What do you think?
Rate this book
The Valiant #1-4
The Valiant
Gilad Anni-Padda est le Guerrier Éternel. Il protège la Terre depuis plus de 10 000 ans, guidé par les Géomanciens, une longue lignée de mystiques qui communique avec la planète. Au cours de sa mission, il a échoué par 3 fois. À chaque fois, le Géomancien fut tué et un âge sombre s'est abattu sur Terre. À chaque fois, il fut défait par l'Ennemi Immortel, un être monstrueux, dont le seul but semble être d'amener la discorde et l'obscurité sur la planète. De nos jours, l'Ennemi Immortel réapparait pour s'attaquer à Kay, la nouvelle Géomancienne qui peine à s'adapter à son nouveau rôle. Mais cette fois Gilad n'est plus seul. Il peut compter sur ses nouveaux alliés, les héros de l'Univers Valiant.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published December 10, 2014
14 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
July 24, 2019
This was one of the few Valiant comics that I just didn't care for.
Mostly because it was just a depressing story that I didn't quite get. I know the characters and the basic idea of the whats and whys of the plot, but it was just gloomy sort of boring.
Eternal Warrior seems to have a very wash, rinse, repeat destiny going on, and I'm not a fan of those kinds of storylines. I like that the ending gave a glimmer of hope, but it wasn't really enough for me.
I don't know.
Recommended for hardcore Eternal Warrior fans?
Mostly because it was just a depressing story that I didn't quite get. I know the characters and the basic idea of the whats and whys of the plot, but it was just gloomy sort of boring.
Eternal Warrior seems to have a very wash, rinse, repeat destiny going on, and I'm not a fan of those kinds of storylines. I like that the ending gave a glimmer of hope, but it wasn't really enough for me.
I don't know.
Recommended for hardcore Eternal Warrior fans?
April 9, 2015
Gilad the Eternal Warrior is tasked with protecting Geomancers - mystics who “speak for the Earth” and “guide humanity to new heights” (whatever that means). But each time a Geomancer appears, so does The Immortal Enemy whose purpose is to kill the Geomancer and plunge humanity into a perpetual dark age - Gilad may be eternal but the Geomancers aren’t! Not great at his job then…
It’s present day and a new Geomancer appears - Kay McHenry - and this time Gilad is determined not to lose this one. Enlisting the help of every character in the Valiant Universe, they go to war against The Immortal Enemy.
The Valiant is the latest book that shows the company’s gradual decline into the commercial bog currently occupied by Marvel and DC where crapola superhero crossovers and event books are the order of every day. A couple years ago I would’ve said Valiant were producing some of the best comics in the industry but today they’re determined to publish superficial superhero rubbish like the Big 2.
The premise is underwritten. How does killing a Geomancer plunge the world into a dark age exactly? And why is there an Immortal Enemy - what does it get out of making sure humanity doesn’t advance as much? And, because the Eternal Warrior has failed repeatedly, why doesn’t the Earth replace him and/or get more to match the threat?
When Jeff Lemire teams up with Matt Kindt, horrible dialogue is a given. Take Bloodshot’s introduction - how’s this for terrible expositional setup:
Bloodshot (in the jungle fighting robot guards): “Tell me again why I’m in the middle of the jungle, Neville?”
Ugh. As if that’s something anyone would say in the middle of battle. What, he forgot? No, it’s there for the reader’s benefit so blocks of exposition can be thrown in. And the response is even more hideous:
Neville: “These mercenaries work for Project Rising Spirit… your old puppet masters. You know, the same lovelies who robbed your memories and exploited you to kill for them all those years.”
Because Bloodshot forgot who his “old puppet masters” were and what they did to him? Come on, this is so clumsy. I realise this isn’t going to bother a lot of people but it rankles me a lot. It tells me the writers are hacking their way through an idiotic setup and removes any possibility there is of me getting sucked into the story.
There are too many awfully written scenes like that in this book. And how redundant is it to have a character say “Run!” when they’re already running away from the enemy that’s chasing them?
The Immortal Enemy’s face opens up to reveal a talking skull - why? Because horror and he’s a villain. And even though this is basically a Bloodshot book with an Eternal Warrior subplot, let’s chuck in all the Valiant characters to emphasise that this nonsense is Important. Yet it’s very underwhelming once they all assemble and show how ineffective they are when the chips are down.
About the only thing I really liked was Paolo Rivera’s artwork. He draws several awesome splash pages though his work throughout is very solid and the equal of his pages on Mark Waid’s Daredevil. As stupid as it is to have the Immortal Enemy’s face split open, Rivera sells the gruesomeness, and some of the fears that the Enemy manifests as are brilliantly rendered.
Bloodshot fans will want to read this because it’s basically a Bloodshot book though also something major happens to the character at the end. Other readers though looking for a fun read won’t find it here. This is bad action movie schlock through and through. The storyline is super generic – as plain a good vs evil story as you could imagine – executed poorly by Lemire and Kindt with little payoff and an extremely weak finale.
Valiant didn’t use to produce such forgettable fare but it seems the reboot has gone south in the last year or so. The Valiant continues the slide down.
