help a new and curious reader explore the vei universe

[Muggs]

Hi! I have recently gotten into valiant and i was quite interested in it. My goal is to get caught up with the relaunched universe and i plan on reading tpb's until i get caught up with monthly issues. The help i am asking is what order should i read these in? When should i read a new character? when should i watch out for events/crossovers? I plan on reading every character and i just picked up XO Manowar vol 1 and Harbinger vol 1.
Thank you if you can help me on this journey!

[depluto]

Welcome aboard! Those books are a great place to start, and there are plenty of issues to get caught up with. After that I would try Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong. And don't forget to check out the miniseries like Harbinger Wars and Armor Hunters.

[Elveen]

I'd start with Harby and XO for sure.

[Muggs]

but do any of you guys have a good reading order that i can follow to get caught up?

[Tim]

but do any of you guys have a good reading order that i can follow to get caught up?

Personally, I'd read them chronologically, but that's just me.

(I'd skip Shadowman and Quantum and Woody, too, but that's just me as well)

X-O Manowar, Bloodshot and Harbinger have been amazing from the get go and have never really dipped in quality.

[greg]

It's not a perfect alignment with the contents of the trade paperbacks, but the order that the monthly comics were released is here:
http://valiantfan.com/quickview/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[FormerReader]

Hi Muggs, welcome to the boards! As others have already said I would read the books in the order they were released. You could also read each title in its entirety prior to moving onto the next title.

[Keith]

Board member hkupo has kept a reading list going over at the CBR boards, and had a topic here a couple months back. Might help?

http://www.valiantfans.com/forum/viewto ... =1&t=45002" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Phoenix8008]

Or you can go by the order of release for the trades themselves as seen here on the Database page: http://www.valiantdatabase.com/books/trades

[Muggs]

Or you can go by the order of release for the trades themselves as seen here on the Database page: http://www.valiantdatabase.com/books/trades

would this be a clear way to get caught up?

[Keith]

Personally, I recommend reading the first three trades of X-O before anything else. Maybe give this a try to get you started:

X-O vol. 1
X-O vol. 2
X-O vol. 3
Harbinger vol. 1
Bloodshot vol. 1
Archer & Armstrong vol. 1
Archer & Armstrong vol. 2 (vol. 2 picks up immediately after vol. 1)
Shadowman vol. 1
Harbinger vol. 2
Bloodshot vol. 2
Harbinger Wars vol. 1
Harbinger vol. 3
Bloodshot vol. 3

[kjjohanson]

This doesn't include some of the recent released, but this is my recommendation if you like binge reading (reading a long run in a row). I've tried to place the breaks between titles so you read any crossovers in the proper spot. Shadowman, Rai, and the Eternal Warrior series don't really cross over with any of the other titles, so you can read those pretty much anywhere (although I would read EW Vol 2 before Rai, as it was released first and they both take place in the same time period)

Binge Reading recommendation:

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar Volume 3

Archer & Armstrong Volume 1
Archer & Armstrong Volume 2

Harbinger Volume 1
Harbinger Volume 2
Bloodshot Volume 1
Bloodshot Volume 2
Harbinger Wars / Harbinger Volume 3 / Bloodshot Volume 3 *(these three cross over; the Deluxe edition collecting all three arc might be the bets way to read this)
Harbinger Volume 4
Harbinger Volume 5

X-O Manowar Volume 4
Unity Volume 1 / X-O Manowar Volume 5
Unity Volume 2

Archer & Armstrong Volume 3
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4
Bloodshot Volume 4
Archer & Armstrong Volume 5 (read this between Bloodshot Volume 4&5)
Bloodshot Volume 5
Archer & Armstrong Volume 6

ARMOR HUNTERS event (it might be best to read the first issue in Armor Hunters first, and read the last issue after reading everything else):
X-O Manowar Volume 6
Armor Hunters Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 7
Unity Volume 3
Armor Hunters: Harbinger Volume 1
Armor Hunters: Bloodshot Volume 1

Quantum & Woody Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Volume 2
Quantum & Woody Volume 3
Delinquents Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Must Die Volume 4

Harbinger: Omegas
Unity Volume 4
X-O Manowar Volume 8

Eternal Warrior Volume 1
Eternal Warrior Volume 2

Rai Volume 1

Shadowman Volume 1
Shadowman Volume 2
Shadowman Volume 3
Shadowman Volume 4
Shadowman End Times Volume 5

[jmatt]

Nice summary, Ken.

