A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg
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buff-beardo
- Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:37:06 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Solar
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: BWS
- Location: Rome, NY
A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Hello everybody. I've been visiting this site for some time now and have finally taken the time to join. Here is my long-winded story.
I can remember the first time I ever saw a Valiant comic. I was at the local mall visiting a comic shop and noticed some Unity issues on the "new comics" wall. I didn't know what Valiant was at the time and therefore passed them by with a fleeting glance. I would soon regret this decision when I was paying at least double the cover price for those same issues.
During the Fall of 1992, I entered my sophomore year in high school. I had a friend in high school that was also into comics and he told me I should try out Valiant. I was reluctant at first, being a hardcore Marvel fan with a very small budget. However, he let me borrow some of his pre-unity Valiants and I was immediately blown away. It's difficult to put into words, but I remember being so excited about this new universe of comics with its fresh approach, unique art, and excellent stories. Needless to say, I was hooked. I think I went back to the mall the following weekend in hopes of getting myself some Valiants but the comics store was sold out! I had to wait a while before I actually had an issue to call my own.
The first Valiant issue I obtained was Rai #0, which I received for Christmas in 1992. It cost my mother $10, which she thought was crazy to spend on a "comic book". Anyhow, I was thrilled. I remember the first time I read it on Christmas day, I was enthralled. I think I read it 3 times on that day alone. Since then, I have read Rai #0 more times than any other comic in my collection. It is my favorite single comic of all time. I actually need to buy another copy sometime because the cover is on the verge of falling off.
I continued to collect Valiants throughout 1993. Getting the newly released issues were becoming easier (I would later discover because the print runs on these issues had exploded), but man were those pre-unity issues a bear to get. Since the comic store at the local mall was small and lacked any pre-unity's, I started travelling with my neighbor almost every weekend to a much larger comic store about an hour away. That store was the jackpot for old valiants, too bad I could barely afford any of them. At that time, anything pre-unity was going for at least $10 in my area. Then, there was the holy grails hanging on the wall. Rai 3 - $100, Rai 4 - $125, Magnus 12 - $125, etc. Little did I know that I would only have to wait until 1995-1996 before I got my hands on those out of bargain bins. Valiant, the Icarus of comic books.
The most I ever paid for a Valiant during its peak of 1993 was $30 for a copy of Solar #3, and I thought that was a steal! Yes, I'm a sucker. But in my defense, it did have the 1st appearance of Harada and I thought that baby was going to skyrocket out of my price range in no time. Oh well, I still love that comic.
My first big break in collecting Valiant comics came in early 1994 when I made a trade with my aforementioned comic collecting friend in high school. I owned a 1989 Barry Sanders Score Rookie Football Card that he had sought after for quite a while. Sadly, my friend had started to lose interest in comics (perhaps he sensed the coming implosion of comics) and had started spending his cash on Football cards. Anyhow, he ended up trading me his entire comic book collection which included many silver-age comics, some pre-unity's including Solar #10, and many X-men comics including Gambit's first appearance for my Score Sanders rookie. All I can say is that he wanted that card really bad! We made the deal and my Valiant collection was up and running like never before. The only sad part about the deal was that I had cleaned him out of his collection so he no longer was interested in comics. While we continued to be good friends until loosing touch after high school, I lost the sole person to talk to about Valiant. Little did I know that my days of collecting comics were numbered anyhow.
I continued collecting Valiant until April of 1994, the last issue I purchased being the non-chromium version of Shadowman #0. I figured whay spend $3.50 for a chromium cover when I could get the same issue for "only" $2.50 without the "special" cover. Afterall, I simply wanted to read it rather than "collect" it, although it ended up being a bit of a let down. By that time, I was a Senior in high school and while I still loved comics, I was in a rock band and partying/punk rock/girlfriends were monopolizing my time and money. Therefore, I went on my first hiatus from Valiant.
During the Fall of 1995, I went away to my first year of college at SUNY Buffalo, NY. The only comics I brought with me were my Valiants. I only lasted there for one year due to my being an immature party animal, but I was able to improve my pre-untiy Valiant collection significantly via bargain bins. Hey, one has to have their priorities straight. I was out of touch with the whole comic book market at the time and was suprised to see the pre-unity's that had once commanded premium prices were now in bargain bins for 50 cents. Such a collapse could only be paralled by my own collapse in academics. Anyhow, I once again started collecting Valiants during that brief period.
