Valiant Relaunch

[comicstock]

Maybe if the stories are high quality but I'm not holding my breath.

[Prince Namor]

JJ makes a good point. The DH reboot of a couple of the better characters failed WITH Shooter's involvement, how are they going to make this work?

I don't question the quality of the original series, but really, if Wizard hadn't been there to pump up it's value, would it really have lasted as long as it did?

Are there really enough 'readers' left in the market to make this work?

 

 

[valiantman]

Are there really enough 'readers' left in the market to make this work?

How many are required?

Books are making the Top 100 in sales with 25,000 copies.

Invincible, Spawn, and Chew are cruising along every month with 15,000.

Hellblazer's under 10,000.

 

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

[Prince Namor]

Are there really enough 'readers' left in the market to make this work?

How many are required?

Books are making the Top 100 in sales with 25,000 copies.

Invincible, Spawn, and Chew are cruising along every month with 15,000.

Hellblazer's under 10,000.

 

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

 

That IS the question. How many are required?

Brand new company. How many books can they publish? Can they do it monthly? Can they hold interest?

DH's Magnus, Solar, and Turok haven't even made it to 10 issues yet, and that was 3 of Valiant's

biggest name properties...

Don't get me wrong, I'd love it to succeed with great stories and art and be something to celebrate in comics.

I just don't think I'd go bet the farm on it right now.

[Reno McCoy]

It's all about the quality of the stories. If they produce good work, the company will find its audience. If not, well, we always have the old stuff to enjoy.

[Gatsby77]

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

 

Greg--this is disingenuous and you know it. There were new (and failed) Jim Shooter Valiant books with Unity 2000 and there were new (and failed) JIm Shooter Valiant books last year.

 

I'm a fan--these books were my childhood. So I'm happy to see any attempt to craft new stories with the characters, but I was disappointed with the Magnus and Solar reboots last year even though they were written by Shooter.

 

The only way I see this working is if they go slowly (3-4 titles max) the first year and model each as solid stand-alone titles with a mythology that doesn't depend on crossover or guest appearances. Unity worked precisely because it came after a full year of establishing the characters slowly, on their own (And if they don't turn Ninjak into a kid playing a video game).

[400yrs]

I'm interested, but it has to be done right. Unfortunately, the image I've seen isn't quite what I was hoping for.

 

The design is great, but the art style chose..... I kind of agreed with you upon first sight.

 

However, it's growing on me and if they just release the same look that has failed in the past or they try to go after a similar style books that are currently on the stands, they've already set themselves up to fail. So in that regard, I love the style.

[400yrs]

JJ makes a good point. The DH reboot of a couple of the better characters failed WITH Shooter's involvement, how are they going to make this work?

 

They will have a much better chance without Jim Shooter. As great as his stuff was 20 years ago, the Dark Key books from last year were terrible. No one wants to pay $3.50 or whatever for bad 60s comics.

[BadDeacon]

I think the potential is there for this to take off. The characters are great, even without Magnus and Solar, and they've got a solid editor running the show. Now it's just a matter of execution.

[valiantman]

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

 

Greg--this is disingenuous and you know it. There were new (and failed) Jim Shooter Valiant books with Unity 2000 and there were new (and failed) JIm Shooter Valiant books last year.

No.

 

Unity 2000 was not a relaunch of Valiant. They were Acclaim Comics, produced by a video game company.

They hired Jim Shooter to kill his own Valiant characters.

That's not Valiant. It's the opposite.

 

Dark Horse did NOT produce any Valiant comics.

They hired Jim Shooter to write Magnus, Dr. Solar, and Turok as COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than Valiant.

Dark Horse stories, in a very legal sense, could not be like Valiant.

That's not Valiant. It's the opposite.

 

The last comic with Valiant on the cover was X-O Manowar in 1996 produced by Acclaim.

The last Valiant comic produced by an actual comic book company was in 1994, before Acclaim took over.

Acclaim wasn't a comic book company, it was a video game company.

 

So, you're partially right... it hasn't been 15 years. It has actually been 17.

[400yrs]

Are there really enough 'readers' left in the market to make this work?

How many are required?

Books are making the Top 100 in sales with 25,000 copies.

