20 years ago, Valiant on the cover of Wizard #17 (Jan '93)

[spong107]

Twenty years ago Valiant was on the cover of Wizard magazine issue #17 (January 1993). There's an article (The State of Valiant Address) in there by Rober Samsel with an interview with Steve Massarsky, Bob Layton, Jon Hartz and Barry Windsor-Smith (BWS). I thought it was pretty interesting and thought I would share with everyone, in bullet points what I enjoyed. Please note, I didn't sum up everything said, just the highlights I enjoyed.

• Mentioned that Valiant Universe would be good at 20 titles. Jon said there are clues on this in Rai #0.

• On Unity II-- they said they wouldn't do a sequel to Unity because they don't like the idea of drawing off past success of a crossover.

• "We want to do cross-overs that guarantee the fans a really exciting package. Not a cross-over that will make us a ton of money." - Jon

• On when dead characters coming back-- "You won't see that in the Valiant Universe. When they're toast, they're smoking like a penguin." - Bob

• On how the titles may/may not appeal to younger readers-- "We're not going out of our way to do a line of books for 11-to-17-year-olds. We want them to be read by everybody." - Jon

• "We're not creating just super heroes and super-villains here, we're creating characters. Every character in the Valiant Universe has a different personality and relates differently to other characters." - Jon

• On Shadowman and Master Darque-- "Also, keep in mind that in the Valiant Universe, there's no such thing as Magic." - Jon.

• Another reference to Rai #0, how readers should re-read it.

• On gimmicks-- "We do premiums, we do value enhancements, things like that. I think the things that aren't value enhancements will eventually go away. You need to add value to a book to set it apart from something else on the shelf. Whether it's a thick card stock cover, or a chromium, or a hologram or die cut cover. The things that don't add value will simply have to go away." - Steve

• On limiting print runs-- "If you over-saturate the market, and I put out a book that should have a print run of 100,000 but everyone buys five copies, I'm not getting that book into the hands of all the people who want to read it, then I'm not doing my job." - Steve

• On print runs and second prints-- "The whole point is that we want the books to be read. That's the only reason we'd go to a second print. I work too damn hard at these books to have somebody shove 'em in a bag and not look at them." - Bob

• A quote I love: "The fans may buy a gimmick once, but if it's not quality they won't be fooled again. That is what will determine where the fan's dollar will be spent." - Steve

• The interview basically closes on shipping, and how Valiant is so good at shipping on time, and how they are in it for the long run, etc.

The cover folded out.


The first page of the article.



Some other nice pages on what the Valiant comics was like 20 years ago:

Look how many Valiant title was on the top 10 list for Dec '92! 7 out of the top 10!


One of the issues on Comic Watch was Solar #3, first appearance of Toya Harada!


Oh, memories.

[MarkRoseHFX]

Wicked awesome...thanks for sharing!

[nutflush76]

Ahh the memories! I think I still have that issue if Wizard in storage somewhere!

[FormerReader]

Ahh the memories! I think I still have that issue if Wizard in storage somewhere!

Sadly, I still have the issue in a bag and board.

[Daniel Jackson]

Those were the days....

[jmatt]

Oh, memories.

I have that issue. Jesus. 20 years.

[BugsySig]

On print runs and second prints-- "The whole point is that we want the books to be read. That's the only reason we'd go to a second print. I work too damn hard at these books to have somebody shove 'em in a bag and not look at them." - Bob

This quote reminded me that I probably read the inside of Wizard more than the comics I bought when I was 12-13 years old. Most did go straight to the bag and board. Glad I am old enough now to enjoy what really makes VALIANT special: the story. You have my apologies, Mr. Layton.

[grendeljd]

I've got a handful of Wizard mags from that era tucked away someplace... This thread is tempting me to go digging and see if I have this one. I have a feeling I do...

[IanAlexavier]

I had a love/hate relationship with Wizard.

I remember reading that issue as well.. I LOVED that issue!!

I really hope that Valiant can do it again!