Out of My Mind: Looking at Valiant’s December schedule

We only just received the November solicits, but it got me thinking – what could Valiant have in store for December?

Looking at the November books, most of the December lineup is easily filled in by ongoings and miniseries that have already been announced. Look below and you’ll see that 8 of the 9 monthly slots are taken.

1. 1. The Death Defying Dr. Mirage #4 – Dr. Mirage is a go for at least one more month in the solicits.
   2. Eternal Warrior: Days of Steel #2 – Gilad is also on until at least January.
   3. Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #3 – this is a five-issue miniseries so it’s in the solicits until February.
   4. Rai #5 – Rai returns with an all new arc this December, and it looks like we’ll finally see the introduction of the Future Force!
   5. Unity #13 – Unity received a new supervillain team and a new arc in November, so there’s no way the book would take December off.
   6. The Valiant #1 – one of the most eagerly anticipated books of the year starts this December.
   7. Valiant-sized Quantum and Woody #1

– This book was officially announced today

1. X-O Manowar #31 – like Unity, November marked the start of a new arc, this time with the introduction of the Armorines. X-O is a shoe-in.
2. ?????

Seven of the nine books we’ve known about for at least a week or so, with the Quantum and Woody one-shot just having been announced today. I’m a little surprised that Valiant would publish two Quantum and Woody books in one month, thought I guess with the number of awards the series has gathered as of late, it only makes sense that Valiant would want to give the characters more exposure. Additionally, it looks like the alternate-reality storyline may help explain why Valiant has opted to make Q2 take place in the original Valiant continuity instead of the current universe.

So what could the last mystery book be?

As much as I would love to see the return of a Harbinger ongoing, I don’t see it taking up that last spot. Looking at the list we have above, January 2015 would have a very similar lineup as December if Valiant-sized Quantum and Woody were the only one-shot on the list. While I do see Harbinger returning – possibly in February as most of the miniseries are ending – it won’t be in December.

A one-shot of some sort is a possibility, possibly featuring Chris post-Renegades. Vivek Tiwary has been hanging around the Valiant folks as of late and he did such an amazing job with Joe and Peter in Harbinger #25, there’s no reason he couldn’t tackle Chris as well, or maybe even a Cronus one-shot before the launch of a Generation Zero book – that would be epic, and really, so would any character at the hands of Tiwary.

With the Punk Mambo one-shot in November, and the Dr. Mirage miniseries drawing to a close, there’s a good possibility that Valiant could be setting up for the return of Shadowman. While I don’t see that book returning quite yet, a Master Darque one-shot or miniseries would be amazing, and provide lip service to fans who have wanted to see Shadowman done right.

One last possibility is a Ninjak one-shot or miniseries. While it could be wishful thinking, I believe from some of my recent Twitter interactions that a Ninjak book must be coming. No one has commented one way or the other, but fans have been asking for it since the character was reintroduced in X-O Manowar #5. Think about this: Jeff Lemire writing, Mico Suayan on pencils, and Brian Reber on colors. Don’t tell me you’re not sold.

Originally from ValiantCentral.com