A quick guide to getting started with Valiant

Hey guys! This is a guest post by Valiant fan Pierce Elliott on how to get started reading Valiant books. We’re always looking for fresh content so if you’d like to contribute, just email us contact@all-comic.com.

As a huge Valiant comics fan I wanted to make a little guide that would get fans from other companies to check out the books:

X-O Manowar

Aric of Dacia is a 5th century Visigoth kidnapped by the Vine and forced to be slaves aboard one of their ships. He steals a relic that the aliens worship as god. The relic forms a suit around Aric that allow him to take his captors and make it back to Earth. Due to time dilation, he ends up in the 21st century.

Easily in my top 3 of my favorite Valiant comics. I highly recommend this comic to fans of Green Lantern and Conan the Barbarian.

Harbinger

Harbinger is about a teenager named Pete Stanchek who is an Omega level Psiot capable of mind manipulation, telekinesis and being to create more Psiots. He and his group of other Psiots battle Toyo Harada, another Omega level Psiot who runs the Harbinger corporation.

Harbinger is about the new generation vs the old generation. Thanks to Josh Dysart, Harbinger manages to deal with relationships and loss in very personal way. I feel that Harbinger manages to pull off real world+super powers better than any other book in that genre. I recommend this for fans of Teen Titans and Kick-Ass (yes Kick-Ass)

Shadowman/ Doctor Mirage

The Supernatural side of Valiant. Jack Boniface is the Shadowman, an entity that takes control during the night-time to battle Master Darque and the Supernatural forces of evil. Doctor Mirage is the story of a woman who can talk to the dead, the only one she can’t speak to is her husband, Hwen.

I put these two in one group since they are pretty similar in tone. I highly recommend these comics for Hellblazer fans and Constantine fans looking for something a bit darker.

Unity

Currently Valiant’s only team book. When there is a threat too big for one hero to handle, you call multiple heroes. Unity is composed of Gilad (Eternal Warrior), Ninjak, Livewire, Faith and X-O Manowar.

The other book in my top 3, my favorite aspect of Unity is the dialogue between all the characters. Ninjak and Eternal Warrior are the new dynamic duo. So far, this super team has been pretty successful, their first job was stopping an alien invasion of Earth and they succeeded. Recommended for fans of team books along the lines of Justice League and Avengers.

Archer and Armstrong/Ivar, Timewalker

Archer, a gifted young man tasked with destroying the evil Aram…who turns out to be…
Armstrong, an Immortal who…does whatever the heck he feels like. With usual buddy comedies there is always a big misunderstanding and while Archer tries to murder Armstrong, they eventually team up and save the world. Ivar, Timewalker can almost be a sequel to Archer and Armstong as it keeps the writer and brings back the original artist. Ivar (Armstrong’s older brother) is a Timewalker and also immortal. He is tasked with protecting a young woman before she accidentally invents time travel. Timewalkers can detect “time arcs” which allow him to time travel.

For fans of buddy comedies, I highly recommend Archer and Armstrong. For fans of Doctor Who, I recommend Ivar.

Bloodshot/ H.A.R.D. Corps

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Bloodshot is Valiant’s favorite character. Bloodshot is about a man turned into a killing machine via Project “Rising Spirit”. He constantly fed false memories making it impossible to find out who he was in his previous life. Bloodshot is a weapons expert and has the ability to heal thanks to the nanites in his bloodstream (though they have to be fed with protein). The book briefly became Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps. HC is a team of soldiers that are implanted with Psiot abilities. The drawback is that they can only have so few at time which is why an operator is always standing by to swap out their powers when they need it.
Any fans of the Punisher and balls-to-the-wall action will love Bloodshot.

Eternal Warrior

Gilad Anni Padda is The Eternal Warrior. As his name implies, he is an immortal warrior who roams the earth, helping those in danger and protecting (as well as doing the bidding of) the Geomancer.

Only two arcs of this comic were made, so I couldn’t quite nail down who would like it. Closest I could say would be Conan.

Rai

Rai takes place the year 4001 in a Japan that orbits a now polluted Earth. Rai does the bidding of “Father” who protects Japan. Rai senses something is not right about “Father” and decides to rebel.

Rai is a great action comic, the art by Clayton Crain is unlike most in comics going on today. Anyone who loves futuristic/sci-fi stories will love Rai and I guarantee it.
Last and most certainly not least…

Quantum and Woody

Two brothers investigating their father’s murder find themselves in his lab. While investigating an accident imbues them with powers and they’re bestowed metal wristbands. The catch: They must “klang” their wristbands together every 24 hours or they will cease to exist, the OTHER catch: They can’t stand each other. Q&W is my favorite Valiant comic. Woody (Woody) is the adopted brother of Eric (Quantum), Woody is a trouble maker and Eric, being a good brother, always stands by him. Q&W is the best Super-Hero/Comedy comic book out there and you won’t find anything better. The non-PC nature of book is what makes it great, it pulls no punches on the subject of politics and race.

I recommend this comic for anyone with a sense of humor or for those who love Giffen and DeMatteis run on Justice League.

Originally from ValiantCentral.com