Round Robin Review: The Valiant #4

This weeks sees the conclusion to The Valiant and it is bound to have everyone buzzing come Wednesday. Every Monday, we post our thoughts on the books in our round robin reviews, but don’t worry, there will not be any spoilers ahead.

Martin’s take

Let me start off by saying that if you haven’t been reading The Valiant, you should go out and pick EVERY SINGLE ISSUE right now and read it before giving #4 a read. The entire miniseries has been such a joy to read for a long time fan, but is accessible enough to be very enjoyable for new readers.

With that said, the upcoming fourth issue is certainly a game changer, and while the story does not resolve like anyone could have expected, it is a terrific turn of events that opens up some new doors for the future of the Valiant universe not just in terms of the publishing direction, but in how events we’ve seen before in books such as Eternal Warrior and Rai will play out. What Kindt, Lemire and Rivera have accomplished with this series is truly astounding and will certainly cement in many people’s eyes that Valiant is publishing THE best comics in the industry. And as to what’s in the box…well, prepare yourself!

Paul’s take

This Wednesday, the fourth and final installment of The Valiant will be released. It’s bittersweet to be so excited to get to the crescendo of such a great story, but to also know this means the story is at its end. The fourth issue of The Valiant certainly did not disappoint. While the grand fireworks came in issue #3, here we get the culmination of emotional fireworks. I expected many of the final events to go the way they did, but there were also surprises. This was masterful storytelling by Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, and Paolo Rivera.

I have reread all of these issues many times, which is not something I’m prone to do. I have bought The Valiant #1 for several people who don’t read Valiant. Now some of them do. I will reread the whole series again when I have the fourth installment in my hands on Wednesday. I will purchase the trade and read it again. It’s rare for a story to be pleasing in ways that allows it to keep its luster after being ingested so many times. The Valiant has that in spades. Now, go on and find out what’s in the box.

Scott’s take

That was certainly unexpected.

For a series that has followed the traditional “unstoppable villain” story fairly closely—introduce said villain, have him brush aside the heroes rather easily, tease a weapon with which he can be stopped, build towards a climatic battle—but right at the end, Kindt, Lemire, and Rivera twist the story just enough to totally shock the reader. Normally, these types of events claim that there will be a major change in the status quo (“The events will change the ______ Universe forever!), but it usually ends up being miniscule. On the other hand, The Valiant offers up some pretty major changes, and there are sure to be some very interesting new directions that the characters go in during their solo titles. It’s a testament to the faith that Valiant has in Lemire and Kindt that they allowed them to make these changes. Regardless, I’m a bit disappointed that one of the best comics being published is ending; however, The Valiant certainly accomplishes its goal of getting me more excited than ever for Bloodshot: Reborn. And as for The Valiant itself, I would be surprised if it didn’t end up on many of the “Best of 2015” lists.

Originally from ValiantCentral.com