Only The Valiant

Magnus Robot Fighter Review, and More Comic Talk

sean — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:21:59 +0000

The Only The Valiant crew talks about the first issue of Magnus Robot Fighter from Dark Horse and Jim Shooter! Plus, some good stuff we’ve been reading recently, and a nice little discussion of the merit of premise vs. execution.

Plus! Action packed with:

Robot ventriloquism (humanity is doomed)
Shopping for battle tunics at Macy’s
vacuums are not robots!
The Mail damages comics…
learn the secrets of getting paid to jibber jabber
how to be a scab and influence people (or not)
No San Diego variant for Magnus. Poor Magnus…
Corsets are the secret to character design
Mispronunciation is not tolerated
Deep discussion of the virtue of 4 vs. 6! 5 vs. 8!
Robot impersonations, and tones are not voltages
Kitchens aren’t the only place for fridges anymore
Fear of submission (and non sequiturs)
Beware the Ides of July (no one believes this?)
Was Siege just forced, or did it just suck?
Hulk would slap down Juggernaut in a minute
Without word balloons, it doesn’t count
Library extortion, as measured in dollars. DOLLARS!
You’d think it would be, but a premise that makes a woman’s clothes explode off every issue isn’t enough
Arguments over Watchmen!
HA! Give me my million
Princess Mononoke, international success!
Die cut! Hologram! Double Size! Fancy cover! Special backup! (coming soon)

If you are not listening at this very instant, you’re doing it wrong. Listen now!

Saturday Night Convention Wrap Up, SDCC 2010

sean — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:55:49 +0000

After 3 and a half days of the convention, we talk about San Diego Comic-Con from Satuday night of the show. We are joined by Bob B. from the Comic Book Page Podcast and Plan B. to talk about the convention.

In addition to our general views on the convention:

Steam Punks, or stunkers, what are they? Is it just corsetts and goggles?
A little Serbocroation, and Yugoslavian history
Discussion of the best costumes we’ve seen
A sighting of the scary-to-behold muffin bottom (the muffin top’s more dastardly cousin)
Best finds and purchases of the convention
The Mile High Collection at the show, and how to get 60% off at Mile High (only 5x guide prices!)
The Hall H stabbing! The pen is mightier than the eye
OTV… after hours
Saturday is the new Thursday, and vice versa

The verdict of podcasters on this episode was a 9.2 NM- condition for this show. Great condition for a show from 1970!

Friday at San Diego Comic-Con 2010

sean — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:35:58 +0000

Only The Valiant brings you the most exciting event at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the OTV recording from the show floor from Friday afternoon.

We are joined by a number of friends of the show, and we all give our thoughts about the convention, talk about the cool things we have seen and done, and get into a few heated discussions (arguments).

Football field sizes!
Native American Comics!
Controversy in Harbinger #0!
There are no comics at ComicCon!
Hugs are to be had!
Nathan Fillion (almost) makes a guest appearance!
An infestation of Petrophiles!
Zangief scares us all!

Magnus and Doctor Solar creators at San Diego Comic-Con

sean — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:15:56 +0000

A few of the creators working on the new Gold Key character books from Dark Horse will be at San Diego Comic-Con, here’s the complete info.

Dennis Calero

Dennis did the art for the Doctor Solar portion of Free Comic Book Day Magnus/Doctor Solar, as well as Doctor Solar 1 and 2. I’m not sure yet if he will be returning after issue 3, but I will certainly be asking him.

Dennis will be in Artist Alley booth FF-05. He is also scheduled to be signing at the Dark Horse Comics booth (#2615) on Thursday from 4-5pm.

Roger Robinson

Roger is drawing the upcoming third issue of Doctor Solar. I’ll be stopping by his booth to get his take on the character, and see if I can find out what is in store for upcoming issues.

Roger will be in Artist Alley booth DD-20

Raymond Swanland

Raymond has been painting the incredible covers for Magnus, Robot Fighter, and Turok, Son of Stone. He also did the cover art for the Free Comic Book Day Magnus/Doctor Solar issue.

Raymond doesn’t have a booth, but is scheduled to sign at the Dark Horse Comics booth (#2615) Friday from 4-5pm. He will also appear at the Heavy Metal Magazine booth (#1629) and the Wizards of the Coast, Magic the Gathering booth (#1128/1130/1132) at times during the weekend.

M.I.A.

Looks like Jim Shooter won’t be making it to San Diego Comic-Con.

Also, Bill Reinhold, the artist for the new Magnus, Robot Fighter series isn’t going to make it this year.

That’s too bad, I was hoping to get the Free Comic Book Day Magnus/Doctor Solar issue signed by all 4 creators. Maybe at another con.

Valiant Alumni

Bernard Chang and Sean Chen will be in their BLVD Studios booth (#1223). Both were great Valiant artists, Sean Chen is well known for his work on Rai and the Future Force, Bernard Chang is well known for his work on Dr. Mirage. They will also have Bill Sienkiewicz and David LaFuente at their BLVD Studios booth. Stop by annd say hi!

Bob Layton will be at the convention, though I don’t know when his scheduled appearances and signings are. He does not have an artist alley booth this year.

Don’t forget us!

Only The Valiant will be recording LIVE from the convention floor, startign Friday at 2:30pm. Check out the recording schedule and map posting for more information.

Any other creators that we missed? Leave a comment and let us know.

