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Dead Drop #1-4
Dead Drop
L’HORLOGE TOURNE ! Il existe un marché noir à New York, caché à la vue de tous. Dans la rue, dans les trains, dans les restaurants… Ceux qui savent comment le trouver s’échangent des secrets de nature… extraordinaire. Mais lorsque le secret est une arme biologique dérivée de la technologie des extraterrestres vignes, tous les coups sont permis, alors envoie les meilleurs agents pour éviter la catastrophe. Sinon, dans moins de trente minutes, un virus mortel sera lâché dans la nature. X-O Manowar, Archer, Neville Alcott, la détective Cejudo et Beta-Max sont prêts à sauver le monde. Ales Kot (Generation Gone, Secret Avengers), étoile montante des comics, et Adam Gorham (Rocket Raccoon) réalisent un thriller d’action haletant et décalé dans les bas-fonds de New York ! Contient la mini-série Dead Drop 1-4.
107 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2015
4 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Aleš Kot
268 books177 followersAleš Kot is a post-Chernobyl, pre-revolution, Czech-born, California-based writer/producer who started in graphic novels and now makes films, television, and an occasional novella.
A. believe in art and community.
A. doesn't believe in borders nor cops.
A. believes in love, which they know is a very Libra answer. And what about it?
A. believe in art and community.
A. doesn't believe in borders nor cops.
A. believes in love, which they know is a very Libra answer. And what about it?
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 31, 2019
Not much to this story, to be honest.
It seems to be more of an excuse to bring together different Valiant characters for a long chase scene than anything else. Not that it was unreadable or anything.
I did think it was funny that Beta Max played such a large role in it. Like, funny ha-ha not funny stupid. The whole part where he saved the day by faxing something to Neville cracked me up. Then again, I'm easily impressed.
Anyway, as far as I can see there's no good reason to recommend this or not recommend it. If you're looking for a way to kill half an hour, you could do worse.
It seems to be more of an excuse to bring together different Valiant characters for a long chase scene than anything else. Not that it was unreadable or anything.
I did think it was funny that Beta Max played such a large role in it. Like, funny ha-ha not funny stupid. The whole part where he saved the day by faxing something to Neville cracked me up. Then again, I'm easily impressed.
Anyway, as far as I can see there's no good reason to recommend this or not recommend it. If you're looking for a way to kill half an hour, you could do worse.
September 15, 2016
A virus that threatens mass extinction of the human race is on the loose - it’s up to Valiant’s Iron Man, XO Manowar, their Hawkeye, Archer, and their joke Cyborg, Beta-Max, to save the day!
Dead Drop stinks. XO Manowar’s on the cover but he’s only really in the first issue. The second issue is Archer’s, the third is Beta-Max’s, and the fourth ties them all together.
The story is boring, convoluted and poorly told. It’s generic end-of-the-world crap that’s rushed through without it being clear exactly what’s happening, and, once I did find out, I didn’t care! All of the characters, including the established Valiant ones are one-dimensional and instantly forgettable and the chase sequences that take up half the book are totally unengaging.
Ales Kot doesn’t know how to effectively tell what little story he has, particularly in Valiant’s usual four-issue format. He literally has to include a page of pure text at the end explaining how the plot resolved itself to try to help the reader make sense of it!
I liked The Violent’s Adam Gorham’s art and Michael Spicer’s colours but Dead Drop is yet another piss-awful Ales Kot comic that nobody need bother with.
Dead Drop stinks. XO Manowar’s on the cover but he’s only really in the first issue. The second issue is Archer’s, the third is Beta-Max’s, and the fourth ties them all together.
The story is boring, convoluted and poorly told. It’s generic end-of-the-world crap that’s rushed through without it being clear exactly what’s happening, and, once I did find out, I didn’t care! All of the characters, including the established Valiant ones are one-dimensional and instantly forgettable and the chase sequences that take up half the book are totally unengaging.
Ales Kot doesn’t know how to effectively tell what little story he has, particularly in Valiant’s usual four-issue format. He literally has to include a page of pure text at the end explaining how the plot resolved itself to try to help the reader make sense of it!
I liked The Violent’s Adam Gorham’s art and Michael Spicer’s colours but Dead Drop is yet another piss-awful Ales Kot comic that nobody need bother with.
