Secret Valiant Production Blog?

Now this is very interesting!

We know that Valiant Comics will be publishing new stories in 2012 and we have a good sense that they will be rebooting the Universe thanks to a quote from Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani.

“We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time and I’m excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012” said Dinesh Shamdasani. “Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenets of the original Valiant and are the core tenets of the new Valiant.”

But we've heard little since then, other than some surprising rumors about certain big name creators being involved and a steady yet vague stream of social media posts on Twitter and Facebook.

Now comes the exposure (or perhaps planned leak?) of an anonymous Tumblr named Man Of War which contains some very juicy and hastily taken (or meticulously planned to look hastily taken?) photos that look very much like the inner workings of the Valiant Comics offices.

At first glance the photos look pedestrian - shots of an average looking office, text book pages, boxes of tee shirts and even what appear to be previously released images. But upon closer inception we find a wealth of new information and imagery not previously released or even meant to officially exist!

Take a look for yourself at Man Of War or at the example below (more thorough analysis of all the pictures will follow in a subsequent post).

This was posted on October 7th, a full 4 months after the below image accompanied the initial announcement that Peter Cuneo had come on board as Chairman of Valiant and that Valiant would return in 2012.

They look the same, don't they? That's because they are. However, look closely and you'll notice that there are not two copies of that image in the Tumblr photo. The one underneath is slightly different. In that one you can see the white of a hand and the blood splatter sword. Did David Aja draw a reveal to go along with the Rai #0 homage silhouette? Tres interesting no?

So who is leaking these photos?

• A freelancer who occasionally visits the Valiant offices? 

No, the posts are too consistent and look to be shot after hours (see the night sky in the photos with windows?)

• How about an overly excited intern? 

Possibly, but then why haven't they been taken down now that the Tumblr has been exposed?

• Valiant Comics themselves?

Also, possible. If it is them then this is very cutting edge tech they are using (they've already showed that they are more than adept with Twitter and Facebook, racking up thousands of followers without any real announcements or images). I can't recall another comic book publisher that uses Tumblr. I hope it is Valiant and I hope they keep using cutting edge resources like this.

UPDATE: An eagle eye'd reader pointed out that the Tumblr's name, Man Of War, is clearly a link to the Valiant character, X-O Manowar. Don't know how I missed that!

Valiant Comics returns in 2012!

For my first update in quite a while I give you the best news you've heard since you were told about All Things Valiant: Valiant Comics will return to publishing comic books in 2012!

Now we don't know exactly when, which titles (though we can guess) or with which creative teams but we do know that a formidable team of executives have come together to make this happen - Peter Cuneo (former Marvel CEO and Vice Chairman), Fred Pierce (former Wizard Entertainment President), Warren Simons (critically acclaimed former Marvel Editor) and co founders Gavin Cuneo, Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasani. Check out the press releases here and here. As well as the homage to Rai #0 that accompanied the release:

Now for several years we've been hearing rumblings of work being done behind the scenes and the founders wanting to take their time and bring Valiant Comics back to publishing in the strongest fashion and give it the best chance of sticking around. We've heard that Bill Jemas (former Marvel Vice President), Jim Shooter (former Marvel & Valiant Editor-in-Chief), Jeff Gomez and Bob Layton were all involved at various times. I don't like to post rumors, press releases or management announcements and avoided those updates but this, this is too exciting! The greatest universe of comic book characters to hit the stands in 40 years is now on its way back and we fans have cause to believe that its coming back with enough talent to set off the second Valiant big bang!!

Just check out these quotes:

“We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time and I’m excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012” said Dinesh Shamdasani. “Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenets of the original Valiant and are the core tenets of the new Valiant.”

“Valiant owns and controls a universe of some of the most recognizable characters in the comic world” added Peter Cuneo. “To this day, despite interruptions in its history, Valiant has retained an extremely passionate fan base. We are keenly focused on bringing the original Valiant Universe back for these fans as well as introducing these powerful characters and stories to new readers.”

And to top it all off we have a hint of the potential caliber of artists and writers that will help bring us new Valiant Comics in the above image by none other than superstar artist David Aja (who just happened to have been the artist on the seminal and very acclaimed Immortal Iron Fist with a certain editor named Warren Simons).

Bring me back to the Valiant Era baby!!

Commission - Bloodshot by Bernard Chang

Found this nice watercolor Bloodshot commission by Valiant artist Bernard Chang (Second Life of Doctor Mirage) on comicartfans.com. Check it out:

I was never a huge Bernard Chang fan but I have to admit this Bloodshot image is cool.

Valiant Market - Magnus Robot Fighter #2 page 1

Here is another post in my series on recent interesting Valiant sales (you can find the first in the series here and the second here). Original art pages from "Steel Nation" (the story that takes place in Magnus Robot Fighter issues #0-4) are very rare in the open market largely because the story is so beloved and collectors hold onto whatever pages they get their hands on. Recently, however, two "Steel Nation" pages came up for sale on eBay from the same seller. Of the two, Magnus Robot Fighter #2 page 1 is the beauty. It's a great example of the Valiant page 1 splash (of which I also have a series of articles posted), seems to have no aging or yellowing and has a level of detail usually reserved for covers. Check it out:

Final sale price: $517 (+$10 shipping). Nothing outrageous but still a very healthy price.

UPDATE: I have learned that the buyer was Valiant Comics Chief Creative Officer, Dinesh Shamdasani

Commission - Bloodshot & Spider-Man

Found this cool little piece by Tone Rodriquez on eBay.  I love the little Bloodshot and had to share:

I suddenly want a Bloodshot bobble head!

