Comic Books: Valiant Entertainment
It goes without saying that both “DC” and “Marvel” have ruled over the comics industry for the better part of seventy five years since the creation of “Superman” in 1938. From there, the industry has expanded to hundreds of publishers, spanning many languages and cultures.
Among these many comic productions are the independent publishing houses, which had always struggled against the top two of the business. Recently, however, indie books have been becoming more and more popular as readers begin to branch out and into the unknown, hoping for stories that rival or even better those sold by “DC” and “Marvel.”
In 1992, “Jim Shooter,” famous for his work at “Marvel” created his own publishing house called “Valiant.” The premise of the company was simple- to create comics that were story driven, with characters that always kept one foot in reality, bridging the gap between our world and those of the superheroes. This idea gave birth to “Valiant’s” signature character- “X-O Manowar.”
“X-O Manowar” was a Visigoth from around 400 BC abducted by aliens to slavery. Stealing an ancient alien armor, Aric of Dacia became the “X-O Manowar,” escaping his captors and returning to modern day earth to protect it from any war that may come its way, as he and his long extinct people had done so long ago.
The success of the book, along with the comic boom of the 80’s and 90’s, allowed for “Valiant” to produce many other characters, including “Ninjak,” “Bloodshot,” and “Archer and Armstrong,” all receiving decent reviews and readership.
“Valiant” was getting popular, with a respectable number of fans and was noticed by gaming company “Acclaim Studios,” which purchased the “Valiant” company in the late 1990’s leading to a relaunch of the entire “Valiant” universe, with “X-O” leading the way being written by comics scribe “Mark Waid.” This, however, was short lived.
In the early 2000’s, “Acclaim Studios” took a turn for the worst, ultimately dying out due to better video game publishers and creators. With the fall of “Acclaim” came the fall of “Valiant” comics, each title being cancelled for any foreseeable future.
Luckily, 2012 saw the return of “Valiant,” now being labeled as “Valiant Entertainment,” once again being led by a new, more modern and darker take on “X-O Manowar.” This rebranding of the company took the comics industry by storm, earning Eisner award winning writers and artists to join in on their books, earning “Valiant Entertainment” awards like “2012 best new series” by “IGN.”
Their latest event book, “The Valiant,” was considered for the ‘best limited series’ Eisner award in 2014. The story also received five star ratings from “Comic Vine” and “IGN,” with single issues going back to press for second printings, something not well heard of in the independent comic field.
“Valiant” has been climbing the ranks as my personal favorite comic company, as well as other fans as well. This is evident by their recent movie contract to make movies based off of their characters “Bloodshot” and “Shadowman.”
Recommended “Valiant Entertainment” Readings-
– Ninjak
– Rai
*Remember to support the comic business at your local comic shop, the best way to buy single issues and to buy trades/ novels in the most pristine conditions.