Invincible, Spawn, and Chew are cruising along every month with 15,000.

Hellblazer's under 10,000.

 

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

 

To be fair, the Image books you've listed can succeed at those levels due to Image having a far different business model than any other publisher. It's one that can really only work where the creators have full rights / control over their characters.

 

Vertigo is a vastly different model than other publishers as well.

 

New Valiant books could possibly survive around 25K if the properties are being used in other media as well. I'm sure they've done the numbers and know their targets. I don't know about all the dudes they've hired, but I have faith in Warren Simons to not allow books to come out.

 

 

 

 

[rjrjr]

Are there really enough 'readers' left in the market to make this work?

How many are required?

Books are making the Top 100 in sales with 25,000 copies.

Invincible, Spawn, and Chew are cruising along every month with 15,000.

Hellblazer's under 10,000.

 

The ValiantFans.com messageboard has 2,200 members and there hasn't been a new Valiant comic book in 15 years.

 

To be fair, the Image books you've listed can succeed at those levels due to Image having a far different business model than any other publisher. It's one that can really only work where the creators have full rights / control over their characters.

 

Vertigo is a vastly different model than other publishers as well.

 

New Valiant books could possibly survive around 25K if the properties are being used in other media as well. I'm sure they've done the numbers and know their targets. I don't know about all the dudes they've hired, but I have faith in Warren Simons to not allow books to come out.

 

 

 

 

25K seems extremely generous. 15K or less is a more realistic number based on current market conditions. Initial numbers should be good and as long as they don't kill the audience's anticipation with late books (Dark Key and Atlas Comics comes to mind here), they should be able to retain a decent audience.

 

As long as the publisher is not seeking to publish "collectibles" with variant covers like too many of today's indy publishers (IDW, Dynamite Entertainment, and Boom!), I will remain excited about these character's return to the stands. Concentrate on what matters, the story, and I'll support the effort.

 

[jonjesper]

I hope it succeeds but might be tough to catch lightning in a bottle again.

If these were DC books or Marvel books putting out the possible #s they wouldn't last long, but this is an independent publisher trying to do what is best.

We can only hope they do sell and do well, but most importantly for Valiant fans, they produce good quality stories for their long time readers.

Again, I will not be buying, but I have no interest in Valiant, but there are a lot of people that will buy for sure and I hope it lives up to their expectations based on their past love for the publisher...

[Eggman]

Interestingly, just a day before this was announced, I went to my LCS and picked up several Valiant and Image books. I never was into them when they came out (my early post-college years), but thought I would pick them up for the future. Anyhow, I don't know if they are really worth anything, but thought the group would enjoy seeing a few of them. I'll post some interesting Image finds a little later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aggr1103]

Rai 0

 

I'm totally stoked for fcbd this upcoming year because of the x-o book. Yes, he looks different, but sometimes different can still be good.

 

I think if the new valiant can produce solid stories and ensure that book ship on time, I think they will do fine. As long as they think like a small independent publisher with no visions of toppling the big 2 I think they can sustain.

 

Who do they have signed on to write?

[ComicConnoisseur]

There is one huge advantage that Valiant has over Image,Boom,IDW and Dynamite.

They own their characters and don`t have to pay huge licensing fees. Valiant could be a sleeper,and challenge Marvel and DC a lot quicker than people think.

[fastballspecial]

There is one huge advantage that Valiant has over Image,Boom,IDW and Dynamite.

They own their characters and don`t have to pay huge licensing fees. Valiant could be a sleeper,and challenge Marvel and DC a lot quicker than people think.

 

I hope they do well, but lets not kid ourselves they are years away from being a challenge even if everything works. Right now I would settle for well written blip that I can tell my friends to go read.

 

 

[Ares]

Where there Trades printed of all the series

[400yrs]

Where there Trades printed of all the series

 

Nah. Valiant rose and fell before trades became prominent. There are trades of the first issues of many of the series, but that's about it.

[aggr1103]

Where there Trades printed of all the series

 

Nah. Valiant rose and fell before trades became prominent. There are trades of the first issues of many of the series, but that's about it.

 

Later stuff is cheap and extremely easy to find. Not as convenient as a trade, but still a viable option.