It’s present day and a new Geomancer appears - Kay McHenry - and this time Gilad is determined not to lose this one. Enlisting the help of every character in the Valiant Universe, they go to war against The Immortal Enemy.
The Valiant is the latest book that shows the company’s gradual decline into the commercial bog currently occupied by Marvel and DC where crapola superhero crossovers and event books are the order of every day. A couple years ago I would’ve said Valiant were producing some of the best comics in the industry but today they’re determined to publish superficial superhero rubbish like the Big 2.
The premise is underwritten. How does killing a Geomancer plunge the world into a dark age exactly? And why is there an Immortal Enemy - what does it get out of making sure humanity doesn’t advance as much? And, because the Eternal Warrior has failed repeatedly, why doesn’t the Earth replace him and/or get more to match the threat?
When Jeff Lemire teams up with Matt Kindt, horrible dialogue is a given. Take Bloodshot’s introduction - how’s this for terrible expositional setup:
Bloodshot (in the jungle fighting robot guards): “Tell me again why I’m in the middle of the jungle, Neville?”
Ugh. As if that’s something anyone would say in the middle of battle. What, he forgot? No, it’s there for the reader’s benefit so blocks of exposition can be thrown in. And the response is even more hideous:
Neville: “These mercenaries work for Project Rising Spirit… your old puppet masters. You know, the same lovelies who robbed your memories and exploited you to kill for them all those years.”
Because Bloodshot forgot who his “old puppet masters” were and what they did to him? Come on, this is so clumsy. I realise this isn’t going to bother a lot of people but it rankles me a lot. It tells me the writers are hacking their way through an idiotic setup and removes any possibility there is of me getting sucked into the story.
There are too many awfully written scenes like that in this book. And how redundant is it to have a character say “Run!” when they’re already running away from the enemy that’s chasing them?
The Immortal Enemy’s face opens up to reveal a talking skull - why? Because horror and he’s a villain. And even though this is basically a Bloodshot book with an Eternal Warrior subplot, let’s chuck in all the Valiant characters to emphasise that this nonsense is Important. Yet it’s very underwhelming once they all assemble and show how ineffective they are when the chips are down.
About the only thing I really liked was Paolo Rivera’s artwork. He draws several awesome splash pages though his work throughout is very solid and the equal of his pages on Mark Waid’s Daredevil. As stupid as it is to have the Immortal Enemy’s face split open, Rivera sells the gruesomeness, and some of the fears that the Enemy manifests as are brilliantly rendered.
Bloodshot fans will want to read this because it’s basically a Bloodshot book though also something major happens to the character at the end. Other readers though looking for a fun read won’t find it here. This is bad action movie schlock through and through. The storyline is super generic – as plain a good vs evil story as you could imagine – executed poorly by Lemire and Kindt with little payoff and an extremely weak finale.
Valiant didn’t use to produce such forgettable fare but it seems the reboot has gone south in the last year or so. The Valiant continues the slide down.
February 12, 2019
Art was pretty good, but the color was too flat and dark for my liking. The story seemed pretty pointless as it's an earth shattering threat but nothing much really happens, especially to have it's own miniseries.
May 13, 2018
Excellent, finally I understand why the eternal warrior exists.
May 5, 2016
The ONLY reason I read this is because two of my favorite comics writers are Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire and I generally try to read everything they do. And they are friends! So here they are working together?! I knew nothing about The Valiant or Valiant Comics. I just like their writing, so this was like a Dream Team effort, I figured.
Disappointing. Pretty lame, overall. The world doesn't interest me in the least. Now, I am not a superhero guy, not really, though I read Batman and my share of the stuff y'all tell me is the best stuff to read. So if it's not great, I don't usually want to expend the effort.
So this ain't great, but I read it quickly through, anyway. It feels generic and a pale imitation of DC/Marvel superhero comics, though not original enough in character development or dialogue or world-building to challenge anything that is going on. I just don't care about this world at all. I know the world was given to them, there's history here, but if you were someone like Matt Kindt, who did/is still doing Mind Mgmt, or Jeff Lemire, who did Sweet Tooth, why not try to do something cool with it!?
Great writers who can't do superhero writing!? Well, they do some of it, and they are of course still better than average at it, of course. I have heard. Tell me if you see something awesome by either of them that is not indie. But it's true, they don't pull this off, in my opinion. Stick to your indie projects, guys. How many times do I have to say this to almost everyone who does comics!!? The money must be good, of course. This is for both of them a quick side project, clearly.
The art is decent, by Paolo Rivera, but it wouldn't be enough to get me to read another volume.
Disappointing. Pretty lame, overall. The world doesn't interest me in the least. Now, I am not a superhero guy, not really, though I read Batman and my share of the stuff y'all tell me is the best stuff to read. So if it's not great, I don't usually want to expend the effort.
So this ain't great, but I read it quickly through, anyway. It feels generic and a pale imitation of DC/Marvel superhero comics, though not original enough in character development or dialogue or world-building to challenge anything that is going on. I just don't care about this world at all. I know the world was given to them, there's history here, but if you were someone like Matt Kindt, who did/is still doing Mind Mgmt, or Jeff Lemire, who did Sweet Tooth, why not try to do something cool with it!?
