Being a student at Valiant High is rough, if you aren’t being run into the ground by psycho Coach Bloodshot, you’re fighting weird energy being monsters on the football field. And what about all the secrets? This place makes Sunnydale High look like William McKinley High! Am I right? So let’s see what is happening with Valiant High #4 from Valiant Entertainment!
VALIANT HIGH #4
Writer: Daniel Kibblesmith
Artist: Derek Charm
Colors: David Baron
Cover: Daniel LaFuente with David Baron, Derek Charm
Editors: Warren Simons & Lauren Hitzhusen
Assistant Editor: Benjamin Peterson
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Valiant High: The kids of Valiant high have been through a lot the past three issues. Amanda “Livewire” McKee has flipped and did a P.D.A. on her crush, football hero Arica “X-O Manowar” Dacia, Peter “Not Cool Enough for a Codename” Stancheck and Colin “The New Kid” King uncovered the secret of Gilad and Armstrong, and they were all attacked by the Immortal Enemy donned the team football uniforms and took to the field in an all-out blitz! And now it’s homecoming! What could happen next?
ITS FOURTH AND DIE!
Homecoming… The Big Game… other descriptive football/high school type qualifiers I don’t know. The Valiant High Manowars are preparing to take on the Ivy Academy and it’s the most important game of the year. Star quarterback Aric Dacia is on the field, Coach Bloodshot is directing the plays and BFFs Amanda McKee and Faith Herbert are in the stands with their classmates. Before the game starts, Amanda and Aric had a little discussion about the kiss Amanda laid on Aric last issue, and she finds that her and the blonde hair, blue eye, football hero may not be as different as she thought. But that is secondary to the game, and it looks like Valiant High will have a fight on their hands as Aric attempts to lead the team to victory!
After the game (no, I’m not going to spoil it for you), we find Faith and her prom date, Colin King, riding to the dance in a limo with their friends Amanda and Peter. Will Amanda be stuck with Peter? Will Peter be voted Prom King? Will Woody finally make an appearance? Is the punch spiked? It’s a super-powered, mecha-fueled, unspeakable evil kind of night as the kids trip the light fantastic and dance the night away to destruction!
Oh, and what about Woody? Has he really been THERE all along?!
THE DOOMSDAY BOX-STEP!
For the past three issues, we’ve watched as Daniel Kibblesmith (Quantum and Woody, Santa’s Husband) laid out a fun and fanciful tale of high school angst, drama, and fun to rival any of the big television efforts. While we get a lot of questions answered in this issue, there are more which get asked. But even among various sub-plots, he achieves some definite character development and you feel like some characters grew and learned something. It’s just a fun as the previous issues, and you get a nice denouement to cap off this season. Sorry, did I say season? Yep, on the catch-up page it definably says this is the season finale, so we get a hint there may be another season to follow, and myself I can’t wait. Many times, when we get a series where established characters are put back in a high school setting, it gets all serious and depressing, but Kibblesmith has kept the atmosphere light and fun, even among all the mystery and evil things going on. It a treat, and a great read overall.
Daniel LaFuente’s cover once again hits the spot as we have a prom photo of Faith and Colin in their standard blue/white and purple/black colors on a homecoming backdrop. It’s well composed and fun, fitting the tone of the title perfectly.
Derek Charm (Jughead, Star Wars Adventures) has been a constant pleasure on this book. His art feels youthful and vibrant, with age-appropriate body types and great composition. The colors by David Baron work well and make the whole title get just the right feel and look.
BOTTOM LINE: VALIANT HIGH #4 IS TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL
Keeping my school themed numbering, this senior issue of Valiant High gets high marks. It’s a great title that has a purpose and sticks to it. You don’t feel as if there was ever an effort to push any storylines on it to callback to current issues of the Valiant Universe, but instead, you get a timeline that is true to itself without falling completely into shtick. I look forward to seeing what is to come from the students at Valiant High.
Valiant High #4 answers enough questions to be satisfying, but opens up more than lay the foundation for future efforts. A must-have title!
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Back in February of 2008, Stacy Baugher wrote his first article for Major Spoilers and started a solid run of work that would last for over two years. He wrote the first series of Comic Casting Couch articles as well as multiple Golden Age Hero Histories, reviews and commentaries. After taking a hiatus from all things fandom he has returned to the Major Spoilers fold. He can currently be found on his blog, www.stacybaugher.com , were he post progress on his fiction work as well as his photography and life in general, and on Twitter under the handle @stacybaugher . If you're of a mind, he also takes on all comers with the under the Xbox Live Gamertag, Lost Hours. He currently lives in Clinton, Mississippi with his understanding wife, and two kids.