After flunking out of Buffalo, I once again quit collecting comics and moved back home. I attended a community college followed by Syracuse University. I then took a few years off and worked for a while, which brings me to 2002 when I moved to Albany, NY and enrolled in graduate school.
Upon moving to Albany, I ended up bringing my entire comic collection along with me. I was now in my late 20's and settling down a bit. Although I'm also an avid book reader, I found reading books to be too time consuming when I had my studies to deal with. Therefore, comics were the perfect outlet since they can be read quickly in small doses. I soon discovered a local comic shop that had bargain bins loaded with Valiants at a great price (75 comics for $10). Although they were primarily post-unity's, this served as a great opportunity to round out my Valiant collection in an affordable manner.
That brings me to the present. I am once again a regular reader and purchaser of Valiant comics. I have basically completed my pre-unity collection of Valiants minus Harbinger 0,1,4 and X-O Manowar 1,4, although I do have the trades so I can at least read them. I am now working on completing my collection up through the end of the Chaos Effect crossover, of which I am missing about 25 issues of various titles. I am undecided on whether or not I will attempt to complete the issues following Chaos Effect, especially the post-Birthquake issues. I suppose I will eventually want every Valiant issue since it would be a sad day when my collection was complete and there was nothing more to strive for.
Well, I'll shut up now... if you hung in there through this entire post, you are to be commended. Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I think I will put those Astro City comics I'm reading on hold and re-read Magnus #0 through Unity #1.
I can remember the first time I ever saw a Valiant comic. I was at the local mall visiting a comic shop and noticed some Unity issues on the "new comics" wall. I didn't know what Valiant was at the time and therefore passed them by with a fleeting glance. I would soon regret this decision when I was paying at least double the cover price for those same issues.
During the Fall of 1992, I entered my sophomore year in high school. I had a friend in high school that was also into comics and he told me I should try out Valiant. I was reluctant at first, being a hardcore Marvel fan with a very small budget. However, he let me borrow some of his pre-unity Valiants and I was immediately blown away. It's difficult to put into words, but I remember being so excited about this new universe of comics with its fresh approach, unique art, and excellent stories. Needless to say, I was hooked. I think I went back to the mall the following weekend in hopes of getting myself some Valiants but the comics store was sold out! I had to wait a while before I actually had an issue to call my own.
The first Valiant issue I obtained was Rai #0, which I received for Christmas in 1992. It cost my mother $10, which she thought was crazy to spend on a "comic book". Anyhow, I was thrilled. I remember the first time I read it on Christmas day, I was enthralled. I think I read it 3 times on that day alone. Since then, I have read Rai #0 more times than any other comic in my collection. It is my favorite single comic of all time. I actually need to buy another copy sometime because the cover is on the verge of falling off.
I continued to collect Valiants throughout 1993. Getting the newly released issues were becoming easier (I would later discover because the print runs on these issues had exploded), but man were those pre-unity issues a bear to get. Since the comic store at the local mall was small and lacked any pre-unity's, I started travelling with my neighbor almost every weekend to a much larger comic store about an hour away. That store was the jackpot for old valiants, too bad I could barely afford any of them. At that time, anything pre-unity was going for at least $10 in my area. Then, there was the holy grails hanging on the wall. Rai 3 - $100, Rai 4 - $125, Magnus 12 - $125, etc. Little did I know that I would only have to wait until 1995-1996 before I got my hands on those out of bargain bins. Valiant, the Icarus of comic books.
The most I ever paid for a Valiant during its peak of 1993 was $30 for a copy of Solar #3, and I thought that was a steal! Yes, I'm a sucker. But in my defense, it did have the 1st appearance of Harada and I thought that baby was going to skyrocket out of my price range in no time. Oh well, I still love that comic.
My first big break in collecting Valiant comics came in early 1994 when I made a trade with my aforementioned comic collecting friend in high school. I owned a 1989 Barry Sanders Score Rookie Football Card that he had sought after for quite a while. Sadly, my friend had started to lose interest in comics (perhaps he sensed the coming implosion of comics) and had started spending his cash on Football cards. Anyhow, he ended up trading me his entire comic book collection which included many silver-age comics, some pre-unity's including Solar #10, and many X-men comics including Gambit's first appearance for my Score Sanders rookie. All I can say is that he wanted that card really bad! We made the deal and my Valiant collection was up and running like never before. The only sad part about the deal was that I had cleaned him out of his collection so he no longer was interested in comics. While we continued to be good friends until loosing touch after high school, I lost the sole person to talk to about Valiant. Little did I know that my days of collecting comics were numbered anyhow.