Great writers who can't do superhero writing!? Well, they do some of it, and they are of course still better than average at it, of course. I have heard. Tell me if you see something awesome by either of them that is not indie. But it's true, they don't pull this off, in my opinion. Stick to your indie projects, guys. How many times do I have to say this to almost everyone who does comics!!? The money must be good, of course. This is for both of them a quick side project, clearly.
The art is decent, by Paolo Rivera, but it wouldn't be enough to get me to read another volume.
July 12, 2019
★★★1/2
This is one of the events that sparked major change in the Valiant universe. Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, has walked the earth for centuries, protecting the Geomancer: a person chosen throughout history to be the Earth's proxy and guardian. Gilad has only failed in his mission three times, when the unstoppable force called the Immortal Enemy attacks (we now learn the significance of Gilad's scars!), bringing dark times to the world. Now, the Immortal Enemy has risen again to threaten Kay McHenry, the newest Geomancer. But this time, he vows to not fail again and recruits all the heroes in the Valiant universe to stop it!
This miniseries marks major turning points specifically for the Eternal Warrior and Bloodshot. It's an entertaining event but all of the sequences with Kay and Bloodshot is the what really steals the show. Since her introduction in Archer and Armstrong Vol. 2, I’ve really liked Kay and her story and Ive always wished we saw more of her in the Valiant universe. At four issues long, this miniseries does feel rushed though. It needed to be longer and fleshed out a little more in order for the events to have more impact. Everything here is solid, there just needed to be more of it!
And don't listen to people who say this is a good place to start with reading about the Valiant Universe. I disagree. I only enjoyed it because I was familiar with Kay McHenry and her backstory, and familiar with Bloodshot and the Eternal Warrior.
This is one of the events that sparked major change in the Valiant universe. Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, has walked the earth for centuries, protecting the Geomancer: a person chosen throughout history to be the Earth's proxy and guardian. Gilad has only failed in his mission three times, when the unstoppable force called the Immortal Enemy attacks (we now learn the significance of Gilad's scars!), bringing dark times to the world. Now, the Immortal Enemy has risen again to threaten Kay McHenry, the newest Geomancer. But this time, he vows to not fail again and recruits all the heroes in the Valiant universe to stop it!
This miniseries marks major turning points specifically for the Eternal Warrior and Bloodshot. It's an entertaining event but all of the sequences with Kay and Bloodshot is the what really steals the show. Since her introduction in Archer and Armstrong Vol. 2, I’ve really liked Kay and her story and Ive always wished we saw more of her in the Valiant universe. At four issues long, this miniseries does feel rushed though. It needed to be longer and fleshed out a little more in order for the events to have more impact. Everything here is solid, there just needed to be more of it!
And don't listen to people who say this is a good place to start with reading about the Valiant Universe. I disagree. I only enjoyed it because I was familiar with Kay McHenry and her backstory, and familiar with Bloodshot and the Eternal Warrior.
July 29, 2018
Wow! Just wow! This was an amazing story!
Throughout time the story repeats. A geomancer is born, an immortal warrior is sent to protect her or him and the immortal demon attacks. Every time the warrior fails.
Fast forward to present day with our Valiant warriors to help with the protecting.
Excellent story! Amazing art!
Throughout time the story repeats. A geomancer is born, an immortal warrior is sent to protect her or him and the immortal demon attacks. Every time the warrior fails.
Fast forward to present day with our Valiant warriors to help with the protecting.
Excellent story! Amazing art!
June 9, 2018
I’ve changed my mind. The lack of explanation of too much of important plot points is driving me crazy. I can’t stop thinking about it and how none of it makes any sense. Dropped a star from three to two.
I think there might be a LOT of backstory that I’m missing on this one, but nothing in this really explained much of anything. What a Geomancer was, why in some times they were young children and at other times grown adults. How long were they left alone before Chaos attacked? How often did they occur? Kay inherited this from her father? How come Chaos didn’t come for him? DID it?
The story was sad and flimsy without the background info. It just didn’t resonate with me. Nice artwork though. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
I think there might be a LOT of backstory that I’m missing on this one, but nothing in this really explained much of anything. What a Geomancer was, why in some times they were young children and at other times grown adults. How long were they left alone before Chaos attacked? How often did they occur? Kay inherited this from her father? How come Chaos didn’t come for him? DID it?
The story was sad and flimsy without the background info. It just didn’t resonate with me. Nice artwork though. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
July 23, 2021
My first Valiant crossover event, and it was so GOOD, simple but extremely effective, being four issues long was the only sin here, it could easily be a longer book, Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt and the Rivera family, what more could you ask for.
April 1, 2019
This was a pretty good graphic novel about a group of warriors who try to stop the ultimate darkness. Will they succeed? Find out and check this book out wherever books are sold.
January 9, 2019
Gilad, el Guerrero Eterno, es desde hace milenios el protector del Geomante, una especie de mago que está en contacto con la naturaleza, que aparece en diversos momentos de la Historia. El Guerrero Eterno ha fallado las tres últimas veces en su misión, siendo el Enemigo Inmortal el vencedor que aniquiló a los Geomantes. Pero esta vez va a pedir ayuda a sus compañeros sobrehumanos, Ninjak y Bloodshot entre otros.