[Phoenix8008]

This doesn't include some of the recent released, but this is my recommendation if you like binge reading (reading a long run in a row). I've tried to place the breaks between titles so you read any crossovers in the proper spot. Shadowman, Rai, and the Eternal Warrior series don't really cross over with any of the other titles, so you can read those pretty much anywhere (although I would read EW Vol 2 before Rai, as it was released first and they both take place in the same time period)

Binge Reading recommendation:

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar Volume 3

Archer & Armstrong Volume 1
Archer & Armstrong Volume 2

Harbinger Volume 1
Harbinger Volume 2
Bloodshot Volume 1
Bloodshot Volume 2
Harbinger Wars / Harbinger Volume 3 / Bloodshot Volume 3 *(these three cross over; the Deluxe edition collecting all three arc might be the bets way to read this)
Harbinger Volume 4
Harbinger Volume 5

X-O Manowar Volume 4
Unity Volume 1 / X-O Manowar Volume 5
Unity Volume 2

Archer & Armstrong Volume 3
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4
Bloodshot Volume 4
Archer & Armstrong Volume 5 (read this between Bloodshot Volume 4&5)
Bloodshot Volume 5
Archer & Armstrong Volume 6

ARMOR HUNTERS event (it might be best to read the first issue in Armor Hunters first, and read the last issue after reading everything else):
X-O Manowar Volume 6
Armor Hunters Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 7
Unity Volume 3
Armor Hunters: Harbinger Volume 1
Armor Hunters: Bloodshot Volume 1

Quantum & Woody Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Volume 2
Quantum & Woody Volume 3
Delinquents Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Must Die Volume 4

Harbinger: Omegas
Unity Volume 4
X-O Manowar Volume 8

Eternal Warrior Volume 1
Eternal Warrior Volume 2

Rai Volume 1

Shadowman Volume 1
Shadowman Volume 2
Shadowman Volume 3
Shadowman Volume 4
Shadowman End Times Volume 5

I take back what I said, go with this. It's better.

[Daniel Jackson]

Welcome. Always glad to see new people getting interested in Valiant. Going the trade route is probably best for getting the most reading for your money. Check the Buy Sell Trade section once in a while and you might find some good deals on the books you need.

[Joshua]

Welcome to the boards!

[DIrishB]

Here's a general chronology of the TPBs, and it includes which issues are collected in each volume next to the listings in parentheses:



