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AICN COMICS CONTEST/PREVIEW OF HARBINGER: THE BEGINNING! THE RETURN OF VALIANT COMICS!!!
Hey folks, Ambush Bug here from AICN Comics. We’ve got another cool contest for you guys. The mere mention of Valiant Comics brings back fond memories for me. It was one of the few companies of quality to come out of the comics boom of the early nineties focusing on quality of story rather than flashy artwork or gimmicky covers. Although no concrete confirmations can be announced yet, seems as if in the near future some key creators of the original Valiant line may be returning to write new adventures of some of your favorite characters from the Valiant Universe. In the meantime, HARBINGER: THE BEGINNING, a hardcover collecting issues #0-7 of the original HARBRINGER series, is being released on August 29th. It’s a massive 192-page hardcover with a retail value of $24.95. The pages have been re-mastered and re-colored using state-of-the-art computer techniques. The book also features an all new Harbinger story by series creator and comic book legend Jim Shooter and Bob Hall featuring the first appearance of a new Valiant character. The guys at Valiant would like to offer this hardcover to some lucky AICN readers, but of course you guys have to work a bit to get one.
What we want you guys to do for this contest is send me an email centering on your favorite Valiant character and how you would handle a reboot for that series. Mind you, none of these submissions will actually show up in possible Valiant reboots. This is for the sheer sake of fanfic fun. But it would be cool to see how you, the fans, would bring these characters back into the modern age of comics. For those you who don’t remember the Valiant line, here are some of the titles to jog your memory: Archer & Armstrong, Armorines, Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, HARD Corps, Harbinger, Ninjak, Rai, Second Life of Doctor Mirage, Shadowman, Timewalker, and X-O Manowar. If you’ve never heard of these titles, you’re definitely missing out on some great comics. If this book is successful, you’re sure to see some of these other titles re-mastered and collected for mass consumption.
Be sure to include your full name and address in the emails. You can send your entries here and we will announce the winners an upcoming AICN Comics column. 15 lucky winners will receive the hardcover, 5 luckier winners will get signed copies, and the luckiest winner of them all will receive the book signed and sketched on by the creators. So type up a quick paragraph of fanfic rebooty goodness of your favorite Valiant characters, folks, and send them to me ASAP.
In the meantime, here’s a 16-page preview of what you are going to get if you win the contest.
Enjoy.
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Im on a roll....and I just sat down at the computer....whats this story here..?Valiant comics? I have no interest in that...makes me feel guilty being first seeing as there will be a raging debate afterward which I cant get involved in....well not guilty but ya know....now Im talking to myself...anyone want to talk about that super gay Prince Valiant cartoon from the nineties with the really epic opening titles?
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Should take place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland heavily pocked with impact craters where the only life is Magnus and some obsolete, insane robots. Then in the final issue Magus blasts off into space on a derelict ship and discovers....He's been living on Jim Shooter's face! DUNN DUN DUNNAlso, talking about Valiant Comics needing to be rebooted for the modern age makes me feel old. They were new comics for the modern age...
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Not much in the way of story development. The plot from these panels could have easily been stretched over a couple of issues. I think I would have liked it a little better if it was more in depth.
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Taking care of the fans will always be popular. :-)
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Hate scrolling left to right to read.
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... terrible coloring. There was just something that bugged me about it... it was obviously done in some early Paint-type application, the colors were always muted and chalky looking, like someone painting with guache for the very first time and not having the skill or knowledge to pull it off. They also used too many clumsy, "painterly" effects, like having painted flames jumping out of a clean-edged rendering of some robot Magnus just smashed... and they weren't even well-rendered flames, they always looked like something a kid did with crayons. Okay, I'm rambling and you guys could give a rip. They were good reads, though, mostly.
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Jul 02, 2007 10:32:31 AM CDT
How does this work with such an interwoven universe?
by evilwizardglick
The Valiant universe was much more interwoven than either Marvel or Dc.
Without bringing back ALL the characters that made the universe, what do they plan to do?
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I will follow my eyes...into the SUUUUNN".Come on! didnt you folks get that stuff in America?
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His participation is what made Valiant great. Once he left things really went downhill.
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This is awesome! I am so there for this book. I hope they keep doing these...archer and armstrong, eternal warrior, shadowman and of course XO need hard covers. some of the greatest comics out there!
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Jul 02, 2007 11:09:21 AM CDT
I loved Valiant too, but I thought it went downhill...
by rock-me amodeo
...when Hal Foster left it. That hair was ahead of its time, though...
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I loved Valiant. The early creators were amazing. The stories were more important than the individual characters, unlike Marvel and DC where a person can die are return a billion times. If you can't die, then what's the point? They were they only comics I read when they were good, before Acclaim bought them and tried to turn them into superheroes and destroyed the company.