‘The Valiant’ es un evento del Universo Valiant, pero no es necesario saber nada de las historias independientes de los distintos personajes, algo que no sucede con Marvel o DC. El guión es simple, pero mantiene el suficiente interés para seguir con atención la trama. El dibujo y el color son magníficos. Como colofón, la editorial nos ofrece portadas alternativas y comentarios de los autores sobre su trabajo. En resumen, una lectura interesante, pero que se me queda algo escasa en cuanto a argumento.
‘The Valiant’ es un evento del Universo Valiant, pero no es necesario saber nada de las historias independientes de los distintos personajes, algo que no sucede con Marvel o DC. El guión es simple, pero mantiene el suficiente interés para seguir con atención la trama. El dibujo y el color son magníficos. Como colofón, la editorial nos ofrece portadas alternativas y comentarios de los autores sobre su trabajo. En resumen, una lectura interesante, pero que se me queda algo escasa en cuanto a argumento.
May 18, 2017
The valiant es una historia entretenida, sencilla y autocontenida, en pocas páginas matt kindt y jeff lemire se las arreglan para contar una historia épica, que no necesita de ninguna lectura previa para entenderla, nos presenta aunque sea superficialmente a la práctica totalidad de los personajes importantes de la editorial valiant cómics y un villano a la altura de las circustancias.
El guerrero eterno consigue implicar a los más importantes superhéroes del planeta en la lucha contra el enemigo inmortal, una bestia primigenia que toma la forma de las pesadillas de sus enemigos y cuyo objetivo es destruir al geomante de cada época... siempre que lo ha conseguido ha sido el inicio de una edad de oscuridad en la tierra.
Una buena puerta de entrada al universo valiant, leyendo esto uno se puede hacer una idea bastante aproximada de qué series de la editorial le pueden interesar.
El guerrero eterno consigue implicar a los más importantes superhéroes del planeta en la lucha contra el enemigo inmortal, una bestia primigenia que toma la forma de las pesadillas de sus enemigos y cuyo objetivo es destruir al geomante de cada época... siempre que lo ha conseguido ha sido el inicio de una edad de oscuridad en la tierra.
Una buena puerta de entrada al universo valiant, leyendo esto uno se puede hacer una idea bastante aproximada de qué series de la editorial le pueden interesar.
January 25, 2018
Okay, I wanted to start reading Bloodshot and then figured out he was starring here in The Valiant..
Here's The Valiant in a couple of lines:
Story was interesting, but not really properly written.. Dialogues were also a bit off at times..
And the ending, well, that wasn't really what I was expecting, but hey: you can't have straight up winners all the time, right? ;)
Here's The Valiant in a couple of lines:
Story was interesting, but not really properly written.. Dialogues were also a bit off at times..
And the ending, well, that wasn't really what I was expecting, but hey: you can't have straight up winners all the time, right? ;)
December 10, 2015
Valiant Comics are back. That’s a thing.
If you’d have asked me a few years ago which comics would never come back, I would have said:
Solar: Man of the Atom
Warriors of Plasm
and probably ROM: Space Knight.
Solar: Man of the Atom got his powers by…who cares? Solar is like the king of the dollar comics bins. When someone has a big box of comics from the 90’s, and they’re really excited about it, dollars to donuts you’ll find some Solar in there.
Warriors of Plasm ran for about a year, and it was canceled. But I had a Plasm poster in my bedroom that I thought was pretty cool, even though the primary focus in the image was a portly dude in pants up above his belly throwing a haymaker.
And then ROM: Space Knight. I think the premise is mostly in the title. He’s a space knight. Robot. Guy.
One of these three titles has made a comeback, along with its brethren from Valiant. Any guesses?
Well, it’s Solar. And Valiant comics, in general.
The way I found out about it was from a comic book club I run at a high school. For work. Good god, thank everything that’s holy that I’m not visiting a high school twice a month just because it’s the only way I can get people to talk to me about comics. I mean, it IS, but that’s not the primary motivator, so all is good.
One of the kids in the book club told me that Valiant was putting out good books. And I was like, “Valiant? You mean…there are Valiant books out now? Not some old Solar: Man of the Atom books from your uncle’s garage or something?”
Nope. Valiant.
The characters they have running now aren’t the worst, honestly. A ninja, an immortal hobo, some guy who kills people with an axe, or at least tries. In this book, we mostly see him get housed over and over throughout history by the same infinite evil.
Bloodshot’s banter is fun. There’s someone who calls herself a Geomancer, whatever the fuck that is. She doesn’t even know herself.
This book kind of a big, whole universe book, and I guess it was weird to me because I don’t know very many of these characters. So seeing, you know, a giant robot and XO Manowar together at last was less exciting than it was supposed to be.
But there it is. Valiant comics. Who’s have thought?
If you’d have asked me a few years ago which comics would never come back, I would have said:
Solar: Man of the Atom
Warriors of Plasm
and probably ROM: Space Knight.
Solar: Man of the Atom got his powers by…who cares? Solar is like the king of the dollar comics bins. When someone has a big box of comics from the 90’s, and they’re really excited about it, dollars to donuts you’ll find some Solar in there.
