Valiant review from a new Valiant fan!

I have been an avid comic reader since 2009, and I had never heard of Valiant until news of the Valiant free comic book day issue was announced. I remember seeing banners and articles on CBR a few months back about the return of X-O Manowar in that special, and thinking it looked like a lame revival of some crappy 90’s company or some adaption of some old cartoon or something. X-O Manowar? What a dumb sounding name.

I completely forgot about this company’s existence until the Sunday before X-O Manowar #1 was released, when I heard it mentioned on the iFanboy podcast. I found my interest piqued for reasons I still can’t explain, and I found myself on an internet research binge on all things Valiant, and I learned about the Summer of Valiant! Once again, for reasons I cannot figure out, I became incredibly excited for this relaunch. Like, addicted even. I asked my local comic shop owner to reserve me a copy of X-O, and:

Cary Nord's Double Page Splash

I freaking loved it!! The first thing that struck me about the book was Cary Nord’s beautiful art, especially on the double page spread in the beginning. I’m usually nervous about the quality of art on smaller publishers, but this book looks as good as anything else out there! It was dynamic, action packed, and he was able to tell the story even in the scenes without dialogue, and that’s always impressive.

The story was fascinating as well. I knew of the concept going in, but the way the story was handled was excellent! I heard that Aric doesn’t get the suit this issue, and I thought that would ruin the issue for me, since I hate comics where the cover is farther along in the story than the issue itself, but I didn’t mind. Nothing here seemed like filler, everything mattered. From the battle in 402 A.D. to the scene in the camp to the baby planting to all of the stuff on the alien ship, I love every panel of this book! I’ve reread it multiple times, loving it each more every time, and listening to the Only The Valiant interview with Robert Venditti made the issue even better. I hope they try to get interviews with more of the relaunch writers and artists.

All in all, this was a perfect first issue, and it firmly made the Valiant relaunch one of the most exciting things in comics for me. I also loved the FCBD issue, and it built my excitement even more. I love how they are only releasing a small amount of books over a relatively large period of time. It shows patience and confidence in their books. Bring on the Summer of Valiant!!!