Valiant Comics
Valiant, please do right by creators and your legacy
Quantum, Woody and a goat
I’m totally digging Valiant Entertainment’s comics right now. When I met a couple of the guys from the company at the recent Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, they were extremely friendly and generous, especially considering I showed up at their table as the event was shutting down for the day. I stocked up on their books and have been diving in ever since: X-O Manowar was great fun; I’m halfway through Harbinger, and it’s even better; and I’m really looking forward to Archer & Armstrong, which had a funny and clever first issue I read on comiXology. Fantasy world-building is one of those things comics can really excel in, as evidenced by the Marvel and DC universes, so it’s always exciting when a new one comes along that does it so well.
However, I have some concerns about some things I’ve read. In case you don’t know, these current Valiant titles are relaunched versions of the series published in the ’90s by Valiant Comics. That company was very successful and was eventually bought by the video game company Acclaim Entertainment, which went bankrupt soon after, taking Valiant down with it. A number of years passed until a new company called Valiant Entertainment purchased all of the original properties, and began bringing them back to life. Sounds like a happy ending, and it mostly is — but there are a couple of red flags.
Before I get into all of this, though, it’s important to note that Valiant Entertainment has done nothing legally wrong. I’m not a lawyer, but as far as I know, the company is under no legal obligations to change its actions. That said, there’s a lot of goodwill capital to be gained by doing right by the creators of the original properties.
The Middle Ground #130 | Thank you, friends
This isn’t a “Best of 2012″ list, because (a) 2012 isn’t finished yet, and (b) every time I attempt to put “Best of” lists together, I inevitably end up forgetting something that I utterly adore and feel guilty about it afterwards. Instead, inspired by Thursday’s upcoming holiday and the fact that you might be thinking about buying things on Friday for some reason, here are five things in comics from this year that I’m thankful for.
Valiant teases the return of Ninjak
Valiant Entertainment has unveiled a tantalizing, and bloody, image trumpeting the September return of Ninjak, the wildly popular ninja spy created by Mark Moretti and Joe Quesada.
Introduced in July 1993′s Bloodshot #6, Ninjak was the world’s top espionage expert and the enforcer for the mysterious Weaponeer organization who quickly became one of Valiant’s most popular characters. By February 1994, he was the star of his own series, which ran for 26 issues. After video-game company Acclaim Entertainment bought Valiant in 1996, Ninjak, like the company’s other characters, underwent a game-friendly overhaul. The creative team of Kurt Busiek, Neil Vokes and Michael Avon Oeming, launched a second series in March 1997 featuring a teenage Ninjak who received ancient ninja powers from a video game.
Ninjak will join a revived Valiant lineup that already includes X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong. Check out the full teaser below.
Comics A.M. | WonderCon still hoping for return to San Francisco
WonderCon
Conventions | David Glanzer, Comic-Con International’s director of marketing and public relations, looks back on this year’s WonderCon, which was held in Anaheim, California, rather than in San Francisco, touches upon the uncertainty about the location for next year’s show — “we just don’t have dates at the Moscone Center yet” — and discusses changes to pro and press registration for Comic-Con. [ICv2]
Conventions | Grant Morrison talks about MorrisonCon, the Sept. 28-30 convention billed as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” “It’s not going to be ‘Come here and buy some comics and listen to a few panels,’ ” he says. “After two days you will be a changed person.” Tickets for the Las Vegas show, which is limited to 1,000 attendees, cost $767, and include a two-night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, access to the guests and after-hours parties. [The Hollywood Reporter]