Warriors of Plasm ran for about a year, and it was canceled. But I had a Plasm poster in my bedroom that I thought was pretty cool, even though the primary focus in the image was a portly dude in pants up above his belly throwing a haymaker.
And then ROM: Space Knight. I think the premise is mostly in the title. He’s a space knight. Robot. Guy.
One of these three titles has made a comeback, along with its brethren from Valiant. Any guesses?
Well, it’s Solar. And Valiant comics, in general.
The way I found out about it was from a comic book club I run at a high school. For work. Good god, thank everything that’s holy that I’m not visiting a high school twice a month just because it’s the only way I can get people to talk to me about comics. I mean, it IS, but that’s not the primary motivator, so all is good.
One of the kids in the book club told me that Valiant was putting out good books. And I was like, “Valiant? You mean…there are Valiant books out now? Not some old Solar: Man of the Atom books from your uncle’s garage or something?”
Nope. Valiant.
The characters they have running now aren’t the worst, honestly. A ninja, an immortal hobo, some guy who kills people with an axe, or at least tries. In this book, we mostly see him get housed over and over throughout history by the same infinite evil.
Bloodshot’s banter is fun. There’s someone who calls herself a Geomancer, whatever the fuck that is. She doesn’t even know herself.
This book kind of a big, whole universe book, and I guess it was weird to me because I don’t know very many of these characters. So seeing, you know, a giant robot and XO Manowar together at last was less exciting than it was supposed to be.
But there it is. Valiant comics. Who’s have thought?
October 26, 2015
I liked this more than I thought I would. The storyline is pretty complicated and dark, with an immortal warrior facing an invincible enemy of darkness, seeing countless people dying. This time, he has formidable team mates working on his side, for reasons of their own.
Of course, my favorite character is the nanobite infected, anmesiac soldier, cause that's how I roll.
It was weird, but the art was good, and the story was interesting. I would read more of these, of there are more.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
Of course, my favorite character is the nanobite infected, anmesiac soldier, cause that's how I roll.
It was weird, but the art was good, and the story was interesting. I would read more of these, of there are more.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
October 22, 2015
Kindt and Lemire BOTH??? And doing a superhero book??? A super hero Team??? Of their own invention???
Even so, I was surprised by how good this is!
Even so, I was surprised by how good this is!
February 22, 2020
4.5 Stars
This one was headed for five stars but it lost me on the ending. Not that it was bad, just didn't quite fit the story to me.
The premise of the story is we see the return of the Eternal Enemy, who is a little different than the original Valiant series. Here he's an evil entity who has been murdering Geomancers for centuries, and Gilad the Eternal Warrior has continuously failed to stop him. And once the Geomancer dies, the Earth plunges into dark times. (Such as the plague, the Dark Ages, etc.)
So this time when the Eternal Enemy pops up, Gilad assembles a team to help him, with Bloodshot being the key.
The build up was awesome, the overall story was great, and the art was above average. I just wanted a little more definitive ending.
I've said it many times and I'll probably say it again, but the Valiant relaunch has surpassed all of my expectations. It's really surpassed the original Valiant series in quality at this point, but without those original stories paving the way it's hard to say if that would still be true.
This one was headed for five stars but it lost me on the ending. Not that it was bad, just didn't quite fit the story to me.
The premise of the story is we see the return of the Eternal Enemy, who is a little different than the original Valiant series. Here he's an evil entity who has been murdering Geomancers for centuries, and Gilad the Eternal Warrior has continuously failed to stop him. And once the Geomancer dies, the Earth plunges into dark times. (Such as the plague, the Dark Ages, etc.)
So this time when the Eternal Enemy pops up, Gilad assembles a team to help him, with Bloodshot being the key.
The build up was awesome, the overall story was great, and the art was above average. I just wanted a little more definitive ending.
I've said it many times and I'll probably say it again, but the Valiant relaunch has surpassed all of my expectations. It's really surpassed the original Valiant series in quality at this point, but without those original stories paving the way it's hard to say if that would still be true.
March 12, 2020
The Valiant, by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt, with artists Paolo and Joe Rivera. Published by Valiant Entertainment (2015).
Two of the best indie writers around team-up to wrap up loose ends after the big Valiant event of 2014, Armor Hunters. Gilad, Kay the Geomancer, X-O Manowar, Ninjak, and Bloodshot take center stage, as Gilad wants to prevent the death of yet another geomancer at the hands of the immortal enemy.
The Valiant was supposed to be the launch of 2015’s « Valiant Next » initiative, but its style really belongs to the previous era. However, Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt’s special kinds of storytelling occasionally sip in and, in the end, this epic final battle does set the stage for change and new directions for several series, especially Bloodshot.
Two of the best indie writers around team-up to wrap up loose ends after the big Valiant event of 2014, Armor Hunters. Gilad, Kay the Geomancer, X-O Manowar, Ninjak, and Bloodshot take center stage, as Gilad wants to prevent the death of yet another geomancer at the hands of the immortal enemy.
The Valiant was supposed to be the launch of 2015’s « Valiant Next » initiative, but its style really belongs to the previous era. However, Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt’s special kinds of storytelling occasionally sip in and, in the end, this epic final battle does set the stage for change and new directions for several series, especially Bloodshot.