Spoof - Bloodskirt / Bloodshot

The characters of the Valiant Universe have made such an indelible mark that they have regularly been parodied (aka exploited by other publishers). In a previous post I showcased Headbanger by Parody Press, a spoof of Harbinger #1. Today I have a scan of Bloodskirt #1 by the also aptly named Spoof Comics. Bloodskirt is of course a parody of Bloodshot #1.

I only have a scan of the cover but already we can see that they are ape-ing the logo and cover art. They have turned Bloodshot into a women (funny?), given her a skirt (too funny?) and provided a little panty peek (creepy). Check out the original below.

Valiant Files Card Set - Part II: The Art

In my Valiant Files Card Set - An Overview post, I promised to chronicle the various pieces of new art created for the The Valiant Files: Secrets of the Harbinger Foundation trading card set that had surfaced. Now I live up to that promise. Below is a partial list with scans of the color art of what the set would have been.

Now very little concrete information is available on the unreleased trading card set. We do know that the set would have been 120 base cards (including 2 checklists) and possibly additional fold cards and bonus cards. They 120 card base set was to be broken into 3 subsets - Harbinger Reconnaissance, Harada's Assessment, and News Clippings.

I've done my best to label the pieces that have turned up by which of the three subsets I think they would have shown up in. Many are numbered and some even have notes written on them. My labels are just guesses though. I think the Harada's Assessment cards would have featured a portrait image and a profile image. According to information that was released these cards would have covered "Toyo Harada's personal thoughts on Valiant characters and their place in his schemes of power". The Reconnaissance cards were supposed to be "covert snapshots of Valiant characters in action, as seen through the lenses of Harbinger Foundation minions". A number of art pieces have "Recon" noted on them and depict action shots. A few others that are similar action shots have been labeled with a question mark.

#1 Neville Alcott (Portrait)

#1 Neville Alcott (Profile)

#2 Neville Alcott (Recon)

#5 Charles Sinclair of Bloodshot (Recon)

#12 Armstrong of Archer & Armstrong (Recon)

#15 Gilad, The Eternal Warrior (Portrait)

#15 Gilad, The Eternal Warrior (Profile)

#16 Gilad, The Eternal Warrior (Recon)

#19 Ax (Portrait)

#20 Ax (Recon?)

#33 Gunslinger of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#33 Gunslinger of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#35 Gunslinger of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#35 Gunslinger of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#37 Shakespeare of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#38 Shakespeare of H.A.R.D. Corps (Recon?)

#39 Flatline of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#39 Flatline of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#40 Flatline of H.A.R.D. Corps (Recon)

#42 Hotshot of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#43 Perp of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#43 Perp of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#44 Perp of H.A.R.D. Corps (Recon?)

#45 Wipeout of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#45 Wipeout of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#46 Wipeout of H.A.R.D. Corps (Recon?)

#47 Maniac of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#47 Maniac of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#48 Maniac of H.A.R.D. Corps (Recon)

#49 Superstar of H.A.R.D. Corps (Portrait)

#49 Superstar of H.A.R.D. Corps (Profile)

#53 Geoff McHenry, The Geomancer (Portrait)

#53 Geoff McHenry, The Geomancer (Profile)

#60 Ninjak (Portrait)

#63 Shadowman (Portrait)

#67 Dr. Silk of Ninjak (Portrait)

#70 Solar, Man of the Atom (Portrait)

#71 Solar, Man of the Atom (Recon)

#74 Spider Alien (Portrait)

#74 Spider Alien (Profile)

#75 Spider Alien (Recon?)

#81 Pete Stanchek a.k.a. Sting of Harbinger (Recon)

#?? Faith Herbert a.k.a. Zephyr of Harbinger (Recon)

#84 John Torkelson a.k.a. Torque of Harbinger (Portrait)

#84 John Torkelson a.k.a. Torque of Harbinger (Profile)

#86 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Portrait)

#86 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Profile)

#90 X-O Manowar (Portrait)

#91 X-O Manowar (Recon)

#97 Sergeant Harold 'Gunny' Lewis of Armorines (Portrait)

#97 Sergeant Harold 'Gunny' Lewis of Armorines (Profile)

#99 Amorines (Recon)

#100 Amorines (Recon)

#?? Secret Weapons (Recon)

#?? Edward T. Sedgwick a.k.a. Stronghold of Secret Weapons (Recon)

The bonus chase cards would have been broken down into four sets - Eggbreakers, Harada's Archives, Final Battle and real life athletes who "are under scrutiny by the Harbinger Foundation, just as the Valiant superheroes are" as possible harbingers. As far as I know, no art from the Eggbreakers set has been released, and the Harada's Archives and Final Battle sets can be seen in my Valiant Files Card Set - An Overview post. Below are two cards that I believe would have been bonus chase cards from the Athletes set.

#109 Unknown football player (Chase)

#97 Reggie Jackson (Chase)

The art that follows consists of multiple key scenes from a particular Valiant title. I don't know what these would have been used for, they therefore have yet to be identified. 

#?? - Shadowman (Various)

#?? - X-O Manowar (Various)

#?? - H.A.R.D. Corps (Various)

#?? - H.A.R.D. Corps (Various)

These final few pieces have been labeled The Valiant Files: Secrets of the Harbinger Foundation art but the pieces themselves give no indication, the art style is different and they don't look as though they would fit into any known section of the trading card set. They also have yet to be identified. 

H.A.R.D. Corps #8 cover

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Ivar, The Timewalker