The Valiant

Written by the superstar tag-team of Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire, The Valiant is both the perfect introduction into Valiant Comics for new readers, and also a gripping tale with significant impact that will satisfy longtime fans.Fleshing out the mythology of the Valiant Universe further, we learn of the Eternal Warrior’s eons old conflict with a terrifying creature known as the Immortal Enemy. Gilad has been charged to protect the line of Geomancers, but three times in the past the Immortal Enemy has appeared and Gilad has failed in his duty. The Geomancer has been killed, and a dark age has descended upon the world.Now, the Immortal Enemy has returned once more and is hunting Kay McHenry, the current Geomancer. But in this age of sentient battle armor wearing Visigoths, psiot powered teenagers, nanites laced super-soldiers, and rampaging uber-goats, perhaps this time the Eternal Warrior now has the forces necessary to stave off the Enemy’s evil intentions.Focusing primarily on three characters (the Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and Bloodshot) The Valiant quickly falls into two tales playing out side by side – Gilad, and his efforts to combat the Immortal Enemy by bringing in the other heroes of the Valiant Universe, while Bloodshot and Kay try their best to stay ahead of the beast’s grasp. It is with Bloodshot and Kay that we get the quietest moments of the book, as these scenes provide opportunities for character exploration between two very different types of heroes.While the scenes with Kay and Bloodshot make up some of the best moments in the book, the scenes involving Gilad and the other heroes are where I must give The Valiant a slight ding. Things felt rushed in these scenes – the other heroes seem gathered remarkably easy and with no explanation, and the fighting is brief and confined to a handful of pages… one gets the feeling that much whittling must have been done to get everything compacted into a couple of issues. As a result, the Big Fight comes off as a weaker component of this otherwise great story.Special mention must be made of the artwork by Paolo Rivera. It was considered no small coup that Valiant was able to secure his artistic services for this series, and the finished product shows that he was the perfect choice. The man shows terrific skill in scripting each individual panel, and the emotion he can convey through a characters facial expressions provides a master’s class for other artists out there.In closing, The Valiant is a terrific piece of work from Valiant, and absolutely achieves the intended goal of providing a great jumping on point for new readers. Hopefully they are intrigued and seek out other Valiant titles to explore further. At the same time, with the new ‘Bloodshot, Reborn’ title and the recently announced Book of Death summer event all having their origins in The Valiant, enough future story material has been set up in these pages to make this tale an important one for all longtime fans to dive into. Not to be missed, as the future of the Valiant Universe begins to be revealed here!

I purchased this last summer because it was written by Jeff Lemire and received a bevy of positive reviews.It took me months to get through the first issue, and I'm a voracious reader. The art is fine, but nothing special. For people looking for value, it is only 4 issues, but modestly priced at $9.99.Lemire introduces us to 8 major characters, plus a villain. Only a few of them get the attention that is needed to cause the reader to become interested in them. I applaud Lemire for his creativity and ambition, but the tale of a number of solo heroes being brought together by the government(s) to fight an ancient, powerful evil figure is a story that I've already read too many times to become interested in the middle of the 2010s.If you are desperate for stories with superheroes and are tired of the Big 2, then you will enjoy this.

This is what a cosmic shift of AWESOME is all about. Many, many times comic company's tell you that something is going to change there universe forever with a story or an Event. Only to have it falter or be completely ignored later. Luckily Valiant isn't that way. They have proved it with "The Valiant". You can tell the first time you start reading it. Everything down to the art and writing is Perfect on details. You can see that the team spent countless time making sure everything would be right in the execution of each character. From Eternal Warrior to the true stars of the Series Bloodshot and Kay. Jeff Lemier and Matt Kindt have done the rare story that craves a reread. If you haven't read it than DO IT!Paolo Rivera art is something to behold some call it simple buy dynamic and you can see the attention to detail is amazing to watch it unfold as the story does. There's a reason his original art is sought after and you can see it in this TPB. For $9.99 there is little doubt what an Amazing deal this book is at this price. This TPB from Valiant gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!

This collection is a wonderful jump-on point for new Valiant readers, as it is a self-contained story filled with fantastic action, compelling characters, and a solid plot. Even better, the story continues if you choose to keep following it. The art is tasteful and beautiful. The dialogue is fast-paced and informative. The action is full-throttle and non-stop. The stakes are high, and lives are on the line, and as the tension ramps up, the plot thickens, and the heroes rise to the occasion. If you only own one Valiant-branded TPB, then The Valiant is the best one to start with! This book introduces you to a lot of the main Valiant characters, lets you spend some quality time with them, and then takes you for a ride. If this book doesn't make you a fan of Valiant's stellar characters and stories, then nothing will.