February 22, 2021
If I had one complaint about this, it's that I wish it was an entire series. This is my first foray into anything Valiant, so I'm new to the characters and universe. If this is a taste of everything else, I'll definitely explore more of what they have to offer.
August 16, 2019
I see many of my comic-loving GR friends were unimpressed with this, but I really liked it.
No, you can't defeat the Immortal Enemy, but maybe you can trick him into thinking he's won.
Whatever.
This was not typical Valiant art, and I preferred it.
No, you can't defeat the Immortal Enemy, but maybe you can trick him into thinking he's won.
Whatever.
This was not typical Valiant art, and I preferred it.
June 16, 2015
The Valiant was far more than an exercise in synergistic branding for Valiant Entertainment. The limited series is a first-rate, character-focused adventure.
The Valiant zeroes in on the Eternal Warrior and his role as the guardian of Geomancers, the line of mystics with a strong connection to the Earth. Three different times in the past, the Eternal Warrior failed to save a Geomancer from the Immortal Enemy, a shadowy, primal creature that takes on different forms. After each of the three deaths, an “age of darkness” set in.
Current Geomancer Kay McHenry struggles to adjust to her new role after years of selfish behavior. An ecological disturbance in Colorado draws Kay, but turns out to be a trap set by the Immortal Enemy. The Eternal Warrior and Ninjak fly to Kay’s aid and most of the heroes of the Valiant Universe turn up for a bruising fight. Meanwhile, Bloodshot, earlier seen retrieving a mystery box for MI-6, spirits Kay to safety. Bloodshot and Kay stage a last stand against the Enemy, while the mystery box provides the Eternal Warrior with a possible means of breaking the cycle.
Written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt, The Valiant performs some key mythology building for the Valiant Universe. By digging into his history, the duo illuminate certain aspects of the Eternal Warrior that aren’t always obvious: his struggles with doubt and failures. The Eternal Warrior has always been one of Valiant’s more interesting concepts; Lemire and Kindt do a strong job of tying together different strands of the complex character and making them important to the modern Valiant Universe.
Where the writers really shine, though, is with Kay and Bloodshot. Kay is an effortlessly sympathetic and relatable character. An illuminating conversation with Armstrong (the Eternal Warrior’s often drunk brother) sets up Kay’s conflict quite effectively. Lemire and Kindt do a nice job of developing Kay’s theme and bringing her to a place of inspired heroism. But even better is the interplay between Kay and Bloodshot. The woman who’s the guardian of nature and the man who’s been overwritten by technology make for a fascinating study in contrasts. There’s a sharp, dynamic energy between the characters that reveals a lot about both. It’s the rare series where a conversation can be as enthralling as a fight scene, but Lemire and Kindt pull it off. By the end of The Valiant, major developments have befallen several characters that drive future story.
The team of Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera provide striking, stylish art for The Valiant. They display a lot of thoughtfulness about the interplay of pencils, inks and colors and use a holistic approach that results in some stunning imagery. The duo produces some impactful apocalyptic scenes and energy-driven fight and adventure sequences. But they also bring a simmering dynamism to the quieter moments that provides strong support to the character explorations. Their design work is first rate (especially their conceptions of the variable forms taken by the Immortal Enemy), they compose expressive figures and do some especially interesting things with contrasts between shadows, light and colors. They bring a lot of invention to the table and embroider the work with impressive, well-observed details. It makes The Valiant one of the line’s stronger visual outings.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
The Valiant zeroes in on the Eternal Warrior and his role as the guardian of Geomancers, the line of mystics with a strong connection to the Earth. Three different times in the past, the Eternal Warrior failed to save a Geomancer from the Immortal Enemy, a shadowy, primal creature that takes on different forms. After each of the three deaths, an “age of darkness” set in.
Current Geomancer Kay McHenry struggles to adjust to her new role after years of selfish behavior. An ecological disturbance in Colorado draws Kay, but turns out to be a trap set by the Immortal Enemy. The Eternal Warrior and Ninjak fly to Kay’s aid and most of the heroes of the Valiant Universe turn up for a bruising fight. Meanwhile, Bloodshot, earlier seen retrieving a mystery box for MI-6, spirits Kay to safety. Bloodshot and Kay stage a last stand against the Enemy, while the mystery box provides the Eternal Warrior with a possible means of breaking the cycle.
Written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt, The Valiant performs some key mythology building for the Valiant Universe. By digging into his history, the duo illuminate certain aspects of the Eternal Warrior that aren’t always obvious: his struggles with doubt and failures. The Eternal Warrior has always been one of Valiant’s more interesting concepts; Lemire and Kindt do a strong job of tying together different strands of the complex character and making them important to the modern Valiant Universe.
Where the writers really shine, though, is with Kay and Bloodshot. Kay is an effortlessly sympathetic and relatable character. An illuminating conversation with Armstrong (the Eternal Warrior’s often drunk brother) sets up Kay’s conflict quite effectively. Lemire and Kindt do a nice job of developing Kay’s theme and bringing her to a place of inspired heroism. But even better is the interplay between Kay and Bloodshot. The woman who’s the guardian of nature and the man who’s been overwritten by technology make for a fascinating study in contrasts. There’s a sharp, dynamic energy between the characters that reveals a lot about both. It’s the rare series where a conversation can be as enthralling as a fight scene, but Lemire and Kindt pull it off. By the end of The Valiant, major developments have befallen several characters that drive future story.