Eternal Warrior - Days of Steel (EW-Days of Steel #1-3)
Eternal Warrior - Vol. 1: Sword of the Wild (#1-4)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 1: By the Sword (#1-4)
Bloodshot - Vol. 1: Setting the World on Fire (#1-4)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 1: The Michelangelo Code (#1-4)
Harbinger - Vol. 1: Omega Rising (#1-5)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 2: Enter: Ninjak (#5-8)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 2: Wrath of the Eternal Warrior (#5-9)
Bloodshot - Vol. 2: The Rise and the Fall (#5-9)
Harbinger - Vol. 2: Renegades (#6-10)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 3: Planet Death (#9-14)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 3: Far Faraway (#10-13 / #0)
Harbinger Wars - Vol. 1 (#1-4)
Harbinger - Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars (#11-14 / #0)
Bloodshot - Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars (#10-13)
Shadowman - Vol. 1: Birth Rites (#1-4)
Harbinger - Vol. 4: Perfect Day (#15-19)
Bloodshot - Vol. 4: H.A.R.D. Corps (#14-17 / #0)
Shadowman - Vol. 2: Darque Reckoning (#5-9)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 4: Homecoming (#15-18)
Unity - Vol. 1: To Kill a King (#1-4)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 5: At War with Unity (#19-22)
Quantum and Woody! - Vol. 1: The World's Worst Superhero Team (#1-4)
Quantum and Woody! - Vol. 2: In Security (#5-8)
*Quantum and Woody! - Weekly #1-7 (Uncollected but available online)
Quantum and Woody! - Vol. 3: Crooked Pasts, Present Tense (#9-12, The Goat #0)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 4: Sect Civil War (#14-17)
Shadowman - Vol. 3: Deadside Blues (#10-12 / #0)
*Shadowman #13X (Uncollected)
Shadowman - Vol. 4: Fear, Blood, and Shadows (#13-16)
Harbinger - Vol. 5: Death of a Renegade (#20-25)
Shadowman - End Times (Shadowman - End Times #1-3)
Bloodshot - Vol. 5: Get Some! (#18-19, #22-23 / H.A.R.D. Corps #0)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 5: Mission: Improbable (#18-19, A&A: Archer #0, Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps #20-21)
Unity - Vol. 2: Trapped by Webnet (#5-7)
The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage - Vol. 1 (#1-5)
*The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage #1 - Plus Edition (Not Collected - Bonus Story)
Bloodshot - Vol. 6: The Glitch and Other Tales (#24-25)
Archer & Armstrong - Vol. 6: American Wasteland (#20-25)
*Archer & Armstrong - The One Percent #1 (Uncollected)
*Punk Mambo #0 (Not Collected)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 6: Prelude to Armor Hunters (#23-25)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 7: Armor Hunters (#26-29)
Armor Hunters (#1-4, AH-Aftermath #1)
Unity - Vol. 3: Armor Hunters (#8-11)
Armor Hunters - Harbinger (Harbinger - Armor Hunters #1-3)
Armor Hunters - Bloodshot (Bloodshot - Armor Hunters #1-3)
Harbinger - Vol. 6: Omegas (Omegas #1-3, Harbinger - Bleeding Monk #0)
Unity - Vol. 4: The United (#12-14, #0, Harbinger - Faith #0)
The Delinquents - Vol. 1 (#1-4)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 8: Enter: Armorines (#30-32 / #0)
Quantum and Woody! - Vol. 4: Quantum and Woody Must Die! (Valiant-Sized Q&W #1, Q&W Must Die! #1-4)
Unity - Vol. 5: Homefront (#15-18?)
The Valiant - Vol. 1 (#1-4)
X-O Manowar - Vol. 9: Dead Hand (#33-37?)
*X-O Manowar - Valiant 25th Anniversary Special #1 (Uncollected)
Imperium - Vol. 1: ???? (#1-4)
Divinity - Vol. 1: ???? (#1-4)
Ninjak - Vol. 1: ???? (#1-4)
Ivar, Timewalker - Vol. 1: Making History (#1-4)
Imperium - Vol. 2: Broken Angels (#5-8)
Ivar, Timewalker - Vol. 2: Breaking History (#5-8)
Bloodshot Reborn - Vol. 1: ???? (Bloodshot Reborn #1-4)
Unity - Vol. 6: The War Monger (#19-22?)
The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage - Second Life (#1-?)
Dead Drop - Vol. 1 (#1-4)
*FCBD 2015 - Valiant 25th Anniversary Special (Uncollected)
Rai - Vol. 1: Welcome to New Japan (#1-4)
*Rai #1 - Plus Edition (Not Collected - Bonus Story)
Rai - Vol. 2: Battle for New Japan (#5-8)
*Rai #5 - Plus Edition (Not Collected - Bonus Story)
Eternal Warrior - Vol. 2: Eternal Emperor (#5-8)

