Shadowman 1 Cover

SHADOWMAN #1
Written by JUSTIN JORDAN & PATRICK ZIRCHER
Art by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
“Blackout” Pullbox Exclusive Variant by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Variant Covers by DAVE JOHNSON and BILL SIENKIEWICZ

The next epic expansion of the Valiant Universe starts this November in a new ongoing series by comics superstar Patrick Zircher (Captain America, Thor: Ages of Thunder) and Harvey Award nominee Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Team 7)!

There’s a million dreams in the Big Easy. But now its worst nightmare is about to come true. As the forces of darkness prepare to claim New Orleans as their own, Jack Boniface must embrace the legacy he was born to uphold. As Shadowman, Jack is about to become the only thing that stands between his city and an army of unspeakable monstrosities from beyond the night. But is the mantle of Shadowman a blessing or a curse? And what is the true cost of his otherworldly power?

The rebirth of a Valiant icon starts right here when Shadowman strikes this November!

$3.99 US/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE NOVEMBER 7th!

And here’s the rest of the covers to number 1:

Pullbox Variant Cover

Johnson Variant Cover

Sienkiewicz Variant Cover

Back in the 90s, I was never too excited about Shadowman. I liked the first 6 or so issues of the series, but I actually liked it a bit less when Bob Hall took over and ran with his run on the book. Shadowman was about the middle of the pack for me. Better than Armorines, HARDCorps and Secret Weapons, but not as good as the rest of the A-listers.

That said, Valiant has sure put some heavies on this book. Justin Jordan is coming off a huge initial foray into writing comics with Luthor Strode, and Patrick Zircher is off the hook. Have you seen the previews of Zircher’s Shadowman art? Check it out if you haven’t. It might be the best looking art in a Valiant book yet.

Ultimately, I think this book is going to come down to character. Who is Jack Boniface in this incarnation, and what makes him tick?

Just like with Bloodshot, where the Acclaim version of the character is mixed with the classic Valiant version of the character, I expect this Shadowman to be a mix of Jack Boniface (the classic Valiant Shadowman) with Michael LeRoi (the Acclaim Shadowman).

The premise of this book seems pretty simple from the solicitation, a guy fights monsters and zombies in New Orleans. I think we’ll have to wait and see in Novemeber what else is going to be in this book to see what more this becomes.

This solicitation has intrigued me, but not captured me. I’m waiting till November to find out more.

Of course, I’m sure I’ll love it. Like I’ve loved all the other Valiant comics.

Archer & Armstrong 1 Cover

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #4
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by JASON PEARSON
Variant Cover by JUAN DOE

Archer & Armstrong make their last stand against The Sect high in the Himalayas!

Every clan of The Sect has gathered together for the first time in millennia to harness the unthinkable, sanity-shattering destruction of the mythical Book. But one piece is still missing – and Obadiah Archer has it! If he turns it over, The Sect will give him back his family. If he refuses, the man called Armstrong dies! PLUS: The true nature of Archer’s powers revealed! AND, on top of everything else, witness the debut of the Valiant Universe’s next superstar hero – only in this issue!

$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE NOVEMBER 14th!

Doe Variant Cover

Insane-O-Rama!

That’s really the only way I can explain this book.

I’ve noticed that Archer & Armstrong seems to be the book that old school Valiant fans like the least, but that everyone else likes the most. I love it.

I’m inclined to like the kind of books that Fred Van Lente writes, however, and Clayton Henry is the perfect artist to illustrate his stories. I like the strange, humorous way that everything plays out in Van Lente’s books.

This sounds like it is the last issue of the first arc, with Archer and Armstrong’s initial confrontation with the Sect and The One Percent coming to a head. This book promises a lot of cool, crazy storytelling in each solicitation we’ve seen.

If the stroytelling continues how it did in issue 1, I’m gonna enjoy the heck out of this comic.

Garcia Variant Cover

BLOODSHOT #5
Written by DUANE SWIERZCYSNKI
Art by MANUEL GARCIA
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Variant Cover by MANUEL GARCIA

ALL-NEW ARC! Before Bloodshot, who was Raymond Garrison?