The team of Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera provide striking, stylish art for The Valiant. They display a lot of thoughtfulness about the interplay of pencils, inks and colors and use a holistic approach that results in some stunning imagery. The duo produces some impactful apocalyptic scenes and energy-driven fight and adventure sequences. But they also bring a simmering dynamism to the quieter moments that provides strong support to the character explorations. Their design work is first rate (especially their conceptions of the variable forms taken by the Immortal Enemy), they compose expressive figures and do some especially interesting things with contrasts between shadows, light and colors. They bring a lot of invention to the table and embroider the work with impressive, well-observed details. It makes The Valiant one of the line’s stronger visual outings.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
January 18, 2018
The Eternal Warrior's greatest foe, The Immortal Enemy, has killed three Geomancers in the past. And now he's back to do it again. But this time, Gilad isn't alone. With the help of every hero the Valiant Universe can find, the Immortal Enemy has his work cut out for him this time round.
The Valiant feels like it's trying to be two things at once, and this is to the detriment of one in favour of the other. On the one hand, we have a very personal story for Gilad and Kay McHenry, as well as Bloodshot (which was a surprise). On the other, we have the biggest unification of Valiant heroes since the universe began.
The personal story is pulled off much better; you really feel for Bloodshot as he and Kay flee from The Immortal Enemy, and Gilad's growing desperation and anger throughout the issues is very obvious. This all comes to a very well executed conclusion in issue 4, which has some great payoffs for all three characters (although I guess that's debatable, since it's a pretty gloomy ending).
And then on the other hand, we get all of the heroes Valiant has by issue 3, but it feels kind of superfluous. There's no recruitment drive, there isn't even much dialogue if any for most of them, so they're essentially glorified cameos. I know that juggling a cast of this enormous size would be difficult, but maybe if this series had been five issues instead of four, we might have had more panel time for everyone, and it would have helped communicate how big of a deal this is.
If there's one point that isn't up for debate however, it's Paolo Rivera's absolutely gorgeous artwork. His fight choreography is amazing, his characters are all well-realized and beautifully rendered, and he can communicate expressions to the point that you can go an entire page without reading the dialogue and still follow the conversation. Drop dead amazing.
The Valiant was a good experiment, but it misses the mark ever so slightly by stretching itself a bit too thin. That doesn't stop it being very enjoyable, but it remains unfortunately flawed.
The Valiant feels like it's trying to be two things at once, and this is to the detriment of one in favour of the other. On the one hand, we have a very personal story for Gilad and Kay McHenry, as well as Bloodshot (which was a surprise). On the other, we have the biggest unification of Valiant heroes since the universe began.
The personal story is pulled off much better; you really feel for Bloodshot as he and Kay flee from The Immortal Enemy, and Gilad's growing desperation and anger throughout the issues is very obvious. This all comes to a very well executed conclusion in issue 4, which has some great payoffs for all three characters (although I guess that's debatable, since it's a pretty gloomy ending).
And then on the other hand, we get all of the heroes Valiant has by issue 3, but it feels kind of superfluous. There's no recruitment drive, there isn't even much dialogue if any for most of them, so they're essentially glorified cameos. I know that juggling a cast of this enormous size would be difficult, but maybe if this series had been five issues instead of four, we might have had more panel time for everyone, and it would have helped communicate how big of a deal this is.
If there's one point that isn't up for debate however, it's Paolo Rivera's absolutely gorgeous artwork. His fight choreography is amazing, his characters are all well-realized and beautifully rendered, and he can communicate expressions to the point that you can go an entire page without reading the dialogue and still follow the conversation. Drop dead amazing.
The Valiant was a good experiment, but it misses the mark ever so slightly by stretching itself a bit too thin. That doesn't stop it being very enjoyable, but it remains unfortunately flawed.
May 30, 2015
The Valiant is a brilliant book, that carefully unites the varied figures of the Valiant U in a fight that spans the mythos of multiple books. Focused on Gilad's relationship with the current Geomancer, the reader is expected to be pretty damn familiar with the universal state of affairs, but is rewarded ten times over for the investment. There are constant, unexpected connections across the known Valiant world, a brutal, and truly frightening big bad, and it's all spelled out across Paolo and Joe Rivera's mindblowing artwork. This book is beautiful, and contains some of the best dialogue and character work I've ever seen from either Kindt or Lemire. There are some goofy expository lines, but mostly, the dialogue is trimmed, clean, emotive, and meaningful.
This is a comic book collaboration by a bunch of people who love what they do. That love and care shows up on every page, landing us the best Valiant crossover/event comic yet.
This is a comic book collaboration by a bunch of people who love what they do. That love and care shows up on every page, landing us the best Valiant crossover/event comic yet.