July 4, 2024
2.5 This doesn’t bode well for post-regime-change Valiant. Reads more like a C-list indie comic. Some of the art is good, to be fair. XO-Manowar and Archer team up to explore a warehouse and fight a bad guy. Simplified for kids, but so basic it hardly resembles itself. One can only wonder why new owners DMG Entertainment would buy Valiant if they didn’t even care enough to give two of its biggest characters anything to do.
June 23, 2019
Celkově slabé. Příběh naprosto tuctový, v něm bohužel nic, co by jej ozvlášťnilo.
January 11, 2016
Dead Drop is an entertaining detour uniting some agreeably random elements of the Valiant Universe.
Centered on the hunt for a potentially destructive alien virus, Dead Drop tags in flagship character X-O Manowar, polymath hero Archer (of Archer & Armstrong), smart and tough Detective Cejudo, goofy old-school cyborg Beta-Max (the latter two both from Quantum and Woody), and Neville Alcott, the Valiant Universe’s top spymaster. The heroes pursue the virus during a tense hunt through the streets of New York. Inscrutable aliens, well-meaning but possibly misguided hacktivists and a whole bunch of innocent bystanders cross into the story as the heroes untangle a prickly situation to save the world.
Written by Ales Kot, Dead Drop works a propulsive mix of Sci-Fi, conspiracy and real world terrorism concerns into a kinetic action story. It’s the kind of self-contained limited series that Valiant has been whipping up recently, giving the spotlight to an interesting cross-section of characters, many of whom were without a regular home at the time. Unencumbered by continuity baggage, Kot crafts a fast-moving plot that gives each of the stars some nice moments to shine. He does some especially decent character work with X-O and Cejudo. Beta-Max manages a goofy appeal, though Archer sometimes comes off as more learning challenged than sheltered.
Kot works in issues like suspect profiling and the thorny choices involved in public safety situations, but manages to do so without being pedantic. For the most part, Dead Drop is an involving, at times humorous, romp through a particularly tense day in the Valiant Universe that’s entertaining and satisfying.
Artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Spicer are a solid team that give Dead Drop a clean, grounded feel. The action flows smoothly in a well-constructed, unfussy fashion that enhances the tension and pulse of the action-intensive series. Gorham’s approach to facial expressions and musculature can occasionally seem a tad off-key, but he comes up with some really inventive alien designs and keeps everything smooth and clean. Spicer’s color work is subtle and complements Gorham quite nicely. He mostly uses a muted palette and works effectively with shadows, but deploys pops of brighter tones at the right moments. Overall, it’s classic comic book work with a decent real world grounding.
Dead Drop is very friendly for new readers. One really doesn’t need much background to jump into the action and be able to figure out the characters within a couple panels. If you’re a newcomer interested in sampling the Valiant Universe, it’s a nice, low burden (and reasonably priced) entry point. It’s recommended for existing Valiant fans.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
Centered on the hunt for a potentially destructive alien virus, Dead Drop tags in flagship character X-O Manowar, polymath hero Archer (of Archer & Armstrong), smart and tough Detective Cejudo, goofy old-school cyborg Beta-Max (the latter two both from Quantum and Woody), and Neville Alcott, the Valiant Universe’s top spymaster. The heroes pursue the virus during a tense hunt through the streets of New York. Inscrutable aliens, well-meaning but possibly misguided hacktivists and a whole bunch of innocent bystanders cross into the story as the heroes untangle a prickly situation to save the world.
Written by Ales Kot, Dead Drop works a propulsive mix of Sci-Fi, conspiracy and real world terrorism concerns into a kinetic action story. It’s the kind of self-contained limited series that Valiant has been whipping up recently, giving the spotlight to an interesting cross-section of characters, many of whom were without a regular home at the time. Unencumbered by continuity baggage, Kot crafts a fast-moving plot that gives each of the stars some nice moments to shine. He does some especially decent character work with X-O and Cejudo. Beta-Max manages a goofy appeal, though Archer sometimes comes off as more learning challenged than sheltered.
Kot works in issues like suspect profiling and the thorny choices involved in public safety situations, but manages to do so without being pedantic. For the most part, Dead Drop is an involving, at times humorous, romp through a particularly tense day in the Valiant Universe that’s entertaining and satisfying.
