Personal Current Rankings
Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg
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Xtianhardy
- My posts can all fit in a short box
- Posts: 239
- Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:17 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1995
- Favorite character: Pete Stanchek
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Joshua Dysart
- Location: Regina, Canada
- Contact:
Re: Personal Current Rankings
My current rankings:
Harbinger
Archer and Armstrong
X-O Manowar
Bloodshot
Shadowman
Harby is still the king, no news there.
Although I agree with what a lot of you guys are saying regarding A&A not really fitting the tone and realism of the Valiant Universe, I can't deny that month to month it's one of the most consistently entertaining and enjoyable reads that Valiant is publishing.
X-O is good, but I've come to terms with the fact that just a single issue of it at a time does not satisfy me.
Bloodshot is a title that I want to like more than I do. From a story perspective, the pacing is really inconsistent. The first four issues moved ahead at breakneck speed but the last five issues have really padded out the infiltration of Project Rising Spirit and I'm wondering if that was done just so that the end of the arc would coincide better with the timing of Harbinger Wars. Either way, the book felt a little directionless over the past 5 issues and unless Bloodshot's Harby Wars tie-in issues are spectacular I'll likely drop this after the event.
My other issue with this book is the art. Manuel Garcia is okay, but for a 3.99 book sometimes the art is dodgy. Compared to the one before it, the last issue felt rushed and personally I would really like it if they dropped Garcia from the book and got somebody with more style working on it. Could you imagine the awesomeness of Bloodshot as drawn by somebody like Tradd Moore? No. No you cannot. It is far too awesome.
Shadowman #5 was an improvement over the first four issues, but it's also on life support for me. If I don't see any significant improvement by the end of the second arc, this one will be gone from my pull list too.
Harbinger
Archer and Armstrong
X-O Manowar
Bloodshot
Shadowman
Harby is still the king, no news there.
Although I agree with what a lot of you guys are saying regarding A&A not really fitting the tone and realism of the Valiant Universe, I can't deny that month to month it's one of the most consistently entertaining and enjoyable reads that Valiant is publishing.
X-O is good, but I've come to terms with the fact that just a single issue of it at a time does not satisfy me.
Bloodshot is a title that I want to like more than I do. From a story perspective, the pacing is really inconsistent. The first four issues moved ahead at breakneck speed but the last five issues have really padded out the infiltration of Project Rising Spirit and I'm wondering if that was done just so that the end of the arc would coincide better with the timing of Harbinger Wars. Either way, the book felt a little directionless over the past 5 issues and unless Bloodshot's Harby Wars tie-in issues are spectacular I'll likely drop this after the event.
My other issue with this book is the art. Manuel Garcia is okay, but for a 3.99 book sometimes the art is dodgy. Compared to the one before it, the last issue felt rushed and personally I would really like it if they dropped Garcia from the book and got somebody with more style working on it. Could you imagine the awesomeness of Bloodshot as drawn by somebody like Tradd Moore? No. No you cannot. It is far too awesome.
Shadowman #5 was an improvement over the first four issues, but it's also on life support for me. If I don't see any significant improvement by the end of the second arc, this one will be gone from my pull list too.
"We are what we imagine ourselves to be" - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Re: Personal Current Rankings
Archer and Armstrong
X-0 Manowar
Harbinger
Shadowman
Bloodshot
My personal ranking on all of the series up to the current issues. My top three are all running pretty close together and Bloodshot and Shadowman are not that far behind but Shadowman might be moving down the list once Zircher is gone. I am enjoying Bloodshot but not a lot of character depth yet compared to what we have in the other books.
X-0 Manowar
Harbinger
Shadowman
Bloodshot
My personal ranking on all of the series up to the current issues. My top three are all running pretty close together and Bloodshot and Shadowman are not that far behind but Shadowman might be moving down the list once Zircher is gone. I am enjoying Bloodshot but not a lot of character depth yet compared to what we have in the other books.
