Rai #1 Discussion

[ShadowTuga]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

I added a comment. I'm pretty sure that is the 1st time I've ever done something like that... but I believe in this book so much I just had to.

Pretty much exactly the same with me. I never do this, but reading that, I had to say to any potential reader of that article, that someone 100% disagrees with that.
This comic deserves to be defended from "bad" reviewers.

[Phoenix8008]

Okay, so I used my $5 gift card on comixology to buy this book and... WOW! So freakin' beautiful. Crain is a master. Not to mention how good Kindt's story is starting off. I'll read it again before I get the physical book in my hand, I'm sure. At least now I'll be able to follow along with the OTV crew during their read through episode.

[Dr. Solar]

I just read this book for the third time, I picking up on stuff that I missed the first two reads through.

Man, theres a lot hidden in these pages..

[dornwolf]

I enjoyed it. Spylocke stole the show for me. I've always kinda loved the shadowie type that is always prepared.

[hkupo]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

Well it seems that the reviewer did a re-write and changed his stance on the art. Apparently he had a bad copy and after a second reading he felt the need to udate it. He's incredibly positive and says that Crain's work is the selling point. Score another point for Valiant First.

[Jace]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

Well Elveen and Shadow Tuga not sure if it is was your comments that made the reviewer take a second look, but apparently the advance review copy he got was corrupted. looking at a copy from Comixology he has changed his tune! While I also wouldn't say this is my favorite VEI issue or even my favorite #1, I will say this is a very, very good start. Love the interesting dichotomy of the future backdrop with the old school type narrative. I can't wait to get my pullbox from DCBS to see the map and even more so to read issue 2.

Also I should have a new episode of my video blog posted on Thursday and Rai #1 is one of the books I cover. Finally getting back on the horse and I'd appreciate some views and comments on my YouTube channel.

[magnusr]

apparently the advance review copy he got was corrupted

Hmm, could this mean there are error copies out there?

Anyway, I also want to add to the accolades. Great art and intriguing story. Really want to see how this continues. Lots of good themes from the early Rai issues of old Valiant are reused and improved upon (including themes that originated in Magnus).

/Magnus

[KXXX]

Great issue and a really good start for the title. Art is fantastic and the world is fleshed out -- but not so much as to be confusing (I'm looking at you, EW). Although I will say I'm curious to find out why that one Raddie came to the aid of the PT being bullied by her companion, since they purport to hate technology.

I think they're trying to free the PTs.

[Dr. Solar]

apparently the advance review copy he got was corrupted

Hmm, could this mean there are error copies out there?

The reviewer was probably reviewing based on the advance review copies that get sent out to media outlets. These are digital files, and the quality is not always great. The review copies for Rai didn't do justice to Clayton Crain's art.

[ShadowTuga]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

Well Elveen and Shadow Tuga not sure if it is was your comments that made the reviewer take a second look, but apparently the advance review copy he got was corrupted. looking at a copy from Comixology he has changed his tune! While I also wouldn't say this is my favorite VEI issue or even my favorite #1, I will say this is a very, very good start. Love the interesting dichotomy of the future backdrop with the old school type narrative. I can't wait to get my pullbox from DCBS to see the map and even more so to read issue 2.

Also I should have a new episode of my video blog posted on Thursday and Rai #1 is one of the books I cover. Finally getting back on the horse and I'd appreciate some views and comments on my YouTube channel.

"Thanks! Credit goes to the commenters, though - their criticism has been very respectful and their input led me to investigating and clarifying my review."

Justice has been served. I feel like a Valiant Knight, or... Prince.
Great move of him, btw. And kudos to Elveen.

[Elveen]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

Well Elveen and Shadow Tuga not sure if it is was your comments that made the reviewer take a second look, but apparently the advance review copy he got was corrupted. looking at a copy from Comixology he has changed his tune! While I also wouldn't say this is my favorite VEI issue or even my favorite #1, I will say this is a very, very good start. Love the interesting dichotomy of the future backdrop with the old school type narrative. I can't wait to get my pullbox from DCBS to see the map and even more so to read issue 2.

Also I should have a new episode of my video blog posted on Thursday and Rai #1 is one of the books I cover. Finally getting back on the horse and I'd appreciate some views and comments on my YouTube channel.

"Thanks! Credit goes to the commenters, though - their criticism has been very respectful and their input led me to investigating and clarifying my review."

Justice has been served. I feel like a Valiant Knight, or... Prince.
Great move of him, btw. And kudos to Elveen.

Well done to all involved. This book is just so good.