(VIDEO) Double Doctor Solar

sean — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:48:02 +0000

Double Doctor Solar, all the way!

If you don’t know what this is a parody of, shame on you! (and click here)

Doctor Solar Review, and San Diego Comic-Con Preview

sean — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:51:48 +0000

Doctor Solar 1 is out!

We review the book and give our impressions. We are rather excited about this book. Doctor Solar, a character we have loved for so long, is in print once again. A new story!

We also discuss San Diego Comic-Con, the things that we are looking forward to, and meetup info. We’d love to have you join us, more info about when and where to meet us here.

In addition, our usual:

Wit!
Wittisisms!
Banter!
Brashness!
Excitement!

Check out this episode now!

Meet us and join an episode at San Diego!

sean — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:40:52 +0000

Are you coming to San Diego Comic-Con? We’d love to meet you and join us as we record from the convention floor.

We will be recording at 2:30 pm Friday from the convention floor. We will be right here:

2:30pm Friday in the Lounge. Meet us there!

We would love to meet people we haven’t met yet, and see those of you we already know. We will be sharing our thoughts about the show, and we’d love to here your thoughts too!

Also, we will be going to the Tilted Kilt Wednesday after Preview Night, just a few blocks from the convention hall. Join us for a beer and talk comics!

October Doctor Solar, Magnus, and Turok comics

sean — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:44:02 +0000

Dark Horse Comics have released their solicitations for comics sold in October. We’ll be getting new issues of Doctor Solar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, and Turok, Son of Stone, all written by Jim Shooter.

Here’s the solicitations, click on the images for larger images of the covers.

Doctor Solar 3, Michael Komarck Cover (click for a larger image)

DOCTOR SOLAR #3

Jim Shooter (W), Roger Robinson (A), and Michael Komarck (Cover)

On sale Oct 6

FC, 40 pages

$3.50

Ongoing

The dark god Moloch the Devourer pits his demonic hellfire against the thermonuclear fury of Doctor Solar. Whitmore Pickerel, whose power to bring his imagination into existence unleashed the Devourer, conjures the mighty sun-god Surya for protection. But instead, Surya bows before Moloch, and the Man of the Atom faces cosmic-scale war on a second front. With the power of Solar pitted against the god of the sun, can the planet survive?

All-new series written by Jim Shooter!
New artist: Roger Robinson (Azrael, Batman: Gotham Knights).

Sean’s comment: Looks like Dennis Calero is off the book for this issue. I wonder if this is a permanent change?

Magnus Robot Fighter 3 Comics Raymond Swanland cover (clikc to enlarge)

MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER #3

Jim Shooter (W), Bill Reinhold (A), Wes Dzioba (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)

On sale Oct 27

FC, 40 pages

$3.50

Miniseries

In the year 4000, savage illegal prizefights operate in the shadows of the milespires. In one corner, the deadly, gen-enhanced number-one contender—Hyppolyta. In the other corner, the remorseless robotic champion—Steelhammer, who has annihilated every opponent he has faced, man or machine. Drawn unwillingly into the ring to save a life, Magnus must battle them both—steel-smashing man against super-woman, robot fighter vs. robot fighter—to the death.

All-new series written by Jim Shooter!

Sean’s Comment: This should be a smash-a-riffic, action packed, high entertaimo issue.

Turok, Son of Stone 1, Raymond Swanland cover (click to enlarge)

TUROK, SON OF STONE #1

Turok returns! All-new series written by Jim Shooter!

Jim Shooter (W), Eduardo Francisco (A), TBD (C), and Raymond Swanland (Cover)

On sale Oct 20

FC, 48 pages

$3.50

Ongoing

Turok, wandering warrior from a far land, rescues Andar, son of a Chiricahua chief, from the ruthless King Maxtla and his Aztec horde. Pursued into a vast cavern, prey and predators are swept away by an unimaginable force to a savage, timeless land of nightmares and miracles, where dinosaurs thunder and rampage. Beset by bloodthirsty enemies and beasts, Turok and Andar encounter an even deadlier threat—the fearsome Panther People and their mesmerizing goddess, Aasta.

Turok, Son of Stone returns, reimagined by legendary writer Jim Shooter and illustrated by hot new talent Eduardo Francisco (Victory, Executive Assistant: IRIS).

48-page first issue, includes the very first Turok story from 1954!

Sean’s Comment: This should be a cool take on things. At least the Lost Land will be back. And dinosaurs. It’s not Turok without dinosaurs.

Turok Coming in October, Plus a Cover Preview

sean — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:47:33 +0000

Turok, Son of Stone will be launched by Dark Horse Comics in October. The title will be written by Jim Shooter, like all the Gold Key character relaunch titles, and the art will be by Eduardo Francisco, who recently has been working on Mass Effect: Incursion.

The first issue will be available October 13.

Check out this Comic Book Resources article for a look at the cover art by Raymond Swanland. It looks fantastic!

Jim Shooter interviews at Newsarama

sean — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:04:05 +0000

Jim Shooter did a couple of interviews with Newsarama about the coming launch of Gold Key characters at Dark Horse. Interesting, informative stuff as usual.

There are two separate interviews, they can be found here:

In the interview discussing Magnus Robot Fighter, he also talks about Turok and Mighty Samson, coming soon from Dark Horse, though he doesn’t mention a release date.

Just a heads up, in case you missed these.