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Involving Unity or another aspect of Solar relocating to another universe before the shit happened? Maybe the Spider Aliens or the Malevs having something to do with it? Having all the originals back under new circumstances would be nice. Valiant was superb at the whole time-travel/characters being connected throughout time deal. Wow, I need to go pull out my collecion now.
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WOW, this is sick! I was planning on buying up all the Valiant comics I could find on Ebay, but this gives me major hope. To be honest, I don't think they really need to reprint EVERY comic they had, because near the end they sort of lost that spark. For now, I would say after Harbinger should come either Archer & Armstrong or Eternal Warrior, followed by X-O Manowar, Rai, then Magnus and Turok. Shadowman should be in there somewhere. Those were the main Valiant comics that really mattered. Armorines, Bloodshot, Dr. Mirage, Ninjak, etc. Bleh. Get to them eventually. But 25 bucks for a hardbound edition of the first 8 issues of Harbinger is an INSANELY good deal, and almost a must-buy for anyone who wasn't around for (or didn't take part of) the Valiant era. I still have my X-O Manowar paperback reprint of the first few issues, I need to find that. Man, I am so stoked by this news!!!
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That actually should be the next comic they reprint in this format. My bad.
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but, is anybody reading G.I. Joe? (I've found my own little niche in the talkbacks, and I'm stickin' to it.) http://tinyurl.com/2w5yw2
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The two launch titles and they don't even get mention, but crap like Amorines and Dr. Mirage get a nod. Wait, why not sell the company to Acclaim and put out out titles like Psi Lords and Timewalker.
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When Barry Windsor-Smith and Jim Shooter left, the books lost it though. Long live Reprints.
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the Image/Valiat crossover. The early 90's rocked. Now, those books sucked, but the excitement and hype comics had back then was amazing. It was so much fun to go to the comicbook store and see what was on the racks each week. That being said, DC kicks ass now. If only the Warner Bros. Studio Stores were back in business.
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Jim Shooter created everyday believable super heroes that could be the person next to you on the subway. Harbinger "Children of the Eighth" was a great super hero story but mixed with the pressures of growing up. The first ten issue story arc of Solar Man of the Atom was classic. This was all Jim Shooter and later Barry Windsor Smith. The comics went south after they left.
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yeah and Image couldn't put out their issues on time, as usual.
Unity was a good cross over. -
Plasm and Dark Dominion
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he was editor-in-chief when Marvel started publishing G.I. Joe! (Am I pushing this too far?)
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Where is the news on Valiant character movies? Someone needs to get on the ball with this. The Valiant characters are the best comic properties that haven't been made into movies, and I haven't heard one piece of news about it. A Shadowman or X-O Manowar movie would be f'n awesome. A Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, and Archer & Armstrong. Oh and obviously Harbinger!
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Hope you guys can use it. I had a hell of a great time coming up with the premise and I think it could actually work.
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... Shit yeah! I miss 'em, too. They always had cooler merch than the Disney Stores, plus DC Comics stuff, too. My prized purchase, even now years later, is a couple of cheap, soft plastic figures of Rocky and Mugsy, the inept gangsters from all the classic Warners toons. They will never go up on eBay... that is my solemn vow!
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About the WBSS. I still have those newsletters that they would put out every couple of months. I would totally geek out when I recieved those in the mail. That being said, I think DC Direct is doing a great job taking over the limited edition stuff. Clampett Studios needs to start producing some cool stuff on a regular basis.
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Okay, this is odd for the company to put PLANTS in the talkback, but seriously, read the comments above. They have to be from people in Valiant's company. Who would have the name X-O Manowar, Darksider or Fawst / Faust_8 ? I mean, seriously?!! Valiant comics were never that good -- they were okay (at best), but never had a rabid following that people would care this much about.
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Nobody has posted here in a while and I realize I may have hurt your feelings, Valiant. You are not a bad company and I appreciate you "taking care of your fans" as ValiantMan correctly points out. I may have been too harsh. Thank you for your comics -- I know they are hard to make and I am glad you make the effort. I am sorry if I was mean.
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Yeah, I'm a plant. I've only been posting in talkbacks since, I dunno, 1998... :)
Actually, that's a lie. I stopped when I found the greatness that is The Zone. But something as fuckin cool as a Valiant hardcover reprint has me posting! -
Well played, Fawst. Well played. :-)
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Pigsinspace - Practically everyone I know who is familiar with Valiant's early stories (i.e. actually read them) are passionate about them, and Valiant was the third largest comic co. in the 1990s, so we're talking quite a few people. Part of the problem was that once they became a big co. they compromised the things that actually made them successful in the first place, like tight continuity and realism, and then it went downhill after that. My guess is you haven't read the early Valiant stories, and you should, I highly recommend it.
