5 years!!!!

[Keith]

Can you believe it, gang? This month marks 5 years of VEI publishing the all new, all different Valiant Universe! I still recall browsing through IGN and seeing the announcement of a new X-O Manowar series... couldn't believe it meself, and I was crazy nervous we were looking at Acclaim 2.0. Glad I was wrong!

So what have been some of the highlights/lowlights of the past 5 years?

My thoughts:

Highlights
Dysart's run on Harbinger
FVLs run on Archer & Armstrong
Ninjak vs. the Valiant Universe
The Summits
The Valiant After Dark podcasts

Lowlights
Deaddrop
Shadowman
Potato Car!!!!
Folks getting butthurt at Valiant promotional efforts
the slow trickle of movie news

[possumgrease]

I must have mental block because I do not remember the potato car. I'm scouring threads trying to find an image, but no luck so far.

But, to the spirit of your post, the return of Valiant has been quite amazing.

[nycjadie]

I must have missed the potato car. A few lowlights to me were the lenticular cover and Dead Drop.

I did not dislike Shadowman, or the slow trickle of movie news.

I thought Divinity and Savage were superb. I'm especially looking forward to Savage II.

[Beware Cyclops]

This thread is making me realize why Ming Doyle's art on Quantum and Woody angered me so much - she was the first that wasn't phenomenal in the art department.

Phenomenal? She wasn't even average...

Seriously, need I remind anyone of the *SQUEE* infamous Potato Car again?


Oh yes I did.

[Keith]

I must have mental block because I do not remember the potato car. I'm scouring threads trying to find an image, but no luck so far.

But, to the spirit of your post, the return of Valiant has been quite amazing.

Ming Doyle's artwork in the second Quantum & Woody arc birthed the infamous potato car.

[grendeljd]

Cheers to five years!!

[jmatt]

Cheers to five years!!

Yeah, it's going much better this time around. In large part because they are being much more discerning and conservative with the number of books published monthly.

[depluto]

I think the last five years Valiant has been better than any previous iteration.

Except Dead Drop. That was poop.

And the movie news seems to always stall ... hope we see something concrete soon.

[Elveen]

I think the last five years Valiant has been better than any previous iteration.

Except Dead Drop. That was poop.

And the movie news seems to always stall ... hope we see something concrete soon.

I agree.

And media news will come. It is happening.

[Shadowman99]

Oh man, how can this thread have already got this far without Imperium being listed as a highlight?! Heresy! Seriously though, great comic.

Can I call '...a big hand for...' Bruce and Elery for their efforts on the 'Review VEI TPB' stuff they've been doing over the past few years? They pulled out some great stops to get some brilliant 'reward' comics into our hands for relatively little effort on our part, so I think that definitely deserves another round of applause and recognition as a highlight of the overall VEI experience of the last five years.

Erm, for me...
Highlights
Shadowman in the VU right at the beginning - I love the character, and the first part of the original run was highly enjoyable for me, up until about the time Dox died and the contrived romance between Jack/Alyssa... Some of that real early stuff was pretty lighthearted but enjoyable imo

Imperium
Bruce and Elery's 'Review VEI TPB' promos
Divinity - everything so far
Eternal Warrior - I know this character seems to be struggling to get off the ground with its own title, but I've loved every page
Bloodshot - The pre-HARD Corps run, when we were still getting to know the character. The speculation was endless!
XO Manowar - 'nuff said.
Clayton Crain's artwork on Rai
Valiant publishing <10 titles/month - I've been all in for 5 years, and that is *SQUEE* wicked Hope it stays like this for another at least another five!

*SQUEE* bits
Dead Drop (every bit except Beta Max: actually, what's happened to this character since?! He'd better be back in the next Q+W!)
Valiant *still* not getting enough 'push' from most retailers
Valiant *still* not a household name like Marvel/DC - okay, I know the other two have been around much longer, but I'm still surprised how few 'everyday' non-comic type people still haven't heard of Valiant

Potato Car. That will literally hold its place amongst Valiant 'Worst Ever Moments' for EVER.
Legend of the Geomancer marketing gimmick. That. Sucked. *SQUEE*.

[ShadowTuga]

Highlights

Everything that Joshua Dysart did, but specially Imperium;
....

V-Ditty's EPIC X-O Manowar run;
The Valiant mini;
Ninjak's first appearance in X-O #5 (I still remember the great fun I had reading it);
Rai;
Harbinger Wars, specially, Harada Protocol Bloodshot;
Armor Hunters;


Lows:
Too many light-hearted books (Q&W, A+A, Faith, Generation 0, Renegade);
Dead *SQUEE* Drop;
Gilad's continuity or lack of;
The Delinquents (first VEI series that I did not read through the end);
Shadowman, until the Magpie pretty much sucked, 'cept in 2 or 3 issues (0, 10);
Kay returning from the dead, undoing the emotional punch of The Valiant;

EDIT- Potato car was horrible, agree with everyone here.

[Shadowman99]

Lows:
Too many light-hearted books (Q&W, A+A, Faith, Generation 0, Renegade);
Kay returning from the dead, undoing the emotional punch of The Valiant

I like the more light-hearted stuff mixed in there most months, keeps things 90 y'know

Kay, yeah... That still seems to me like it undermines the emotional weight that came with The Valiant. Bit of a shame really. Still, I'll be interested to see what becomes of the character in the future.

