What's your favorite single issue in the Valiant Universe?

shaxper · Post by **shaxper** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:21 pm

There are a lot of gems out there, so I'm curious to know which ones have touched or connected with you most.

My choice would be Eternal Warrior #1. I'm not a particular fan of the series, but I love the characterization and drama involved in spanning thousands of years of Gilad and Aram's lives. In a single issue, we get to know and care for both characters better than some of the heroes who already had ten to twenty issues under their belts.

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:24 pm

Solar 10.

willyt · Post by **willyt** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:07 pm

Hey wasnt solar 10 a little thicker than most regular valiants? I dont know i was thinking, its just more.

like a trade
Rai #5 is good,
Harbinger 1-4
i wish they made an archer and armstrong trade, sometimes armstrong made me laugh.
xo 1-4 is great
magnus, he is my favorite most of the time,
but your question was one book so Harbinger #1 is it. I like xmen and stuff but i identified more with Harbinger with Sting and his gang, not really having a experienced leader, and learing. I would like to read that again, i love the trades i read them most.

dino · Post by **dino** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:26 pm

Magnus #4

solar #7 is also great

sonicdan · Post by **sonicdan** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:37 pm

I'd say Rai #0. The most powerful comic I have ever read.
runners up: Harbinger #1, Shadowman #4,
DAN
[/b]

DJSpecter · Post by **DJSpecter** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:49 pm

Rai 0 has to be it, Dan's right. Rai 0 is the continuity bible for those of us who can't own (or would be too lazy to read) the real continuity bible.

Although... Wizard's three year anniversary thingie was pretty hot, if that counts.

-Dave

BloodOfHeroes · Post by **BloodOfHeroes** » Wed May 19, 2004 6:56 pm

Fave: Bloodshot Yearbook

Runners up:
Rai #0
Bloodshot #49

(too many of my favorite tales aren't single-issue stories...)

BoH

screamingdc · Post by **screamingdc** » Wed May 19, 2004 7:41 pm

Rai #0 is the issue that I always go back to.

Harbinger #1 and #25 are the other ones I frequently read.

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:34 pm

Harbinger #6, period.

'Valiant....where dead is DEAD.'

dino · Post by **dino** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:39 pm

anyone know how many times gayle died?

BloodOfHeroes · Post by **BloodOfHeroes** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:40 pm

dino wrote:anyone know how many times gayle died?

Counting U2K?

BoH

dino · Post by **dino** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:44 pm

BloodOfHeroes wrote:
dino wrote:anyone know how many times gayle died?
Counting U2K?

BoH

the first half anyway

myron · Post by **myron** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:52 pm

harb 1 or rai 0...decisions, decisions....crap, I can't decide!

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:52 pm

dino wrote:anyone know how many times gayle died?

37.

cjv · Post by **cjv** » Wed May 19, 2004 9:36 pm

Archer and Armstrong 0.

It was the first completely non-superhero comic that I read, and blew me away at the time.

Chris

DJSpecter · Post by **DJSpecter** » Thu May 20, 2004 3:53 am

I'm surprised at all this Bloodshot yearbook stuff, I thought that it was a pretty lame story to stick into a yearbook.

Bloodshot last stand on the other hand, I think that was a pretty heavy story line.

-Dave

BloodOfHeroes · Post by **BloodOfHeroes** » Thu May 20, 2004 5:54 am

DJSpecter wrote:I'm surprised at all this Bloodshot yearbook stuff, I thought that it was a pretty lame story to stick into a yearbook.

Bloodshot last stand on the other hand, I think that was a pretty heavy story line.

-Dave

LAME story? Manoman. I say just the opposite--what a great story. We learn a lot about what makes Bloodshot tick, what he'd do (and wouldn't do) for love. The fact that it's not a middle-of-the-road slug-fest is part of its appeal. The noir style? The Mike Bair artwork? The Betty Page homages? Yowza.

And Mike Bair is willing to sell the entire book, including the original concept for the cover (which was used as a promo for the YB). He's asking a reasonable price, but it's way too steep for me. Fortunately, I was able to get his cover to Bloodshot #25.

LAST STAND was originally supposed to be 2 issues. For some reason (I'm guessing the association of Zeck), they decided to release the 2 books together in the prestige format. There's some nice artwork in there. to be sure.

BoH

DJSpecter · Post by **DJSpecter** » Thu May 20, 2004 6:15 am

Well, BoH, it seems we can't agree on much. I fealt that the story of the yearbook should have been a regular issue, but I'll grant you that the art there was (much) better than last stand.

Was there some overriding reason that Valiant decided that proving a point wasn't worth a regular issue anymore? I mean Solar, even when it was on its death bed, had a certain intellectual philosophical worth. Magnus did early on (slavery; what it means to be alive) and it came back to this at the end. Some of the comics were just good and that was what kept them going, but I fealt that some of those hyped up specials were.. y'know? Okay I'm babling here.

I guess my other lacking is that I don't have quite the appreciation for the art as most of the people on the board. Don't get me wrong, I thought that the computer graphics that came in later were very out of place. I just wouldn't alter which book I liked better based on the art, if the story is good enough, I could pretend the pictures were better.

