggle for human
dominance over machines in their own affairs has set at
least this reader on his ear! Who to side with? Who to
identify with? So far, I'm with the humans... Also, good
idea in regards to Solar living for a thousand years but
like a candle, getting weaker and weaker as time goes
by, and finally flickering out in some indeterminate future
time. It's neat that by the time of MAGNUS, he's so
powerless, he's more like a Watcher than an activist.
Good stuff!
Pierre Comtois
Lowell, MA.

Dear Mr. Shooter,
Congratulations on reviving two of Gold Key/
Western Publication's best features: MAGNUS and DR.
SOLAR. The key to revival is solidarity with the essence
of the past, plus a vision for the future. SOLAR was always
an enigma waiting to be explored. You have tapped the
latent ambiguities in MAGNUS as well.
I think the VALIANT creative team could accomplish
what has eluded some of the best in comics: a successful
adoption of the character that many regard as comicdom's
first and foremost costumed hero. What are your plans
for future revivals?
I'm also intrigued by your new offerings: X-O
MANOWAR and HARBINGER. I hope VALIANT has
plenty of room for development of both the new and the
tried-and-true.
Rux Hensley
Loves Park, IL.

Rux, we do have plenty of room and are gearing up
for more revivals. TUROK, SON OF STONE and LITTLE
LULU are on the horizon.

Dear Mr. Layton and Mr. Shooter ,
Concerning your efforts in revitalizing MAGNUS
and SOLAR, I'd like to offer congratulations for jobs well
done.1 enjoy reading bath these publications, though I'm
unfamiliar with the original incarnations. The freshness of
the material is ironic, considering they are characters
from the 60's. Sure, there are plenty of characters thriving
today that were published in the 60's, but few are "fresh"
in story content. Perhaps by having a "universe" with a
small contigent of titles (say five to seven titles) to coordinate,
the quality will remain top priority.
All creative personnel involved in the story-telling are
engaging, and though Mark Moretti's pencils are sharp,
I missed the regular penciler this issue of MAGNUS (#7).
David Lapham is indeed a uniquely talented individual.
I'm looking forward to his work in HARBINGER. Also hinted
at in RAI #3 was the X-O MANOWAR title. So, as
VALIANT's influence expands may the quality continue to
be as top notch as it is today. To all involved, Jade, Ken
lopez, Janet Jackson, and the many others instrumental to
this company, best wishes and continued success.
Kevin J Conley
Methuen, MA

Thanks for the kudos Kevin.

Dear VALIANT,
Congratulations on the first-class job you're doing
with MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER! The original MAGNUS
was a childhood favorite of mine. I never expected him to
return after the death of Russ Manning, yet you have
improved on the original in many ways. In particular, the
storylines and the character development have been
excellent. I always felt that Leeja was a little princess and
her father was just another opportunistic politician!
A question: why did you decide to construct your
robots from "ceramisteel" rather than from a more ordinary metallic steel?
Ceramisteel is obviously brittle, where
metallic steels are normally rather ductile. Brittle robots
shatter dramatically when MAGNUS smashes them, but
ductile materials are tougher and more durable, and
make more sense for wear-intensive applications. Robots
in the original series, as you must realize, were made of
ductile steel. 1-A, with his bent arm and leg, is still
depicted as having been made of a ductile material.
Marc Maderazzo
Burlington, VT.

There may not be enough pure steel for the enormous
number of robots that far in the future. Plus the weight
factor has to be considered, the durability of "ceramisteel"
would suffice in the robot's daily activity, barring MAGNUS' hand.

Dear Jim & Company,
The last time I wrote to a comic book publisher was
24 years ago. What prompts me to do so again? Mostly
the desire to thank you for giving us our money's worth.
The days of "all in color for a dime" may be gone forever,
but the scripts and art through the first six issues of
MAGNUS and three of SOLAR have been consistently
first-rate and are easily the best buy in comics today.
Ed Adzima
Ellington, CT.

[Daniel Jackson]

Good stuff. I like this line best...

Rux, we do have plenty of room and are gearing up
for more revivals. TUROK, SON OF STONE and LITTLE
LULU are on the horizon..

[Todd Luck]

Shooter was a master wordsmith both in his stories and editorials. Anyone know who did the letter columns at the time?

My favorite Shooter editorial af all the time was am early Defiant one with a story where he ends up body slamming Len Wein in front of Stan Lee. Funny stuff .

[jedimarley]

Loved Shooters editorials. Always could count on a little insight into what was going on behind the seens and to what was comimg in the future.
Sometimes I would read them before the comic
Man, I miss those days

[depluto]

I love that line comparing Harbinger to Avengers. And I think he was right, too.

[Daniel Jackson]

I love that line comparing Harbinger to Avengers. And I think he was right, too.

Same here. Its just too bad Jim's time at command was so short. Who knows what kind of Harbinger story line we would be talking about right now?

[bamaphilosopher]

Yeah, I agree with you guys. My favorite editorial was when he talked about how Marvel had challenged DC, had toppled the giant and danced on its beard. Now, Marvel has the big names and the big money. But Valiant's on the rise. Let others watch their beards. Or something like that. Anyway, that was my favorite...I just wish he had stayed at Valiant and it had come true!

But alas, there was Massarsky. And five years or so later, Valiant was down the tubes. Pitiful.

I wish we could get Jim Shooter to post here!

[jedimarley]

I love Jim just as much as anyone. He is capable of creating some of the best stories in comics, That being said, Why did Defiant and Brodway fail.
AND I want to know fron Jim himself.
PLEASE Jim , speak to us....