MEDIA RELEASE: Valiant is proud to announce four new series for the summer of 2012 — X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and Archer & Armstrong — featuring brand new beginnings for some of comics’ most iconic characters! Kicking off with X-O Manowar in May and Harbinger in June, the Summer of Valiant continues this July in Bloodshot #1, from acclaimed writer Duane Swierczynski (Immortal Iron Fist, Birds of Prey) and artists Manuel Garcia (Checkmate, Spider Man: Breakout) & Arturo Lozzi (Immortal Weapons)! Then, in August, the Valiant Universe’s greatest duo begins an all-new epic journey in Archer & Armstrong #1 by the New York Times bestselling creative team of Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man, Hulk: Season One) and Clayton Henry (Uncanny X-Men)! Four months. Four titles. Infinite possibilities. The Summer of Valiant is coming!
May: X-O Manowar #1
The Valiant Universe kicks off in this landmark, oversized first issue from New York Times-bestselling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates, The Homeland Directive) and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan)! Born into battle, Aric of Dacia – heir to the throne of the Visigoth people – has never known peace. After a brutal encounter with a mysterious enemy known as The Vine leaves him a prisoner on an alien world, the only hope Aric has of returning to his family and saving them from slavery is to seize a weapon of incalculable destruction and become X-O Manowar!
June: Harbinger #1
From New York Times bestselling author Joshua Dysart (Unknown Soldier, BPRD) and Harvey Award nominee Khari Evans (Carbon Grey)! Read minds. Bend steel. Break all the rules! Teenager Pete Stanchek is out of work, on the skids, and – unbeknownst to him – a psionically-powered “harbinger” with the potential to reshape the course of human history. Toyo Harada is a wealthy business magnate, a respected philanthropist and the most powerful harbinger of all – or so he thought. As they forge an uneasy alliance, will Harada offer Pete a chance for redemption - or attempt to induct him into a secret network of conspiracy, subversion and control? When this super-hero comes of age, the entire Valiant Universe will have to learn the price of power.
July: Bloodshot #1
From writer Duane Swierczynski (Immortal Iron Fist, Birds of Prey) and fan favorite artists Manuel Garcia (Checkmate, Spider-Man: Breakout) & Arturo Lozzi (Immortal Weapons)! Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of — no. That’s not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You’ve retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that — no. That’s not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires. The perfect confluence of military necessity and cutting-edge technology. A walking WikiLeaks that is a reservoir of dirty secrets that could set the world on fire. And you’ve just been captured.
August: Archer & Armstrong #1
From the New York Times bestselling creative team of Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man, Hulk: Season One) and Clayton Henry (Uncanny X-Men)! Born and raised to be the perfect assassin, 18-year-old Obadiah Archer has been chosen by The Sect — a cult of fanatical extremists — to destroy evil incarnate. But when Archer finally lays eyes on his target — a surly, hard-drinking immortal named Armstrong — he finds himself pulled into an unlikely partnership that will take him on globe-trotting quest to stay one step ahead of The Sect’s next nefarious plot!
A decade in the making, the all-new Valiant Universe is on the rise. X-O Manowar in May. Harbinger in June. Bloodshot in July. Archer & Armstrong in August. This summer, the story starts here! END MEDIA RELEASE
Well we are going to find out if the comic book world is ready for the re-release of the Valiant Universe of characters and superheros. In 2007, a group of investment professionals and media executives led by entrepreneurs Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasani acquired all the rights to the Valiant Comics library from Acclaim Entertainment’s estate and formed Valiant Entertainment. In late 2008, Jim Shooter was hired as Editor-In-Chief but only lasted until the summer of 2009. In October 2009, Valiant sued Jim Shooter for breach of contract, after he accepted a writing contract with Dark Horse’s relaunch of the Gold Key characters, considered key to Valiant’s publishing plan. In August 2011, Cuneo & Co. invested in Valiant Entertainment with Cuneo and Co.’s principals, Peter and Gavin Cuneo, joined Valiant’s board as chairman and director, respectively.
Originally founded in 1989, Valiant Comics quickly became one of the most successful comic book publishers by creating unique and compelling heroes and villains and focusing on storytelling. Valiant characters have been written and illustrated by many of the industry’s most famous creative talents, including Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor Smith, Joe Quesada, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Steve Ditko, Mike Mignola and Neal Adams, among many others.
“We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time and I’m excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012,” said Director Dinesh Shamdasani. “Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenants of the original Valiant and are the core tenants of the new Valiant.” “Valiant owns and controls a universe of some of the most recognizable characters in the comic world,” added Peter Cuneo. “To this day, despite interruptions in its history, Valiant has retained an extremely passionate fan base. We are keenly focused on bringing the original Valiant Universe back for these fans as well as introducing these powerful characters and stories to new readers.”
Even with this rough restart as a comic book company it looks like it is underway. So you hard core Valiant fans and new comic book readers here it is. These characters were very popular at one time selling over 80 million comics so lets see if they can make a run at Marvel and DC Comics for the top spot. Valiant is back. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. 🙂 Walt