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I read every Valiant comic when they came out although I just couldn't get into them. No biggie. My only point is that Valiant shouldn't appear so transparent to have people post here that are obvious plants. I have many friends (none close) who enjoy Valiant comics. Many of the titles are tolerable. But, seriously, c'mon, more than half the usernames are direct Valiant references and then they rave like they have just seen God. Oh well.
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Try again. I've been here since 2004. A little late to be stumping for a comic company that went out when I was still a teenager. And if I ever was a plant, I sure as hell would be getting paid for it. So someone pay me already.
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Apparently I didn't realize the depth of devotion Valiant's fanbase had. What looked like plants to me were, obviously, faithful fans. Oops. Mia culpa.
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Also not a plant. I've been a faithful AICNer under 3 different user IDs now (first two got banned for behaviors that are now de rigeur) since roughly 1999, possibly 2000. The only connection I have to the industry I so love is I currently write a series for Arcana... but I know none of the guys that did the Valiant books other than by reputation, so my unsolicited, unrequited love is just that. Still, if any Valiant guys are out there... I've got a monster, can't-miss series pitch for a H.A.R.D. Corps relaunch if you haven't already got something in mind.
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and XO are really the only ones that I remember reading in the heyday of the early-mid 90s. I was vry limited in the comics I could buy as I could either buy at a local grocery store (that actually carried a pretty good selection) or travel a 100 miles to the closest comic book store where I'd drop some serious cash. I still live in the town I grew up in and have no comic stores nearby, but I remember the awesomeness that was Turok...and the barely clothed female XO cover
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one of the greatest things about valiant was the the hand painted look. any chimp can magic wand some colors in photoshop. bad move.
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C'mon Ambush, where's that Sinestro Corps review. This is the one moment where I can actually see you take your shnozz out of "Aquaman" and give DC a good review. Bring it!
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I collected many of the Valiant Comics from the very beginning. After about a year, I got bored with them and decided not to buy anymore. I saw how insane the prices were for books that were less than a year old. So I sold them all. I made a killing.
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what i meant was that this was potentially the very moment where all the stars aligned, you momentarily reneged on your self-imposed editorial mandate that only allowed you to cover such sub-par DC books like "Aquaman" and "Hawkgirl/Hawkman", and actually reviewed "Sinestro Corps" in all it's awesomeness. Even so, I still await the horrible review. Though you almost liked the last "Flash" issue.
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KURT RUSSELL as Gunslinger, MICHAEL KEATON as Shakespeare, BARBARA HERSHEY as Hotshot, RYAN GOSLING as Superstar and SUNG KANG as Flatline. Come on, you know you want it!
Don't get me started on a Harbinger film with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kris and HIROYUKI SANADA as Harada. -
I hope that's the old coloring because wow that sucked. I mean was it done in paint?
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and XO Manowar were my favorites...Magnus Robot Fighter was a little too cheese-dick. Harbinger wasn't too bad...Bloodshot and Rai and Shadowman? Not a bad run in the 90's, Jimmy-Boy...
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Must've slipped past me while I was reading all those Marvels.
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Valiant are awesome. if you seriously haven't read any of their books you're in for a treat. my favorites are x-o manowar (duh) and eternal warrior but harbinger is good too. im glad they are doing a collection of harbinger 0-7, the old trade of #1-4 never felt complete, it came bagged with #0 but you still had to go out and get 5-7 to finish the story. They put that out when the early books were way too expensive for most people to afford, i remember buying a copy of the blue variant. I think that first trade is something like the biggest selling trade in history...i could be wrong but its up there somewhere.
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Valiant immersed you in a universe, introducing interesting characters/stories, had great marketing AND Valiant had this persona as this underdog co. that was hard not to support (the special sauce). The stars were really aligned that thrust the Valiant characters into the limelight, so I'm surprised if you really haven't heard of most of them even if you are a new comic reader. Many comic co.s have spent a lot of money trying to do this and haven't managed to come close, as a lot of money + stars really have to be aligned for this to happen successfully. Valiant originally unfolded the universe slowly and built up a lot of momentum in a short period, and this Harbinger book could be the start of the Valiant universe unfolding again, so this is very very exciting news (to say the least).
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Harbinger is one of the 2 best team books of the 90s the other being The Protectors from Malibu. Shadow Man, Eternal Warrior and X-O kicked serious ass. Archer & Armstrong had me in stitches. That was some fun shit. Valiant was one of the VERY few bright lights in the 90s.
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Beware.
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Where to even begin? Passion! Gardens! You do the math!
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