Bloodshot is finally free of the memories that have haunted him since his awakening – but now even greater mysteries remain. Who was he before he was transformed into a walking weapon of mass destruction? And does he have a real family out there somewhere? Unfortunately, the only man with the answers is the former mastermind of Project Rising Spirit, Dr. Emmanuel Kuretich –-and he’s just struck a devil’s bargain with Bloodshot. “Destroy your creators and I’ll reveal everything.” Well, almost everything…

$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE NOVEMBER 14th!

The tricky thing with a character like Bloodshot is what to do once the amnesiac remembers everything. Wolverine became a far less interesting character once he got all his memories back. Will the same thing happen to Bloodshot? Also, there is the flip side – how long can you string the story along without revealing anything? It’s a tough balancing act./p>

We recently recorded a podcast episode (OTV 81, coming this Sunday), and one of the concerns that some of the OTV crew had with Bloodshot #2 is that it brings in more mystery, without providing much answers. We need to get some answers to be satisfied. Too many answers though, and the story might lose its drive./p>

I’ll be curious to see how this title walks this line. It looks like there may have been some answers by the time this issue is in our hands, but that Bloodshot is still looking for other answers./p>

I’m loving this title though, this Bloodshot is very different than the classic bloodshot stories, but this is very cool.

Harbinger 6 Cover

HARBINGER #6
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by PHIL BRIONES
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Variant Cover by MATTHEW CLARK

ALL-NEW ARC! From out of the ashes – ­RENEGADES!

After a crushing defeat at the hands of his would-be mentor, Peter Stanchek lies critically wounded and the only person who can save him is the person that hates him the most – his childhood love Kris Hathaway. As Harada’s Eggbreaker strike force closes in, the helpless Peter wonders if he is going to find forgiveness at Kris’s door –-or unbridled vengeance. But when Faith returns as the superhero she’s always dreamed of being, the game is going to change for everyone involved…

As the most daring series in comics enters its staggering second act, find out why this is the book that Comic Book Resources says “feels new in a way that few comics about characters with superpowers manage these days.”

$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE NOVEMBER 21st!

Clark Variant Cover

As excited as this solicitation makes me for issue 6, it makes me more excited for issue 5. I want to see this showdown between Pete and Harada that leaves Pete in such a critical state. That is gonna be some good comic book story telling.

At San Diego Comic-Con, both Josh Dysart and Warren Simons addressed the issue of what happened between Pete and Kris, and how Pete used and invaded her mind (if not more). They didn’t say anything definititive, and asked us to wait and see how it plays out in the story, and to see how they handle it.

It looks like they will be addressing that here in this issue, and as physically explosive as I expect the showdown between Pete and Harada to be, I expect the showdown between Pete and Kris to be equally emotionally explosive.

Plus, Faith. Looks like the old gang’s getting back together.

X-O Manowar 7 Cover

X-O MANOWAR #7
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE

X-O Manowar vs. Ninjak. To the victor – Earth!

Agents of the alien race known as The Vine have been living in secret among us for centuries and now they’ve just been activated for one final mission – purge the Earth of all human life! An invasion fleet is on its way and the only weapon in existence powerful enough to defeat it is the X-O Manowar armor. But first, Aric of Dacia must survive his latest encounter with Ninjak, the covert operative and master weapons specialist charged with taking him down. The stakes are raised and revelations abound in the latest issue of the smash hit series that has IGN declaring, “This is X-O Manowar done for this generation…and it is awesome.”

$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE NOVEMBER 21st!

Robert Venditti promised us that plot points set out in issue 1 will come back throughout the series. It looks like at one of those plot points (creepy Vine Baby, anyone?) will be coming up.

This is part 3 of the X-O Manowar v. Ninjak storyline, and we haven’t even seen part 1 yet (other than a few X-O Manowar #5 preview pages), so it’s hard to comment on this.

Will Ninjak be working for the Vine? Will he turn against his Vine masters?

I have no idea, but one thing does seem to be promised by this solicitation, VINE INVASION. That should be a pretty good bit of war coming. Sounds good to me.

Looks like X-O will continue to be the most awesome of the Valiant titles.

Let’s talk about that cover. How cool is that? It reminds me of the type of cover Jim Steranko would do for an old Nick Fury comic. It is reminiscent of that 60s spy style. Very cool!