Valiant 101: THE VALIANT

Fun fact before we begin: I had actually read this book when it first came out, as Valiant Comics had pushed this as the definite introduction to their characters. So, this is my second time reading it, and just like the first, OH MY GOD LOOK AT PAOLO RIVERA'S ART!

Like I mentioned, Valiant Comics had promoted this book as an excellent starting point for new readers. They got Jeff Lemire, who at that time was (and still is) the go-to-guy for both Marvel and DC, to co-write the book with their in-house veteran Matt Kindt. They got Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera, the tag-team artist colourist duo of the first half of Mark Waid's excellent Daredevil run, to make sure this looks the prettiest book on the stands. All the four issues for this story were published in "prestige format". They named it The Valiant for instant associative identification with Valiant Comics. In short, they went all out. The result was phenomenal. Not only did the critics loved the book, it brought in the numbers. It sold well, it got them new readers, it was huge success.

Even though The Valiant goes out and achieves what it set out to do, I cannot help but feel it does just that and nothing more. It introduces a threat big enough to bring together all the heroes; introduces a central character who does not survive till the conclusion; does all the big action sequences that make an event, with some somber character moments thrown in; and sets the stage for the next year or so of stories. I realise that is pretty much the complete package. I mean, what more could I ask for? I honestly do not know. I was left a little conflicted in the end. The Valiant does a lot; but in the end it does nothing at all.

I read the issues digitally so every chapter included a lot of backups, which was great. They detailed how Lemire and Kindt split work, but even without knowing that, by now, I can tell Kindt wrote the following page.

The man loves Ninjak.

Lemire was supposed to write the Bloodshot: Reborn series after this book so he concentrates on Bloodshot. There is an excellent sequence where when Bloodshot and Kay are stuck in a departmental store in a mall à la Dawn of the Dead. They move around the store in pages of nine-panels grid, bringing out this domestic life that could have been for them had things been different. That was a subtle touch.

However as great as the script for those pages may have been, they simply wouldn't have worked if the art was not able to bring out the emotions of the characters. That's were Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera come in. Paolo's characters... act. They are not drawings on a paper. I mean, they are, obviously. But the characters look and move and talk in a way that they feel much more than just two-dimensional figures. There is a page in the first issue where when we are introduced to Kay, she opens up and tells everything about herself to us in (again,) a nine-panels grid. Every panel is just a shot of Kay, but the way Paolo makes her act is incredible. You feel her conveying real emotions. You start to care about. Which is paramount to a story like this where we are, out of the blue, introduced to a character who is central to the entire saga. Why should the readers care about her? Lemire and Kindt give a back story to give her character some spine but it Paolo's graceful art that does all the wonders.

I have been asking myself since I read this book would I recommended this to someone who does not know anything about Valiant Comics but is interested in their stuff. Or would I hand them some other book? Harbinger Wars, perhaps? On somedays, I think I would recommend The Valiant. It is, after all, a standalone story that is both an excellent introduction to the Valiant universe and a gateway to their ongoings. On others, I think it does not have that... I don't know... kick?  to make the reader head out and find more of the Valiant stuff. Or maybe it does? Like I said, I'm conflicted.