So, which of the Valiants are the best reading?

[DKB]

Seems I'm in the minority in thinking that most of the titles were great for a good while after Unity. Around when titles like Armorines and Hard Corps started coming out is when I think the quality began to suffer and I dropped the whole line. For the duration of the time it was a 6-10 title publisher, Valiant was great.

 

 

HARDCorps started 2 months after Unity...

if that's when you dropped the line, it sounds like you're in the majority, too.

 

Ack, really? Bleh. How about when Armorines started?

 

I haven't looked at those books since I read them. And when I read them, I was a wee sprout, but even then, I had a pretty good idea when things turned south.

[FFB]

So it sounds like we need a poll:

 

When did Valiant jump the shark?

 

1. When Shooter got booted

2. When Aerosmith guest starred in Shadowman

3. Armorines #1

4. HARDCorps #1

5. When Solar went Splitsville

6. When Harbinger ran out of cover ideas and had to do swipe of their own first issue

 

My money is on #1.

 

Me too.

[blutobc]

Shark made his 1st jump with departure of Shooter...followed by the final jump when Solar went splits-ville. In a way this was Valiant's "Clone Saga" debacle and the end of even moderate level quality stories.

[tth2]

So it sounds like we need a poll:

 

When did Valiant jump the shark?

 

1. When Shooter got booted

2. When Aerosmith guest starred in Shadowman

3. Armorines #1

4. HARDCorps #1

5. When Solar went Splitsville

6. When Harbinger ran out of cover ideas and had to do swipe of their own first issue

 

My money is on #1.

 

#1 for me too.

[BradleyX2]

In my opinion, Valiant was good up until "Chaos Effect".

 

THAT'S when they turned into "not good."

 

And once they hit "Birthquake", it actually turned to "dreck".

[Kevin Boyd]

Birthquake was a disaster - surface over substance.

 

I didn't like HARDCorps, but Armorines was the first Valiant title that I avoided. So I went with Armorines as the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

But I think all of this is moot. The death knell for Valiant was the day they went looking for a buyer, ACCLAIM killed Valiant when they purchased the company and no idea what to do with it, so they cancelled everything and started over again, keeping only the names and alienating everyone who was mildly interested in Valiant's properties. When they finally "got it" back in 1999 and hired Shooter back to revive V1 in Unity 2000 the comic line went belly up.... I'm surprised it lasted that long.

 

Worst idea ever.

[fastballspecial]

The only thing I loved from Valiant after trying almost all their titles was Eternal Warrior. I loved the flashbacks in the stories. It reminded me alot of the Highlander Movies and TV Series. I have all but one or two back issues and I am just too lazy to look for them currently. If you havent read EW you are missing the boat on Valiant's best kept secret.

[fastballspecial]

This link is a great story about the Rise and Fall of Valiant. I found it fascinating.

 

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5852

[myron-migration]

Ryan does great work...that article had TONS of information in it. He also frequents the valiant comics fans website run by Greg Holland.

 

I would also agree with what the other posts here have said...most of the valiant runs through about the 6-12 months after shooter left were pretty tight...everyone has there personal preferences though. I enjoyed Harbinger through about #20, Magnus through #30, Solar through #30, Rai through 8 (didn't care for the future force---too contrived), Eternal Warrior through #30, Archer and Armstrong through #12, XO through #30 and Bloodshot through #30...I also liked the timewalker run. Most of the rest isn't worth the time to read.

[Sharkey]

So it sounds like we need a poll:

 

When did Valiant jump the shark?

 

1. When Shooter got booted

2. When Aerosmith guest starred in Shadowman

3. Armorines #1

4. HARDCorps #1

5. When Solar went Splitsville

6. When Harbinger ran out of cover ideas and had to do swipe of their own first issue

 

My money is on #1.

 

Me too.