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erwinrafael
- H.A.R.D.E.R. Corps, with Extra Resistance
- Posts: 1047
- Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:29 am
- Favorite character: Aram
- Favorite title: Archer and Armstrong
- Favorite writer: Fred Van Lente
- Favorite artist: Pere Perez
- Location: Philippines
Re: Personal Current Rankings
Since it's Holy Week (we do nto have work here in the Philippines starting today, Thursday), I had time to read through all of the Valiant titles. Wow, all of them really read much better in arcs instead of single issues. Anyway, based on my latest reading, my rankings to date:
1) Archer and Armstrong - the most creative writing-wise with beautiful art. The story really pays off a lot when read as a whole. And it has one factor that pushes it above my #2: it's a fun read. I always find myself smiling even during re-reads.
2) Harbinger - strongest writing in terms of characterization and is the best read on a single issue basis. Has the best VEI single issue to date (Harbinger #9). The thing pulling it down a bit is the lack of a regular art team. I was distracted by the changes in art styles while reading through the Renegades arc. And I still think that the best artist in the title so far is not Khari Evans. It's Pere Perez who did the amazing art in Harbinger #9 and had a wonderful team-up with Mico Suayan in Harbinger #0. Has the best covers overall, specially the Mico Suayan covers. I just wish that the covers in the renegade arc matched with the characters spotlighted in the specific issues.
3) X-O Manowar - this is the title that reads MUCH MUCH better when read in arcs instead of single issues. You can see the progression of the plot and the advances in characterization over the long run. The complaints about "Planet Death"'s initial issue as underwhelming would I think be erased if you read the series in one sitting. And despite my complaints in the last half of issue #11, this series has the best overall art among the VEI titles, specially issue #1, issue #5 and the first half of issue #11.
4) Bloodshot - good series, but when read as an arc, you can see that this is the most decompressed (nnot X-O Manowar). There's really not much plot progression here. And they just killed the best character that appeared in the series so far. Manuel Garcia is good, Arturo Lozzi is too...polished (?) with the bright Photoshop-style colors on his art.
5) Shadowman - not a bad series BUT among all the VEI titles, this is the series which is being carried by the supporting cast and not the primary hero which so far has been fairly uninteresting. Zircher's art is good but, in my opinion, not fit with the atmosphere of the book, which is why issue #5 is one of the better issues.
1) Archer and Armstrong - the most creative writing-wise with beautiful art. The story really pays off a lot when read as a whole. And it has one factor that pushes it above my #2: it's a fun read. I always find myself smiling even during re-reads.
2) Harbinger - strongest writing in terms of characterization and is the best read on a single issue basis. Has the best VEI single issue to date (Harbinger #9). The thing pulling it down a bit is the lack of a regular art team. I was distracted by the changes in art styles while reading through the Renegades arc. And I still think that the best artist in the title so far is not Khari Evans. It's Pere Perez who did the amazing art in Harbinger #9 and had a wonderful team-up with Mico Suayan in Harbinger #0. Has the best covers overall, specially the Mico Suayan covers. I just wish that the covers in the renegade arc matched with the characters spotlighted in the specific issues.
3) X-O Manowar - this is the title that reads MUCH MUCH better when read in arcs instead of single issues. You can see the progression of the plot and the advances in characterization over the long run. The complaints about "Planet Death"'s initial issue as underwhelming would I think be erased if you read the series in one sitting. And despite my complaints in the last half of issue #11, this series has the best overall art among the VEI titles, specially issue #1, issue #5 and the first half of issue #11.
4) Bloodshot - good series, but when read as an arc, you can see that this is the most decompressed (nnot X-O Manowar). There's really not much plot progression here. And they just killed the best character that appeared in the series so far. Manuel Garcia is good, Arturo Lozzi is too...polished (?) with the bright Photoshop-style colors on his art.
5) Shadowman - not a bad series BUT among all the VEI titles, this is the series which is being carried by the supporting cast and not the primary hero which so far has been fairly uninteresting. Zircher's art is good but, in my opinion, not fit with the atmosphere of the book, which is why issue #5 is one of the better issues.