The resurgence of Valiant Comics is upon us, but the real question is, “Are there any heroes left alive to join a new team?” Your Major Spoilers review of The Valiants #1 from Valiant Entertainment awaits!

THE VALIANTS #1

Writer: Ryan Cady
Artist: Al Barrionuevo
Colorist: Nobi
Letterer: Ezequiel Inverni
Editor: Martin Casanova
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 8, 2024

Previously in The Valiants: A mysterious sinkhole emerges in the heart of DC, devouring the newly erected X-O Memorial statue in its depths. But this is no ordinary sinkhole; it’s a gateway to The Faraway, a realm beyond imagination, teeming with peril and unknown wonders. Join the Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Bloodshot, and more as The Valiants take on the mysteries beyond.

WASHINGTON DC IS NO MORE

A massive sinkhole has opened up under Washington DC, seemingly consuming the city, including the memorial statue of X-O, the greatest hero of all Valiant incarnations. At the headquarters of GATE (the Global Agency for Threat Exclusion), General Jamie Capshaw wants to activate the superheroes of the world, but the members of Unity are all out of action, dead, or not taking her calls. Fortunately, she has the ability to return one of them from the “dead,” as the news of Ninjak’s demise was somewhat exaggerated. Tracking him to one of the abandoned lairs of futurist baddie Dr. Silk, she reveals herself, decides to take over the installation as her new superhero headquarters, and reactivates a robot defender to be the team’s new majordomo. Then, The Eternal Warrior shows up with a new Geomancer, just in time for things to get even more complicated.

YOU NEED TO BE UP ON THE TEXTS 

The primary takeaway from this issue is that, apparently, the Valiant Universe continued past 2018, the last time that I recall paying attention to it. That’s fine, but this issue doesn’t make any attempt to cover any of that territory, instead choosing to briefly reference stories without context. Even the destruction of DC takes place in a single panel, as though it were a tie-in to another comic, but I can’t find anything telling me if that’s the case. I even had to look up what GATE stands for, the kind of thing that makes me miss old-school editor’s notes. It may just be a matter of awkward pacing, as the whole issue just throws situations and characters at the reader the entire time. The art is somewhat more successful, but there’s a certain sketchiness to the linework that, combined with the high-velocity scripting, feels rushed and incomplete. The flat coloring helps somewhat, but the actual palette is overwhelmingly brown and orange, making it all feel a little drab.

BOTTOM LINE: WHY DOES THE BUTLER LOOK JUST LIKE RAI?

The biggest disappointment of The Valiants #1 isn’t so much the parts that don’t work, it’s the fact that the story has a lot of moments that I am interested in finding out more about, but the issue provides little in the way of context to seek it out, leaving the finished product with a disappointed 2 out of 5 stars overall. I’ll be watching what Alien Books does with these characters going forward, with the caveat that I’d love an old-fashioned “Last Time” banner to help explain what I’m reading about.

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THE VALIANTS #1

40%

40%

Not New Reader Friendly

Even as a hardcore fan of Valiant v.1 and someone familiar with both revamped versions, this issue is overwhelming and way too fast-paced.

• Writing

  3
• Art

  5
• Coloring

  4
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0