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Posted March 23, 2013 by Dan Spiler in Comics
 
 

Valiant Weekly Comic Roundup

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This month saw some pretty big plot get resolved, and even bigger plot get the setup in time for Harbinger Wars starting soon.

Harbinger #9 – Faith saves peter from capture and brain damage. She’s so cool; honestly, how many heroine’s do you know who’d risk their lives during an escape to make sure they had sweet threads? Faith man, faith. We also get a bit of her origin story and how she managed to end up in Peter’s retinue of ragtag psychic. It’s a thoroughly good read, and it’s more of what I love: Faith being awesome, and psychic battles.

Harbinger #10 – This is where the poop hits the fan, and we get all the feels. It’s one of those touching yet heroic and awesome issues, and I don’t want to spoil it. Suffice to say, Faith is the greatest comic character of all time, and Harbinger continues to be in my Valiant Top 3.

XO Manowar #10 – the pugilism is high in this issue, with the Vine commander who’s been out for Aric’s blood showing up in person, and battling to the death. Who lives, who dies? Well, the comic isn’t called “Vine Commander”, now is it? Aric’s lost friend is alive, albeit long enough to take Shanhara! Yeah, it gets really good, and I’m almost at foot-in-mouth about my earlier comments about the series. There’s a subtle depth here that becomes more and more exposed as the series goes on. Kudos to the writers and artists.

XO Manowar #11 (Planet Death Part 1) – This issue really makes me think long and hard about how similar Aric of Dacia and Shanhara are like Ironman. In a good way. The whole reckless guy with vengeance on his mind, saving the world etc. But I like the way Valiant’s writers are presenting it.And Planet Death is both apt and foreshadowy, and it’s got me really excited.

Shadowman #5 – A new guy enters the mix. He’s tanned, toting guns, and prays to a god of death who’s kinda frumpy and forgotten. But not forgotten by Darque. Is he good? Is he bad? Will Darque change all that by talking to his frumpy god? And let’s not forget all of the inner turmoil our Loa-toting friend is feeling; he gets to watch his favourite waitress get murdered. It’s a long and ardous road being hitched with the Loa and being the Shadowman; and then you enter unlife to keep it going. It’s so delicious to read Shadowman, it’s like eating a bowl of rainbow and unicorns (and it tastes like candy). Only there’s murder, and rune-etch dwarves and a talking monkey in the underworld. One of my Valiant Top 3.

Archer and Armstrong #8 – Ho-lee-crap people, this is where everything comes to a head. Again. Like it does every issue. I really think Archer and Armstrong should be a saturday morning cartoon: it’s got lots of action, a simple plot with lots of twists and turns to keep it all interesting, and every issue has a new ‘big bad’ or epic cliffhanger. Seriously, A&A is my favourite Valiant comic, and deserves it’s spot in my Valiant Top 3.

Valiant is also gearing up for their Harbinger Wars crossover event, with an iOS game and some 8-bit variants. Pretty rad stuff. You can read all about it here.


Dan Spiler