Artist Adam Gorham and colorist Michael Spicer are a solid team that give Dead Drop a clean, grounded feel. The action flows smoothly in a well-constructed, unfussy fashion that enhances the tension and pulse of the action-intensive series. Gorham’s approach to facial expressions and musculature can occasionally seem a tad off-key, but he comes up with some really inventive alien designs and keeps everything smooth and clean. Spicer’s color work is subtle and complements Gorham quite nicely. He mostly uses a muted palette and works effectively with shadows, but deploys pops of brighter tones at the right moments. Overall, it’s classic comic book work with a decent real world grounding.
Dead Drop is very friendly for new readers. One really doesn’t need much background to jump into the action and be able to figure out the characters within a couple panels. If you’re a newcomer interested in sampling the Valiant Universe, it’s a nice, low burden (and reasonably priced) entry point. It’s recommended for existing Valiant fans.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
April 29, 2021
Shockingly bad, especially for a Valiant book.
By the last page, I was just like “uhhhh what did I even read?” It’s exactly the kind of forced crossover Valiant typically doesn’t do. Nothing felt natural or even cool... it was just four issues of jumbled up, sloppy, ill conceived crap.
It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of Valiant, so I’d say just skip it.
By the last page, I was just like “uhhhh what did I even read?” It’s exactly the kind of forced crossover Valiant typically doesn’t do. Nothing felt natural or even cool... it was just four issues of jumbled up, sloppy, ill conceived crap.
It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of Valiant, so I’d say just skip it.
February 27, 2018
A virus has been stolen, and if MI-6 can't recover it, it could be the end of the world as we know it. Enter X-O Manowar, Archer, Detective Cejudo, and...Beta-Max? Neville Alcott's lost it this time, surely.
This one is...weird. It's basically a chase scene for the first three issues, with a little context in the final one, with each issue focusing on a different character. I kept expecting some big twist at the end, or some explanation as to what was actually going on, but other than one little twist midway through this series is just kind of basic. I know Ales Kot is known for writing high concept mindfuckery, but this doesn't come across like that at all. In fact, it feels like one of the few completely skippable Valiant books.
Adam Gorham's art is pretty good, but again doesn't feel worth writing home about. There's a good sense of urgency to his pencils and his character flow between panels is great, which works very well for the tension in the story, though.
Dead Drop doesn't really accomplish much of anything. It's a decent little story, but it doesn't really set itself apart with anything in particular. There are much better Valiant books out there.
This one is...weird. It's basically a chase scene for the first three issues, with a little context in the final one, with each issue focusing on a different character. I kept expecting some big twist at the end, or some explanation as to what was actually going on, but other than one little twist midway through this series is just kind of basic. I know Ales Kot is known for writing high concept mindfuckery, but this doesn't come across like that at all. In fact, it feels like one of the few completely skippable Valiant books.
Adam Gorham's art is pretty good, but again doesn't feel worth writing home about. There's a good sense of urgency to his pencils and his character flow between panels is great, which works very well for the tension in the story, though.
Dead Drop doesn't really accomplish much of anything. It's a decent little story, but it doesn't really set itself apart with anything in particular. There are much better Valiant books out there.
November 11, 2015
Eh. Kot is really hit or miss with me. This was ok, nothing special.
January 18, 2019
Ova mini serija Aleša Kota čiji su protagonisti Valiantovi superheroji ispostavila se kao vrlo fina grantmorrisonovska avantura, sa kudikamo više smisla i razuma od njegovih skorašnjih non-DC radova.
June 6, 2016
The art was really good here, and it was a quick read. It's already a low price point, and I managed to get it half off, so I'm not too salty, but it wasn't very good besides the visuals. There were a few smile-worthy jokes here and there, but this book was one of the sloppiest things I've ever read from Valiant. The characters read weird, the focus was all over the place, and the insipid bare-bones plot ends with a goofy whimper, failing to ever get its own ball rolling. The pacing is fun and fast paced, but once the initial rush wears off, it's hard not to realize exactly how poorly thought out this entire miniseries was.
September 5, 2015
A story that thinks it is far more clever than it is, a couple of lame jokes, lots of tired tropes, and a preachy ending. What's to like?
The art was good, sure. But not so good it makes reading this book worthwhile.
The art was good, sure. But not so good it makes reading this book worthwhile.
February 16, 2018
The artwork on this volume was fantastic. Storywise, not so much. It felt like the bulk of the pages were squandered on chase scenes and fights, leavened with some absurdly dense pages of exposition and catch-up shoehorned in. Also, since most of the characters were from the funnier side of the Valiant line-up, I expected it to be funny.