I continued collecting Valiant until April of 1994, the last issue I purchased being the non-chromium version of Shadowman #0. I figured whay spend $3.50 for a chromium cover when I could get the same issue for "only" $2.50 without the "special" cover. Afterall, I simply wanted to read it rather than "collect" it, although it ended up being a bit of a let down. By that time, I was a Senior in high school and while I still loved comics, I was in a rock band and partying/punk rock/girlfriends were monopolizing my time and money. Therefore, I went on my first hiatus from Valiant.
During the Fall of 1995, I went away to my first year of college at SUNY Buffalo, NY. The only comics I brought with me were my Valiants. I only lasted there for one year due to my being an immature party animal, but I was able to improve my pre-untiy Valiant collection significantly via bargain bins. Hey, one has to have their priorities straight. I was out of touch with the whole comic book market at the time and was suprised to see the pre-unity's that had once commanded premium prices were now in bargain bins for 50 cents. Such a collapse could only be paralled by my own collapse in academics. Anyhow, I once again started collecting Valiants during that brief period.
After flunking out of Buffalo, I once again quit collecting comics and moved back home. I attended a community college followed by Syracuse University. I then took a few years off and worked for a while, which brings me to 2002 when I moved to Albany, NY and enrolled in graduate school.
Upon moving to Albany, I ended up bringing my entire comic collection along with me. I was now in my late 20's and settling down a bit. Although I'm also an avid book reader, I found reading books to be too time consuming when I had my studies to deal with. Therefore, comics were the perfect outlet since they can be read quickly in small doses. I soon discovered a local comic shop that had bargain bins loaded with Valiants at a great price (75 comics for $10). Although they were primarily post-unity's, this served as a great opportunity to round out my Valiant collection in an affordable manner.
That brings me to the present. I am once again a regular reader and purchaser of Valiant comics. I have basically completed my pre-unity collection of Valiants minus Harbinger 0,1,4 and X-O Manowar 1,4, although I do have the trades so I can at least read them. I am now working on completing my collection up through the end of the Chaos Effect crossover, of which I am missing about 25 issues of various titles. I am undecided on whether or not I will attempt to complete the issues following Chaos Effect, especially the post-Birthquake issues. I suppose I will eventually want every Valiant issue since it would be a sad day when my collection was complete and there was nothing more to strive for.
Well, I'll shut up now... if you hung in there through this entire post, you are to be commended. Wow, what a trip down memory lane. I think I will put those Astro City comics I'm reading on hold and re-read Magnus #0 through Unity #1.
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ibreakhorses
- ...it has been down hill ever since.
- Posts: 3988
- Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:18:44 am
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tarheelmarine
- Ask me about the Mellow Mushroom
- Posts: 3747
- Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2004 4:14:44 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Magnus Robot Fighter
- Favorite title: Shadowman
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: Jim Calafiore
- Location: Japan
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Daniel Jackson
- A toast to the return of Valiant!
- Posts: 38007
- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 8:33:38 pm
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Rufusharley
- donkey-shorts!..uhh i mean..danke schön!
- Posts: 6431
- Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:49:32 am
- Location: Charleston, SC
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betterthanezra
- Wanna see an unpublished Shadowman page?
- Posts: 12342
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 12:18:28 am
- Valiant fan since: 1991
- Favorite writer: Josh Dysart
- Location: Scoot over, I have to get in behind you.
Your story is one we all can relate too in some way...
Welcome
-Brian
Welcome
-Brian
I'm on Twitter follow me
https://twitter.com/#!/shadowsip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My Valiant story here
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6932" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://twitter.com/#!/shadowsip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My Valiant story here
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6932" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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96Valiantfan
- You gotta have Faith!
- Posts: 817
- Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 12:06:09 am
- Location: Waterbury CT.
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dantheman
- You gotta have Faith!
- Posts: 994
- Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 6:40:23 pm
- Location: Right by the beach Texas
- Contact:
mostlyslym2none wrote:How-do. Stick around a while, we are (mostly) nice around here.
-slym
Welcome
www.myspace.com/lysband - Someday people will see me and say "Hey, aren't you that guy who sang that song?"
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jedimarley
- Evra'Ting Ire Mon.
- Posts: 16063
- Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:44:29 pm
I'll be nice.....-
dellamorte
- Zombies and nightstand nightmares
- Posts: 6544
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:28:09 pm
- Location: down down down to mephisto's cafe
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slym2none
- a typical message board assassin
- Posts: 37119
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 12:08:46 pm
- Location: Troll- free zone.
Oh, we are all nice, just (only?) most of the time.Elveen wrote:I'm just curious...... what percentage is "mostly"?slym2none wrote:How-do. Stick around a while, we are (mostly) nice around here.
-slym
-slym
Some people spend their whole lives believing in fairy tales, usually because they don't want to give up the fabulous prizes.
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buff-beardo
- Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:37:06 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Solar
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: BWS
- Location: Rome, NY
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Update: my mom passed away in December, 2022 
I don’t post here much, but i’ve visited since 2006 and before. I’ll always love this place. I’ve dubbed myself “The Watcher” amongst this great place Gregg created. I know, talk about building yourself up. Lol. Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter.
My mom passed away going on 90 days ago and I am still lost. I’m on a leave of absence from work. I was an only child raised by a single mother. She was my rock! She bought me my first VALIANT Comic: Rai 0. I still have and always will have that book .
I don’t have children, but I have my Wife and some wonderful friends I’ve known since I was six. I’m fortunate to have a great support system.
Anyhow, in my struggle with mourning, I’ve decided to re-read/first read VALIANT up through Chaos Effect. (Half will be for the first time!). Chaos Effect will be my cutoff point with some exceptions. Birthquake is my definite STOP READING! This endeavor has been made more possible by the fact that I’ve been immersed in 60’s through early 90’s Marvel comics for the previous 6 months. So, no shock from reading decompressed comics recently for me. The state of mind needed for appreciation is set.
Then, I’m going to read VEI from beginning to up right before Harbinger Wars 2. I own all the comics but have only read up through the conclusion of the first Harbinger Wars. Isn’t that crazy!? I’ve barely read anything by VEI. I was working 60+ hours a week back then. Had the money but no time.
Anyhow, just typing this has been helpful. Hopefully, it didn’t suck for whoever reads this. I’ll post some reviews on my progress. Feel free to read along!
Sincerely,
Jeff
I don’t post here much, but i’ve visited since 2006 and before. I’ll always love this place. I’ve dubbed myself “The Watcher” amongst this great place Gregg created. I know, talk about building yourself up. Lol. Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter.
My mom passed away going on 90 days ago and I am still lost. I’m on a leave of absence from work. I was an only child raised by a single mother. She was my rock! She bought me my first VALIANT Comic: Rai 0. I still have and always will have that book .
I don’t have children, but I have my Wife and some wonderful friends I’ve known since I was six. I’m fortunate to have a great support system. Anyhow, in my struggle with mourning, I’ve decided to re-read/first read VALIANT up through Chaos Effect. (Half will be for the first time!). Chaos Effect will be my cutoff point with some exceptions. Birthquake is my definite STOP READING! This endeavor has been made more possible by the fact that I’ve been immersed in 60’s through early 90’s Marvel comics for the previous 6 months. So, no shock from reading decompressed comics recently for me. The state of mind needed for appreciation is set.
Then, I’m going to read VEI from beginning to up right before Harbinger Wars 2. I own all the comics but have only read up through the conclusion of the first Harbinger Wars. Isn’t that crazy!? I’ve barely read anything by VEI. I was working 60+ hours a week back then. Had the money but no time.
Anyhow, just typing this has been helpful. Hopefully, it didn’t suck for whoever reads this. I’ll post some reviews on my progress. Feel free to read along!
Sincerely,
Jeff
Muse Rocks! Check out “The Handler”.
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IMJ
- I have a Quasar collection. And I love it. So there.
- Posts: 4752
- Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 12:05:45 am
- Valiant fan since: VH1 X-O Manowar #1
- Favorite character: VH1 Sting | VH2 Rai
- Favorite title: VH2 Rai
- Favorite writer: Kurt Busiek
- Favorite artist: Sean Chen
- Location: Chicago, IL
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Geeze, 2006. My life was completely and utterly different in 2006.
Sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my Dad in 2015 and then my mom in 2017. It's a lifestyle change in every conceivable way. I am also an only child as well so I understand fully how you have to dig down to take care of all of the associated things all by yourself. It doesn't end at the arrangements but also being the only person to have to deal with any property, cleaning, everything while you are feeling the loss.
You just dig-in and do it. The real wake-up call is after years fall off the clock and you look back and realize that everyday that goes by becomes the longest you've gone without seeing your parents. But you're still here. You'll be alright.
Sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my Dad in 2015 and then my mom in 2017. It's a lifestyle change in every conceivable way. I am also an only child as well so I understand fully how you have to dig down to take care of all of the associated things all by yourself. It doesn't end at the arrangements but also being the only person to have to deal with any property, cleaning, everything while you are feeling the loss.
You just dig-in and do it. The real wake-up call is after years fall off the clock and you look back and realize that everyday that goes by becomes the longest you've gone without seeing your parents. But you're still here. You'll be alright.
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Great story from 06. The early VALIANT comics were so well crafted in a way that was opposite the way the rest of the industry was going. I think a lot of the old school fans can relate to that feeling of discovering VALIANT and being so blown away that we became life-long fans.
Sorry to hear about your Mom, that sucks. Post updates of your re-read! Either here or in the re-reading forum, it would be fun for us to follow along and maybe join in. I like publication order the best, it really captures that feeling of being a reader at the time and watching the story unfold before your eyes.
Sorry to hear about your Mom, that sucks. Post updates of your re-read! Either here or in the re-reading forum, it would be fun for us to follow along and maybe join in. I like publication order the best, it really captures that feeling of being a reader at the time and watching the story unfold before your eyes.
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buff-beardo
- Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:37:06 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Solar
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: BWS
- Location: Rome, NY
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Thanks! I’ve been working on a hybrid reading order publication vs chronological. They work together well. Just takes a lot of research. Example. I like X-O zero before X-O 1. But, with Blooshot, I like zero much later. Timewalker stays towards the end for me. But, Harbinger Files 1 goes after Solar 3 for me.
Last edited by buff-beardo on Sat Mar 11, 2023 10:18:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Muse Rocks! Check out “The Handler”.
-
buff-beardo
- Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:37:06 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Solar
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: BWS
- Location: Rome, NY
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Pre-Unity is easy to order. Post Unity through Chaos Effect gets tricky. Guest appearances galore!
Muse Rocks! Check out “The Handler”.
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buff-beardo
- Is it Dee-no or Die-no? Dunno.
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:37:06 pm
- Valiant fan since: 1992
- Favorite character: Solar
- Favorite title: Solar
- Favorite writer: Jim Shooter
- Favorite artist: BWS
- Location: Rome, NY
Re: A self-proclaimed procrastinator finally joins
Phase 3: Post-Unity to Secret Weapons
Magnus
Rai
Solar 14-25
Harbinger 10-21
X-O Manowar 10-25
Shadowman 6-18
A&A 3-15
Eternal Warrior 3-14
HARD Corps 1-10
Bloodshot 1-8
Turok 1-3
Secret Weapons 1-2
Phase 4: Secret Weapons to Chaos
Magnus
Rai
Psi-Lords
Solar 26-37
Harbinger 22-33
X-O Manowar 26-32
Shadowman 17-28
A&A 16-25
Eternal Warrior 15-25
HARD Corps 11-22
Bloodshot 9-19
Turok 4-15
Secret Weapons 3-12
Doctor Mirage 1-10
Ninjak 1-7
Amorines 1-4
Magnus
Rai
Solar 14-25
Harbinger 10-21
X-O Manowar 10-25
Shadowman 6-18
A&A 3-15
Eternal Warrior 3-14
HARD Corps 1-10
Bloodshot 1-8
Turok 1-3
Secret Weapons 1-2
Phase 4: Secret Weapons to Chaos
Magnus
Rai
Psi-Lords
Solar 26-37
Harbinger 22-33
X-O Manowar 26-32
Shadowman 17-28
A&A 16-25
Eternal Warrior 15-25
HARD Corps 11-22
Bloodshot 9-19
Turok 4-15
Secret Weapons 3-12
Doctor Mirage 1-10
Ninjak 1-7
Amorines 1-4
Muse Rocks! Check out “The Handler”.