[blujay]

Welcome to the boards

I suggest trying a bit of everything before you dive in. I say "everything" because Valiant titles literally cover every single base. It really just depends on what you're looking for:

Sci-Fi: X-O Manowar, Rai and Timewalker
Action: Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior and Ninjak
Team Books: Harbinger, Unity and Bloodshot and H.A.R.DCorps (Bloodshot issues #15 - 2something)
Humor: Archer & Armstrong, Quantum & Woody (unless you don't like fun) and Delinquents
Horror Supernatural: Shadowman and Doctor Mirage

Personally I don't think you can go wrong when reading Valiant (since I started, I stopped reading Marvel/DC entirely), but if you want my opinion I would recommend any of the "Valiant Next" books (specifically Ninjak, Divinity and Timewalker) as they're all fantastic and great jumping on points (you should read Harbinger before Imperium but you won't be lost if you don't).

If I had to recommend a one shot, I suggest Shadowman #0 then #10 (they're both standalone issues that work together), and Harbinger #0.

If you have a comixology account, Valiant marks down their issues very quickly and they have some really great bundle deals that'll save you up to 30% off! And if you're looking to get OG Valiant comics (all available on Comixology) I suggest picking up the original Quantum and Woody series. I've been rereading it this week (on vol 3 of 4) and it's still hilarious, very well written and holds up well.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents. Keith, DIrishB and kjjohanson posted a three great (and entirely different) lists for reading order, which tells you that you can read the universe in basically any order you feel like (except the crossovers and Unity which begins in X-O Manowar). Enjoy your time here and, to quote Elveen, "Welcome to the fam"

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

First of all, welcome to the boards! Second, I'm going to just take kjjohnson's impressive, and extremely well put together list , and just modify it to my personal tastes. But this reading order totally make sense chronologically, and in terms of crossover events, characters appearing in other titles, etc. So, I would 100% say use this reading list.
But, you'll see, my changes come at the bottom... And once you're done reading all the Harbinger books, go right into Imperium.

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar Volume 3

Archer & Armstrong Volume 1
Archer & Armstrong Volume 2

Harbinger Volume 1
Harbinger Volume 2
Bloodshot Volume 1
Bloodshot Volume 2
Harbinger Wars / Harbinger Volume 3 / Bloodshot Volume 3 *(these three cross over; the Deluxe edition collecting all three arc might be the bets way to read this)
Harbinger Volume 4
Harbinger Volume 5

X-O Manowar Volume 4
Unity Volume 1 / X-O Manowar Volume 5
Unity Volume 2

Archer & Armstrong Volume 3
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4
Bloodshot Volume 4
Archer & Armstrong Volume 5 (read this between Bloodshot Volume 4&5)
Bloodshot Volume 5
Archer & Armstrong Volume 6

ARMOR HUNTERS event (it might be best to read the first issue in Armor Hunters first, and read the last issue after reading everything else):
X-O Manowar Volume 6
Armor Hunters Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 7
Unity Volume 3
Armor Hunters: Harbinger Volume 1
Armor Hunters: Bloodshot Volume 1

Quantum & Woody Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Volume 2
Quantum & Woody Volume 3
Delinquents Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Must Die Volume 4

Harbinger: Omegas
Unity Volume 4
X-O Manowar Volume 8

Eternal Warrior Volume 1
Eternal Warrior Volume 2
Rai Volume 1

Shadowman Volume 1
Shadowman Volume 2
Shadowman Volume 3
Shadowman Volume 4
Shadowman End Times Volume 5

[brucehartshorn]

Nice summary, Ken.

Ditto

[Phoenix8008]

First of all, welcome to the boards! Second, I'm going to just take kjjohnson's impressive, and extremely well put together list , and just modify it to my personal tastes. But this reading order totally make sense chronologically, and in terms of crossover events, characters appearing in other titles, etc. So, I would 100% say use this reading list.
But, you'll see, my changes come at the bottom... And once you're done reading all the Harbinger books, go right into Imperium.