[Heath]

While the artwork blew me away and I found myself studying it and admiring it and loving it a little bit more with every page, I was a bit disappointed with the scripting. The narrative jumping around was distracting. Who is telling the story here? Lula or Rai? What's the voice that Rai hears a few times? Is that "Father?" It's not very fatherly and doesn't even appear to be addressing Rai directly. Is he picking up a news cast? An emergency announcement? What happened at the diner? Was Rai able to save anybody there? Did he even try (other than yelling "get out!")? What happened to him in the explosion? Did he "teleport" out the same way he left Sector 4001? Is that what the blue electric sparky looking things around his body was supposed to imply? Or was that him healing from the explosion? I found some of the details like that a little confusing.

Despite my problems with it, it was still pretty good. I really liked the characterization of Lula and Rai. There wasn't enough of Spylock to get a sense of his character, but what was there interested me. I think it was a great start at building the world of Rai. But I just wouldn't rank it has highly as everyone else here seems to. I'd give it more like 6 out of 10 as a standalone issue. But I do have a feeling that once a few more issues are out and an initial arc has completed, the overall ranking for that arc will be much higher than for this one issue alone.

[IMJ]

The artwork blew me away too - such an awesome balance between photo real and comic-booky while still managing to make Rai look like a total Adonis archetype. Very cool.

I'll read this one like I've read all the Valiant titles - all the way until they cancel and renumber it and then I'm permanently done with it. Which means that in the next few months the only one I'll be reading is Rai, unfortunately.

[Elveen]

The artwork blew me away too - such an awesome balance between photo real and comic-booky while still managing to make Rai look like a total Adonis archetype. Very cool.

I'll read this one like I've read all the Valiant titles - all the way until they cancel and renumber it and then I'm permanently done with it. Which means that in the next few months the only one I'll be reading is Rai, unfortunately.

I'm not trying to pick a fight (you know that IMJ), but I just don't understand this line of thinking.

I look at it like this.....

If I'm hungry for a good burger.... I dont care if it get served on fine china, a paper plate, or in a cardboard box, if the burger tastes good..... I'm good.

Who cares what the number on the front cover says..... I want good stories with the characters I love. That's it. If the book is good, buy if not dont.

Honestly, I just don't get it. But to each their own.

[bygranddesign]

The artwork blew me away too - such an awesome balance between photo real and comic-booky while still managing to make Rai look like a total Adonis archetype. Very cool.

I'll read this one like I've read all the Valiant titles - all the way until they cancel and renumber it and then I'm permanently done with it. Which means that in the next few months the only one I'll be reading is Rai, unfortunately.

I'm not trying to pick a fight (you know that IMJ), but I just don't understand this line of thinking.

I look at it like this.....

If I'm hungry for a good burger.... I dont care if it get served on fine china, a paper plate, or in a cardboard box, if the burger tastes good..... I'm good.

Who cares what the number on the front cover says..... I want good stories with the characters I love. That's it. If the book is good, buy if not dont.

Honestly, I just don't get it. But to each their own.

+1
Dysart + Harbinger = must read

I don't care what the number on the cover says or if they call it Harbinger and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (ok maybe that would bother me a little bit ..) but if the quality is there - that's what I care about.

And that goes for the other great titles - as long as the quality is there and they are pushing the envelope of exciting storytelling - thats what gets me coming back for more

[Phoenix8008]

The artwork blew me away too - such an awesome balance between photo real and comic-booky while still managing to make Rai look like a total Adonis archetype. Very cool.

I'll read this one like I've read all the Valiant titles - all the way until they cancel and renumber it and then I'm permanently done with it. Which means that in the next few months the only one I'll be reading is Rai, unfortunately.

I didn't learn a lot of new material, what with Wondercon just being the week before, but it was good to hear them reiterate that nothing was cancelled. Some characters may take a bit of a backseat but will be brought to the forefront again. They are dedicated to limiting the line to 9 books. They also said they are not going to be a miniseries company, so there will be ongoings and not just events.

This doesn't gurantee that they won't renumber something as the definition of 'cancelled' may be debatable, but it doesn't sound like you should be left totally high and dry anytime soon.

[bygranddesign]

While the artwork blew me away and I found myself studying it and admiring it and loving it a little bit more with every page, I was a bit disappointed with the scripting. The narrative jumping around was distracting. Who is telling the story here? Lula or Rai? What's the voice that Rai hears a few times? Is that "Father?" It's not very fatherly and doesn't even appear to be addressing Rai directly. Is he picking up a news cast? An emergency announcement? What happened at the diner? Was Rai able to save anybody there? Did he even try (other than yelling "get out!")? What happened to him in the explosion? Did he "teleport" out the same way he left Sector 4001? Is that what the blue electric sparky looking things around his body was supposed to imply? Or was that him healing from the explosion? I found some of the details like that a little confusing.