October 29, 2015
a fun fantasy/sci-fi mystery graphic novel that I really enjoyed. Lemire and Kindt have really nice writing style that flows along quickly and leaves little bits of mystery behind.The art is crisp and well colored, no complaints at all This story follows a hero "gilad" and a geomancer who he protects across centuries of time.. Gilad is a protector against an all powerful evil that is also somewhat immortal. In comes bloodshot, the "dude on the cover" who is some sort of cyborg who is part of a world defense program. The story seems confusing but its a fun little mystery that gives you just enough info to keep you moving along. I will say the ending was hasty but I have a feeling its not over. I should also mention that there are other graphic novels from valiant that seem to tie in, a.k.a the bloodshot series and so on. I will explore more valiant stuff because i liked the balance of this one.
July 6, 2017
The main antagonist is brilliantly done, especially is the latest iteration where he takes the appearance of a gentleman from a children's story. Or horror story, really.
The Eternal Warrior Gilad was given the task of protecting each age's Geomancer. Unfortunately, the Eternal Enemy always managed to kill the Geomancer, plunging the world into dark times. The current Geomancer is Kay, a young woman whose life is in disarray. Gilad will need to gather strong allies to protect her.
Bloodshot recovers a package for MI6. Ninjak frees the Breaker, an immortal with the ability to crack any code and open the package. They and many more will need to band together to fight off the Immortal Enemy.
The Eternal Warrior Gilad was given the task of protecting each age's Geomancer. Unfortunately, the Eternal Enemy always managed to kill the Geomancer, plunging the world into dark times. The current Geomancer is Kay, a young woman whose life is in disarray. Gilad will need to gather strong allies to protect her.
Bloodshot recovers a package for MI6. Ninjak frees the Breaker, an immortal with the ability to crack any code and open the package. They and many more will need to band together to fight off the Immortal Enemy.
February 5, 2019
El dibujo de Rivera es espectacular. Tiene la grandeza que deberían tener siempre los cruces. Además mantiene una narrativa muy limpia, sin complicaciones, que le sienta muy bien a la historia. El guión es harina de otro costal. Supongo que servir de banderín de enganche a todo un universo requiere mantener un relato sencillo, pero la simpleza general, sobre todo cuando comienza la resolución, es abrumadora. Los héroes dan lástima y todo se fía a un porque-yo-lo-valgo de los guionistas atroz. Sin embargo está tan bien dibujado...
November 14, 2017
Loved it!
Bringing in just about every character into this issue was a treat!
It was a closing chapter in Bloodshot that I felt was well done. A little too brief, but I enjoyed it.
It was a good start to a new chapter...
One I have absolutely no clue about, but a good beginning.
How do I know?
I now want to read about all the Valiant characters in order to bring me up to date. lol
I wasn't bored for a moment, and the dialogue and art went together extremely well!
Bringing in just about every character into this issue was a treat!
It was a closing chapter in Bloodshot that I felt was well done. A little too brief, but I enjoyed it.
It was a good start to a new chapter...
One I have absolutely no clue about, but a good beginning.
How do I know?
I now want to read about all the Valiant characters in order to bring me up to date. lol
I wasn't bored for a moment, and the dialogue and art went together extremely well!
June 14, 2015
Great art and writing. A really interesting story, whilst self contained, it does what the Valiant Universe does best: setting the stage for future stories, and making you care about them.
July 16, 2018
I haven't read anything in this universe, so these characters were all new for me. I loved the idea of the Geomancer and the character of Kay. I loved her exchanges with Bloodshot. I understood the villain and Gilead, and found that an interesting plotline. I particularly loved how the design of the villain changed thoughtout the flashbacks, depending on the major fears at the time. The rest of the story was kind of just filler for me.
If there was a second volume of this, I would probably read it. I like Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire as a team. I also loved the back matter in this book--seeing commentary from the whole creative team was very enlightening. It's rare to see commentary from a letterer, so I enjoyed that in particular.
If there was a second volume of this, I would probably read it. I like Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire as a team. I also loved the back matter in this book--seeing commentary from the whole creative team was very enlightening. It's rare to see commentary from a letterer, so I enjoyed that in particular.
October 9, 2020
This is so great!
I feel like this is the big Valiant team up I’ve been waiting for, after nearly 52 trades (most great, some ok, a couple stinkers.)
It’s epic and full of cool moments. Definitely a bit sad, and does not go where I expected... but it does a good job of setting up the next phase of Valiant comics while somewhat resolving the first phase.
The terrifying villain reminds me of a cross between Stephen King’s It and The Babadook.
Some great Bloodshot parts. It’s nice to finally see him being treated more like a hero. Hopefully it continues into the next Bloodshot run (which I haven’t cracked open yet, but it’s sitting right here.)
Bottom line; this kicks ass
I feel like this is the big Valiant team up I’ve been waiting for, after nearly 52 trades (most great, some ok, a couple stinkers.)
It’s epic and full of cool moments. Definitely a bit sad, and does not go where I expected... but it does a good job of setting up the next phase of Valiant comics while somewhat resolving the first phase.
The terrifying villain reminds me of a cross between Stephen King’s It and The Babadook.
Some great Bloodshot parts. It’s nice to finally see him being treated more like a hero. Hopefully it continues into the next Bloodshot run (which I haven’t cracked open yet, but it’s sitting right here.)
Bottom line; this kicks ass
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews