Shadowman PlayStation One Memory Card

Saw this cool Acclaim era Shadow Man promo on a message board today. I've never seen or heard of it before. It's a Shadow Man themed memory card for the PlayStation One, no doubt a license in conjunction with the first Shadow Man video game.

Tee Shirt: Valiant logo in Harbinger Wars blue

This awesome shirt will debut at Wondercon in 2013.

X-O Manowar #1 ComicsPro Lithograph

Just saw this pop up on the official Valiant Comics Twitter feed (@ValiantComics).  It's a photo tweeted by Valiant Comics Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani (@dinesh_s).

The tweet that accompanied it reads as follows:

@ValiantComics is ready for ComicsPro part 1! #comicmarket #valiant #wariscoming pic.twitter.com/QrlaDIWZ

So what can we deduce from all this?  According to the internets, ComicsPro is "the only trade organization dedicated to the progress of direct market comic book retailers". They just happen to have their annual meeting of retailers and publishers in 4 days. I'm guessing that Valiant is going to be there and they are bringing these hand numbered (out of just 400) lithographs (which feature the Esad Ribic cover to X-O Manowar #1) to give to the retailers.

But the tweet also says that this is "part 1". What else do they have planned?  I'll post more when I know more.

No posts for a while as I see if I can open a comic store and fly to the ComicsPro quick enough to get one of these bad boys.

Quantum & Woody Lithograph

Check out this cool Quantum & Woody lithograph that was put out by collectibles emporium, Dynamic Forces. The print measures 18" x 24", is printed on textured paper and is said to be limited to only 500!

If anyone has a better scan, send it over.

Promo - Armstrong Ale

The companion piece to the Darque Brew, Armstrong Ale is a promotion for the Archer & Armstrong comic book series. Valiant (or Acclaim as it was called then) sent comic book retailers across America incentive/thank you Christmas packages that included a bottle of specially packaged beer in a box with a label that reads "Valiant Comics Special Holiday Brew: Armstrong Ale" and a greeting card that reads "Enjoy some Holiday Cheer from your friends at Acclaim Comics". Occasionally, these were accompanied with a letter from Valiant discussing the upcoming event books and promotions. 


The Darque Brew greeting card featured a picture of a Binosaur from Turok (which was originally used on the cover of Internal Correspondence, see the post about that here) but Armstrong Ale features a Christmas image of Doctor Mirage and Carmen (I'm not sure if this is an original image or if it was published before). Check out some images below:

The bottles were brewed exclusively for Valiant in 1994 by the Capital Brewing Company. These bottles have become sought after collectors items, especially when they come complete with the greeting card. Valiant had planned to issue 6 different bottles (I believe one per Christmas, though I'm not sure) which would then be collected in a six pack holder that would accompany the sixth bottle. Only Darque Brew and Armstrong Ale were ever produced.

Promo - Harbinger #25 post card

Check out this promotional post card featuring the full cover image without logos and price box of Harbinger #25.

I have no idea how this was distributed but when I find out I will update this post.

Magnus Pins Galore!!

Just had this sent in via email! Now I know why there is such a shortage of Magnus Robot Fighter freebie giveaway pins that were being handed out by Dark Horse Comics at the San Diego Comic Con this year...someone is hoarding them all!!

For anyone who is confused, click here.

Magnus Robot Figher Pin / Badge (SDCC 2010)

After searching for months and months, I finally got my hands on one of the Magnus Robot Fighter freebie giveaway pins that were being handed out by Dark Horse Comics at the San Diego Comic Con this year.  I've heard that while there were tons of bags of free Solar, Man of the Atom badges there was only one small bag of Magnus ones.  No one else I know has one.

Anyway, I had to pay $30 for it and wanted to ask what every out there thought. Did I get ripped off? Does anyone else even have one?

I've updated my San Diego Comic Con 2010 report to include a picture of the badge - yes, until now I didn't even have a picture of one!

UPDATE: Verdict is in and its unanimous...I got ripped off...

Valiant Quality Apparel

Valiant Comics and Planet Studios partnered for a number of years producing a line of very high quality Valiant Comics clothing (my favorite being the Valiant Comics logo baseball hat). As far as I know there is no master list of exactly what was produced. I'm going to attempt to compile such a list (with pictures) here. Bookmark this blog post as it will constantly be updated.

Credit to Sonic Dan's Valiant Webpage for the scan.

Rai and the Future Force Lithograph

Got an interesting Valiant Comics item here. It's an official Rai and the Future Force lithograph signed by artist Sean Chen. I've never seen this image before which is neat. It features The 43rd Rai, Eternal Warrior, Tekla, Magnus Robot Fighter, Kazuyo Nakadai in the X-O Commando armor (wife of the 42nd Rai), Spylocke and the the Malev Emperor.

I have no idea how this was made avaliable, how much it costs, how many were made or if it was part of a larger collection of lithographs so check back to this post for future updates.

Promo - Darque Brew

One of the most famous Valiant Comics promotional items is the Darque Brew bottle of beer. Valiant (or Acclaim as it was called then) sent comic book retailers across America incentive/thank you Christmas packages that included a bottle of specially packaged beer in a box with a label that reads "Valiant Comics Darque Brew" and a greeting card that reads "Happy Holidays from your friends at Acclaim Comics". Occasionally, these were accompanied with a letter from Valiant discussing the upcoming event books and promotions. 

The bottles were brewed exclusively for Valiant in 1994 by the Capital Brewing Company. These bottles have become sought after collectors items, especially when they come complete with the greeting card. Valiant had planned to issue 6 different bottles (I believe one per Christmas) which would then be collected in a six pack holder that would accompany the sixth bottle. Only one other bottle was ever produced - Armstrong Ale - promoted Archer & Armstrong.

UPDATE: You can now see pictures and read description of Armstrong Ale in my Armstrong Ale post.

Valiant logo tee (bootleg?)

Looks like the same seller who is selling the Bloodshot / Rai chest logo tee shirts also has a tee shirt featuring the Valiant logo from the 90s.

Rai / Bloodshot tee shirt (bootleg?)

Found this probably illegal tee shirt of the Rai / Bloodshot chest logo on zazzle.com.

The seller's own description bascially admits that it's a knock off

This shirt COULD be the Japanese flag... but if you read Valiant Comics in the early 90s you know that this is a Rai and/or Bloodshot tee. I always wanted one so I just made one.

It's still pretty damn sweet. Click here to buy one.

Lenticular Shadowman Lobby Card

Found a cool and rare item on ebay today, its a lenticular lobby card promoting the Shadow Man video game. According to the seller its a huge 22' x 28' and was available at Sam Goody and EB Games stores.

I've never seen one before and would be tempted to add it to my collection but the starting bid is a whopping $325!

Statue - Shadowman

I'm going to attempt to compile every scrap of information on the foreign import Shadow Man (two words because that's how the video game spells it and this is a statue based on the video game) statue in this post so please check back as there will be updates.

What is it?
A 16 inch / 40 cm tall (with base) cold cast resin statue of Shadow Man based on the Michael LeRoi version of the character from the Acclaim comics and video games.

Where was it avaliable?
Seems to have been avaliable only in Europe.

How much is it?
The original retail price is unknown but when one appears on eBay it usually sells for approx. $100 USD.

How many were made?
Unknown but it was a limited edition.

When was it made?
2000.

Who Made it?
Acclaim Entertainment German Division through a license with Muckle Mannequin. It was sculpted by Studio Oxmox.

  

UPDATE: I found the Muckle Mannequin official website which still has some information on the statue:

http://www.mucklefiguren.de/content/e3/e166/index_eng.html#

X-O Manowar Volume Two Action Figure

It seems that during the Acclaim days an X-O Manowar action figure was being prepped for production. The chrome plated action figure based on the second volume of the series featured a pop out emblem. Check out some pictures below.

Only two prototypes are known to have existed. They are valued at approx $8,000 each. But where are they today?

UPDATE: I ran across eight more pictures of the prototype action figure. Lots of great angles.

Valiant @ San Diego Comic-Con 2010

Valiant had a big presence at this years San Diego Comic-Con thanks in large part to the Doctor Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter and Turok, Son of Stone books coming from Dark Horse. Check it out:

The Dark Horse booth featured a giant Doctor Solar banner that could be seen from pretty much anywhere on the convention center floor.

Throughout the booth they had various posters for their different books including Turok, Son of Stone and Magnus Robot Fighter.

Dark Horse was giving away a few hundred of these yellow Doctor Solar/Magnus Robot Fighter bags every morning.

They were also giving away this double sided Doctor Solar/Magnus Robot Fighter poster.

The Dark Horse give away book this year featured a Doctor Solar cover. They were also giving away tons of Doctor Solar badges (pictured above if you look carefully) and a few Magnus Robot Fighter badges (but those were rare and very hard to come by - not pictured).

UPDATE: Finally, got my hands on a Magnus Robot Fighter badge/pin. Had to pay through the nose but its worth it to have both pins. Here's a picture:

--UPDATE OVER--

Now check out these prices for Valiant books at the various retailers that were present at San Diego.

Archer & Armstrong #0 Gold Variant for $80

Eternal Warrior #1 Gold Variant with Flat lettering for $100

Rai #1 for $20

Harbinger #2 with coupon for $40

Magnus Robot Fighter #0 without card for $80

Quantum & Woody #3 for $20

A few different Retailer Review Copies for $50 each