Despite my problems with it, it was still pretty good. I really liked the characterization of Lula and Rai. There wasn't enough of Spylock to get a sense of his character, but what was there interested me. I think it was a great start at building the world of Rai. But I just wouldn't rank it has highly as everyone else here seems to. I'd give it more like 6 out of 10 as a standalone issue. But I do have a feeling that once a few more issues are out and an initial arc has completed, the overall ranking for that arc will be much higher than for this one issue alone.

I understand the concerns.

I've read enough Kindt at this point to see a pattern in the way he likes to tell a story. He seems to skip the setup a lot of times to a plot point and get right to the meat of what he wants to show us. For example, the Unity team breaking out of the cannister that ends up killing all the brainwashed workers in this past Unity issue - He didn't feel the need to tell us how they got there - it was more important to show the results of that situation.

In this issue - I think Kindt has developed so much detail and so much background on these characters and in this futuristic environment - that it makes us lost because we don't know what Kindt knows. And Kindt is not going to give us the breakdown of how everything works in one issue. Rai seems to run around in the traditional superhero fashion .. but he also has the ability to transport himself. In the original it was called the nerveweb. Kindt doesn't bother going into those details just yet - I think he just wants us to feel like a fish out of water.

In regards to specifically the explosion - and the diner. Rai says the med pt's will help the survivors - so most likely there were some deaths. Rai expressed confusion and concern over the chaos .. but getting to Spyloke was top priority. I think for better or for worse, Kindt wants to skip the emotional devastation of a scene like that and get us right back into the story. He sort of the opposite of Pak in that regards - where Pak likes to tug on our emotions and focus on relationships - Kindt is more interested in showing us the next cool thing about this world he built for us. I don't think its a perfect issue but I give it a 9/10 because he achieved his mission in immersing us into this world.

[The Dirt Gang]

So what is the deal with the "plus" section or additional 15 pages? I hope to be able to pick up a copy from the local shop. They typically have the pullbox versions on the shelf. Unfortunately, I don't have a pullbox and with the wife back in school, we've had to tighten purse strings. This is a book I'm very excited about and they've got me with the extra 15 pages especially when Kindt is involved. I just hope I can snag a copy.

[Elveen]

So what is the deal with the "plus" section or additional 15 pages? I hope to be able to pick up a copy from the local shop. They typically have the pullbox versions on the shelf. Unfortunately, I don't have a pullbox and with the wife back in school, we've had to tighten purse strings. This is a book I'm very excited about and they've got me with the extra 15 pages especially when Kindt is involved. I just hope I can snag a copy.

The map alone makes it worth it.

[jmatt]

So what is the deal with the "plus" section or additional 15 pages? I hope to be able to pick up a copy from the local shop. They typically have the pullbox versions on the shelf. Unfortunately, I don't have a pullbox and with the wife back in school, we've had to tighten purse strings. This is a book I'm very excited about and they've got me with the extra 15 pages especially when Kindt is involved. I just hope I can snag a copy.

The map alone makes it worth it.

Agreed. It felt like it was setting a very grand stage for future plotlines.

[jmatt]

Don't want to be that guy, but this:
http://www.comicosity.com/review-rai-1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

*SQUEE* me.
No disrespect. I understand that not everyone sees the same things when looking at such a subjective matter such as art, but...

I will not quote that review, but it is like I (and apparently) a LOT of people read another Rai #1.

Mmm, while I disagree with his overall conclusion, some of his points have a tad of validity. While I didn't find it confusing, the narrative does jump around a bit. And the art is dark. Neither of which bothered me (as it seems it did him), but I think those are debatable observations.

"The artwork from Clayton Crain, sadly, does not do much to sell the story, either. "
This I don't understand, but like I said, I get that art is subjective.

That's not open for debate. The art was fantastic.

[jmatt]

Great issue and a really good start for the title. Art is fantastic and the world is fleshed out -- but not so much as to be confusing (I'm looking at you, EW). Although I will say I'm curious to find out why that one Raddie came to the aid of the PT being bullied by her companion, since they purport to hate technology.

I think they're trying to free the PTs.

Had a very Magnus vibe, that did. I think it's possible we'll find that PTs are the captured souls of recycled citizens; an extension of Bloodshot's nanites abilities.

[chriskay99]

How many years has it been since the last murder in Japan? It's unclear.








but they did mention it five times.

[nonplayer]

What is a "Rad" and what is a "PT"?? I really liked the "dont move or youll lose your guts" pretty awsome torture.

[paradise]

Wait till you guys read #2, some people here will freak the SQUEE out, that's all i will say.