[Keith]

Time to bring out the Big Board:

[jeremycoe]

If Renegade is lighthearted I'm not sure what book I've been reading

[ShadowTuga]

If Renegade is lighthearted I'm not sure what book I've been reading

I tend to put Renegade in there with the lighter books, not because of its humour or anything, but because the previous volume was so messed up and dark 90% of the time, and this reads very fast and light, even though it is a "serious" book. So yeah, you are right, I don't like it because it's light and upbeat; I don't like it because I think it simply sucks, imho.

[mramsterdam]

I miss the kill of the month poll we used to have.It's not as violent as it used to be when VEI started.

[jmatt]

I think the last five years Valiant has been better than any previous iteration.

I agree, completely.

There are a few major component's to the success of VEI. First, unlike V1 which came roaring into the market post Unity, there's not a lot of corporate money and players tearing it apart in an attempt to claim it for themselves. No Shooter / Layton / BWS / Massarsky power struggles. Just a small office of dedicated company leadership. No drama.

Secondly, in the current market, VEI has to fight to succeed. There are no expectations that they will usurp the thrones of the Big 2. They aren't flooding the shelves with 18 titles in an attempt to become the next Marvel. Paradoxically, this makes for better content and a more sustainable level of quality.

I'm sure they wish they were 5% of the market instead of 1%, but from where I'm sitting VEI has eclipsed all previous attempts.

[BugsySig]

At this point VEI has done what seemed like the impossible: they've maintained a shared superhero universe beyond the Big 2, over the long term. 5 years and no end in sight. Never shipped a book late.

Highlights:
Dysart's Harbinger and Imperium runs.
FVL's A&A and Timewalker masterpieces of storytelling.
V-Ditty's historic XO run.
Kindt and Lemire reinvigorating the line with some star power.
Shadowman 0 and 10, Dr. Mirage, and the "Fall of" books.
Many fantastic artists!!!

Lowlights:
Shadowman and EW (until Wrath)
Potato Car
Dead Drop
Unity (missed opportunity as an "event" book)
Changes in the publishing plan along the way that may have turned off some readers (that string of one shots and minis, ending and relaunching titles, incentives, etc.)

[Keith]

I think the last five years Valiant has been better than any previous iteration.

I agree, completely.

There are a few major component's to the success of VEI. First, unlike V1 which came roaring into the market post Unity, there's not a lot of corporate money and players tearing it apart in an attempt to claim it for themselves. No Shooter / Layton / BWS / Massarsky power struggles. Just a small office of dedicated company leadership. No drama.

Secondly, in the current market, VEI has to fight to succeed. There are no expectations that they will usurp the thrones of the Big 2. They aren't flooding the shelves with 18 titles in an attempt to become the next Marvel. Paradoxically, this makes for better content and a more sustainable level of quality.

I'm sure they wish they were 5% of the market instead of 1%, but from where I'm sitting VEI has eclipsed all previous attempts.

Well said, sir!

[Sunlight on Snow]

A big THANK YOU to Dino and the Valiant crew for 5 amazing years!

[Gafti]

I don't really have a problem with the so-called potato car. I just think Doyle was going for more of a cartoonish style with the entire issue, and that sort of fits with the tone of Q&W anyway.
Maybe it's because I'm new to this ride, but it's practically impossible for me to hate on anything Valiant-related.

[greg]

In context, the first two years of Valiant (2012-2023) were being compared to the best of Valiant 1990s. There was opposition to the return of Quantum & Woody instead of more "classic" Valiant characters we hadn't seen (much of) yet. Then throwing the "cartoonish style" into that book really seemed "anti-Best-of-Valiant".

In reality, VEI was trying to put out books for every taste, but the desire for a cohesive universe means the silliest still has to exist with the serious.

We're starting year 6 now, so I think we have fewer fears about "doing it wrong" than we did in 2012 or 2013.

I think the cat cosplay covers are far sillier than the potato car. The difference is that the cat cosplay wasn't something they tried early.

[Gafti]

In reality, VEI was trying to put out books for every taste, but the desire for a cohesive universe means the silliest still has to exist with the serious.

That's a great point, and something I had not really considered.

[Thomas]

I think the biggest low point of VEI has been the whole The Legend of the Geomancer Thing, not because it was a bad story, but because it wasn't available for everyone. Putting out a story that was not purchassable for potential buyers was just plain stupid.

[ShadowTuga]

I think the biggest low point of VEI has been the whole The Legend of the Geomancer Thing, not because it was a bad story, but because it wasn't available for everyone. Putting out a story that was not purchassable for potential buyers was just plain stupid.

Non-comics wise, that's the lowest low, to me. It was a slap in the face of people like me, who collected Valiant singles but do not live in the Diamond territories. Same for these Special Editions for X-O Manowar, and the Rai and Doc Mirage Plus editions, though the latter were easier to get here.
Exclusive comic content is something that should be available, worldwide.

The book is actually good, not awesome, but a solid read. Worth the trouble? Depends on your POV. I like the fact that I have them, but feel bad for fans who will never see it, honest.