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar Volume 3

Archer & Armstrong Volume 1
Archer & Armstrong Volume 2

Harbinger Volume 1
Harbinger Volume 2
Bloodshot Volume 1
Bloodshot Volume 2
Harbinger Wars / Harbinger Volume 3 / Bloodshot Volume 3 *(these three cross over; the Deluxe edition collecting all three arc might be the bets way to read this)
Harbinger Volume 4
Harbinger Volume 5

X-O Manowar Volume 4
Unity Volume 1 / X-O Manowar Volume 5
Unity Volume 2

Archer & Armstrong Volume 3
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4
Bloodshot Volume 4
Archer & Armstrong Volume 5 (read this between Bloodshot Volume 4&5)
Bloodshot Volume 5
Archer & Armstrong Volume 6

ARMOR HUNTERS event (it might be best to read the first issue in Armor Hunters first, and read the last issue after reading everything else):
X-O Manowar Volume 6
Armor Hunters Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 7
Unity Volume 3
Armor Hunters: Harbinger Volume 1
Armor Hunters: Bloodshot Volume 1

Quantum & Woody Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Volume 2
Quantum & Woody Volume 3
Delinquents Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Must Die Volume 4

Harbinger: Omegas
Unity Volume 4
X-O Manowar Volume 8

Eternal Warrior Volume 1
Eternal Warrior Volume 2
Rai Volume 1

Shadowman Volume 1
Shadowman Volume 2
Shadowman Volume 3
Shadowman Volume 4
Shadowman End Times Volume 5

I see what you did there...

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

First of all, welcome to the boards! Second, I'm going to just take kjjohnson's impressive, and extremely well put together list , and just modify it to my personal tastes. But this reading order totally make sense chronologically, and in terms of crossover events, characters appearing in other titles, etc. So, I would 100% say use this reading list.
But, you'll see, my changes come at the bottom... And once you're done reading all the Harbinger books, go right into Imperium.

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar Volume 3

Archer & Armstrong Volume 1
Archer & Armstrong Volume 2

Harbinger Volume 1
Harbinger Volume 2
Bloodshot Volume 1
Bloodshot Volume 2
Harbinger Wars / Harbinger Volume 3 / Bloodshot Volume 3 *(these three cross over; the Deluxe edition collecting all three arc might be the bets way to read this)
Harbinger Volume 4
Harbinger Volume 5

X-O Manowar Volume 4
Unity Volume 1 / X-O Manowar Volume 5
Unity Volume 2

Archer & Armstrong Volume 3
Archer & Armstrong Volume 4
Bloodshot Volume 4
Archer & Armstrong Volume 5 (read this between Bloodshot Volume 4&5)
Bloodshot Volume 5
Archer & Armstrong Volume 6

ARMOR HUNTERS event (it might be best to read the first issue in Armor Hunters first, and read the last issue after reading everything else):
X-O Manowar Volume 6
Armor Hunters Volume 1
X-O Manowar Volume 7
Unity Volume 3
Armor Hunters: Harbinger Volume 1
Armor Hunters: Bloodshot Volume 1

Quantum & Woody Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Volume 2
Quantum & Woody Volume 3
Delinquents Volume 1
Quantum & Woody Must Die Volume 4

Harbinger: Omegas
Unity Volume 4
X-O Manowar Volume 8

Eternal Warrior Volume 1
Eternal Warrior Volume 2
Rai Volume 1

Shadowman Volume 1
Shadowman Volume 2
Shadowman Volume 3
Shadowman Volume 4
Shadowman End Times Volume 5

I see what you did there...

[Muggs]

wow thanks for all the responses! i appreciate it a lot

[Dr. Solar]

Welcome to the Valiant Universe. There's not really a bad place to start, it's all pretty darn good.