Unity #1

By Matt Kindt, Doug Braithwaite & Brian Reber

Unity is Valiant Entertainment’s first major comic book bringing their entire universe together for the first time since their successful relaunch last year. To say that this book has high stakes is an understatement not only in regards to the Valiant Universe, but also to Valiant Entertainment. An on-going series like this has to set the bar high and maintain it, especially when it’s bringing together most, if not all, of their current line up into one book. With almost 70,000 copies of issue one ordered, it looks like the anticipation is high in the comic community so it’s a good thing they brought Matt Kindt and Doug Braithwaite in on this title.

Matt Kindt, known for his own series Mind MGMT over at Dark Horse, is a star talent on the rise. Everything he does is worth the cover price, regardless of what it is. Valiant has a great group of writers at its disposal, but bringing in a writer like Kindt was their best move to date. To say he “nailed it” would be an understatement. Kindt knows these characters, he knows the situation and he seems to have a very clear idea where this is headed. As an on-going series, it’s going to be interesting to see where he takes this after this first arc is over, but that’s something to discuss at a later time. Kindt lets people who might not know the Valiant Universe know who these characters are with clever intros mixed in with the story. Nothing pulls you away from the task at hand and it all flows perfectly. His pacing is spot on, his use of the cast of characters is evenly distributed and it really does make it easy for anybody who might not be aware of this universe to jump right in.

If bringing in Kindt was a great idea on Valiant’s part, teaming him up with Doug Braithwaite was an even better one. The team of Braithwaite and colorist Brian Reber is unstoppable in this issue. There’s nothing that stands out as odd or out of place. Everything is done for a reason and executed to perfection. Braithwaite, like Kindt, gets these characters and it shows in his depictions of them, maybe most notably his work with X-O Manowar. Right up there with X-O Manowar artist Cary Nord, it’s safe to say that Braithwaite is up there among the best when it comes to drawing that crazy suit.

This team is quite possibly the best that Valiant has brought together to date. This was an issue to remember, and Unity is a series that demands your attention. If you’re not reading anything Valiant—probably because you’ve been under a rock—you should do yourself a favor and go pick up Unity. This is going to be a crazy ride, no question. Kindt and Braithwaite have a lot of great characters at their disposal, but can any of them actually take down Aric and the X-O Manowar armor? Thirty days is far too long to wait for another issue of Unity. Take note, comic world; this is how you start a huge, universe cross-over.