Once again, babling. I'm gonna be quiet now, and let people go back to expressing their opinion without having to open my big mouth and get into trouble.

Back to the regularly schedueled program... What's your favorite book?

-Dave

Oh wait, I forgot! something Rember what Bloodshot said early on, when he was with Maria? (pardon the misquote savor the idea)
Maria: "I love being with you, Mike, its like you were born yesterday."
Bloodshot thought square: "That's because I was."

BloodOfHeroes · Post by **BloodOfHeroes** » Thu May 20, 2004 8:10 am

DJSpecter wrote:Well, BoH, it seems we can't agree on much.

Sweat it not. I'm sure used to it.

DJSpecter wrote:I fealt that the story of the yearbook should have been a regular issue, but I'll grant you that the art there was (much) better than last stand.

When I met Mike Bair and we started discussing this, he said, "You know--I was surprised they let me get away with as many splash pages and pinups as they did." Mr. VanHook has the same recollection, I believe.

DJSpecter wrote:Was there some overriding reason that Valiant decided that proving a point wasn't worth a regular issue anymore?

Well the Yearbooks (don't call them Annuals!) were originally presented as a way for different creative crews (Bair's good, but work like that isn't just knocked out overnight, ya know) to work on the characters. And there's just no good way to break up the YB story.

DJSpecter wrote:I mean Solar, even when it was on its death bed, had a certain intellectual philosophical worth. Magnus did early on (slavery; what it means to be alive) and it came back to this at the end.

I agree with you here! Completely. Woo-hoo!

DJSpecter wrote:Some of the comics were just good and that was what kept them going, but I fealt that some of those hyped up specials were.. y'know? Okay I'm babling here.

While we disagree on the Bloodshot YB, I take your side about some of the others.

DJSpecter wrote:I guess my other lacking is that I don't have quite the appreciation for the art as most of the people on the board. Don't get me wrong, I thought that the computer graphics that came in later were very out of place. I just wouldn't alter which book I liked better based on the art, if the story is good enough, I could pretend the pictures were better.

I really enjoy the story. The Bair art, I agree, is just an added bonus.

DJSpecter wrote:Oh wait, I forgot! something Rember what Bloodshot said early on, when he was with Maria? (pardon the misquote savor the idea)
Maria: "I love being with you, Mike, its like you were born yesterday."
Bloodshot thought square: "That's because I was."

Yep. There are lots of good lines like that. The struggle Bloodshot faces here is harder to overcome than his battles with Ax or Proteus or Rampage or Laws. Redemption doesn't come easy. And he's seductively pulled back into the world Angelo Mortalli used to inhabit. He's willing to give it all up--including his shot at atonemet by working with/for Neville--for the love of Maria and she won't do it cuz she likes the stuff her life provides. Worse than getting dumped in high school for that guy with the killer car.

Just an amazing book, I think. Your mileage may (and does) vary. I'll buy all your extra copies of the Bloodshot YB off you if the price is right.

BoH

Rai-fan · Post by **Rai-fan** » Thu May 20, 2004 8:41 am

Rai 5.

While the story's been done before (an Arthur C. Clarke short story called "Into the Comet") & an '85 Twilight Zone episode ("Cold Hard Numbers" maybe?) where a stowaway ends up having to be jettisoned (death sentence) due to her fuel drain on a spaceship, I thought the plot & execution were flawless.

A brilliant book. Great cover, too.

myron · Post by **myron** » Thu May 20, 2004 9:13 am

Rai-fan wrote:Rai 5.

While the story's been done before (an Arthur C. Clarke short story called "Into the Comet") & an '85 Twilight Zone episode ("Cold Hard Numbers" maybe?) where a stowaway ends up having to be jettisoned (death sentence) due to her fuel drain on a spaceship, I thought the plot & execution were flawless.

A brilliant book. Great cover, too.

just started a read of Rai...5,6, and 7 are all VERY well done...

DawgPhan · Post by **DawgPhan** » Thu May 20, 2004 10:32 am

While it is nice that you all have your opinions...the fact remains that Rai 0 is the best Valiant...Hands Down...Great Cover...super important story...simply the best...

kryptonitecomics · Post by **kryptonitecomics** » Thu May 20, 2004 12:19 pm

ckb wrote:Solar 10.

Ditto, that's always been my favorite

ZephyrWasHOT!! · Post by **ZephyrWasHOT!!** » Thu May 20, 2004 12:23 pm

myron wrote:
just started a read of Rai...5,6, and 7 are all VERY well done...

Rai #7 is my second favorite after Harb #6. I'm a flat sucker for well written death books.

Jaknife · Post by **Jaknife** » Thu May 20, 2004 3:00 pm

Gotta say BoH, I hated Bloodshot yearbook with a passion. I thought the art sucked, and the story was below that. No offense, of course, I just thought it was really fake. I mean, wasn't that about the time he was beginning to go for Jillian? to be honest, I thought the yearbooks were some of the worst issues valiant did, except for the final issues of course. most likely because its hard to stick a single story into a universe with such tight continuity. anyway, my fave book was probably Turok #0.

ValiantFans.com Board - Since 2004

What's your favorite single issue in the Valiant Universe?

What's your favorite single issue in the Valiant Universe?

solar 10 is good but there are so many