Feels a bit like a marketing ploy or gap filler for the Valiant Universe as a whole...but what the hell, I still liked it. a short run just to introduce a new ongoing character to the universe and set the stage for Bloodshot: Reborn and The Book of Death.the story teases at a huge, "calling all heroes" Valiant Universe throw-down...but fails to deliver on that front (I think there was just one full-page spread showing all the Valiant characters in action, but then...it's over).

Setting up both Lemire's Bloodshot Reborn and The Book of Death, this is a fairly fast paced and goes into this version of the unified Valiant universe. A fun reset to Valiant that shifted several key characters profoundly.

This is the first Valiant book I've picked up. I bought on the strength of the other reviews which stated this is a good place to start, and I've also been enjoying Jeff Lemire's writing on Descender.This was a great gateway to the Valiant universe and even though a lot of characters are introduced you're not left in the dark.The story is action packed and the characters are relatable. Some excellent horror style artwork sections too.Highly enjoyable and I'm really glad I took a chance on it. Will be back for more!

'The Valiant' von Valiant Entertainment ist meine erste echte Einführung in dieses Universum gewesen. Zuvor hatte ich nur zwei Einzelhefte aus den90ern gelesen. Mit grossen Erwartungen bin ich an diese Mini-Serie rangegangen, da ich auf gute Stories und interessante Charaktere Wert legeund mir beides von diversen Rezensenten im Internet versprochen wurde.Der Plot:Gilad - der Eternal Warrior - ist seit mehreren tausend Jahren mit dem Schutz der Geomancer beauftragt. Ein Wesen - genannt Immortal Enemy - sucht und tötet die Geomancer, da dies seine Natur zu sein scheint. Dreimal im Laufe der Geschichte hat der Eternal Warrior versagt dieGeomancer ihrer Zeit vor dem Immortal Enemy zu schützen. In unserer Gegenwart angekommen ist der heutige Geomancer eine junge Fraunamens Kay McHenry, die nicht sonderlich glücklich mit ihrer Aufgabe als Geomancer ist, da sie schon genug Probleme hat auch ohne diesegrosse Bürde. Nun kehrt der Immortal Enemy zurück und der Eternal Warrior versucht verzweifelt Kay vor dem gleichen Schicksal wie ihrenVorgängern zu bewahren. Doch diesmal hat er die Unterstützung von Valiants grössten Helden. Ein scheinbar Aussichtsloser Kampf mit demImmortal Enemy entfacht und die Helden versuchen alles um den scheinbar unbesiegbaren Feind aufzuhalten.In der ersten Ausgabe der vierteiligen Miniserie werden hauptsächlich die Charaktere Eternal Warrior, Geomancer und Bloodshot vorgestellt unddie Hintergrundgeschichte mit dem Immortal Enemy. Die restlichen drei Ausgaben handeln hauptsächlich den verzweifelten Versuch ab demGeomancer das Leben zu retten. Am Ende nimmt die Geschichte eine wirklich interesannte Wendung und ein bittersüsses Ende, mit deutlichenAuswirkungen auf die Leben einiger Beteiligter.Das Artwork von Paolo Rivera (Daredevil) ist sehr gemischt meiner Meinung nach. Es ist schön anzusehen und er hat sich sichtlich mühe beidem Projekt gemacht. Gerade ruhige Charaktermomente sind ganz offensichtlich seine Stärke. Diese stellt er wunderschön dar mit einer grossenWeite an Gestik und Mimik. Seine einzige Schwäche sind meiner Meinung nach die Actionszenen. Diesen fehlt es an dynamik und sie kommensehr gestellt daher.Fazit: Ich habe diesen Einstieg in das Valiantuniversum definitiv nicht bereut. Eine gute Story, die mich neugierig nach anderen Titeln gemachthat.

Great artwork. Interesting concept, but a lackluster crossover. Not as Earth shaking as Civil War or Secret Wars.

In time and in good state. The book is very good. I recommend it.

I love comic books and I am a big fan of DC and Marvel. I regularly collect their comics, and I have a number of comics; from both of the companies. As well as reading DC and Marvel, I was looking to start reading other comic book companies work. I heard "The Valiant", was supposed to be fantastic, so naturally I bought it. This is not a bad comic as such, but it just feels like a missed opportunity. The storyline was quite dull, I had no idea who what a geomancer is. I also felt that the story ended strangely. This book is a crossover, of all the Valiant comics characters. So you would expect them all to get equal screen time. I really like bloodshot in this book, he was funny, cool and bad ass. But the rest of the characters were either boring, or said nothing. This graphic novel, was supposed to launch Valiant, and although it is good, it isn't good enought to make me go back sadly.