February 24, 2018
An alien virus that could wipe out all life on Earth is loose, and British spymaster Neville Alcott sends a series of Valiant heroes to find it. As it is, there's a lot more to it than that, and while the story wasn't bad, I also felt it was too short to really get much into.
February 21, 2018
The rare Valiant offering that just left me completely cold. The artwork played a role in this but in the end the execution of the conspiracy just didn’t resonate with me.
April 23, 2019
Just okay. First time I've ever read about any of these heroes. They seemed interesting, but the writing was confusing so I was lost through most of it. Enjoyed the artwork, but that's about all.
July 28, 2020
I enjoyed that action art, but the story was pretty slim. This volume mostly seemed to introduce characters that *might* be interesting later (but also might not).
January 14, 2025
Well this was something
I am not even sure how to describe this story it wasn't the usual series is all I can say.
I am not even sure how to describe this story it wasn't the usual series is all I can say.
March 17, 2022
I'm doing a read-through of The Valiant Universe, so this title came up for a reread. I didn't enjoy it the first time, but was pleasantly surprised by the first issue this time.
The premise of having an extended chase scene across four issues, where every issue follows a different familiar character in the Valiant Universe sounds like a blast. And the initial issue with X-O Manowar is a pleasant enough shallow action story. I was curious about the item they were chasing and the group that was passing it around.
The second issue, however, focused on Archer from Archer & Armstrong, a character that really evolved over the course of that series and had become very interesting. This series pretty much pretends that growth never happened. It attempts to turn the action from issue one into a comedy, and it fails Hard. The "funny"? running gag is that someone stole Archer's pants so he's forced to work in boxer shorts. That's so much less embarrassing than the average superhero costume. He also confronts the antagonists and talks about following his mother and father's advice. Um, they tried to kill him for a good chunk of the Archer & Armstrong series before they died, and were sort of resurrected later but they've been established as his enemies, and not his mentors for so much of the run that I have to assume Kot hasn't read any of the issues. Nothing in this issue makes sense.
While the third issue does make sense of some of the oddness of the previous one, and introduces a new character (sigh...Beta Max), it's not a great issue either. I do find Beta an empathetic character by the end of the book, and there seems to be a cool plot reveal on the horizon in issue four.
But here's the real problem of the series: There is an interesting and complicated story at the heart of this book, and Kot writes around it. You don't get to see the cool stuff happen. You don't get to see the characters develop. You get the prologue, the main action, the denoument, and the epilogue, but the climax isn't shown. You're just told Oh Yea This Is What Happened. It's not in another book, as far as I know. It's just omitted. There's a way to make that style of writing really cool, but this book didn't manage that.
I read this back to back with Jeff Lemire's The Valiant, which is also a limited series featuring a group of Valiant Universe characters who aren't usually paired together. You could teach a class on how that book manages to succeed and why this one fails, and it would be very helpful for up and coming graphic novel writers.
I don't recommend this book other than as a text for that imaginary class. If any of this plot shows up later in the Valiant Universe, I imagine it will be explained better, and you can skip this book. I wouldn't be sad to see Beta appear again in another book, but his use is not crucial for my enjoyment of The Valiant Universe, either.
The premise of having an extended chase scene across four issues, where every issue follows a different familiar character in the Valiant Universe sounds like a blast. And the initial issue with X-O Manowar is a pleasant enough shallow action story. I was curious about the item they were chasing and the group that was passing it around.
The second issue, however, focused on Archer from Archer & Armstrong, a character that really evolved over the course of that series and had become very interesting. This series pretty much pretends that growth never happened. It attempts to turn the action from issue one into a comedy, and it fails Hard. The "funny"? running gag is that someone stole Archer's pants so he's forced to work in boxer shorts. That's so much less embarrassing than the average superhero costume. He also confronts the antagonists and talks about following his mother and father's advice. Um, they tried to kill him for a good chunk of the Archer & Armstrong series before they died, and were sort of resurrected later but they've been established as his enemies, and not his mentors for so much of the run that I have to assume Kot hasn't read any of the issues. Nothing in this issue makes sense.
While the third issue does make sense of some of the oddness of the previous one, and introduces a new character (sigh...Beta Max), it's not a great issue either. I do find Beta an empathetic character by the end of the book, and there seems to be a cool plot reveal on the horizon in issue four.
But here's the real problem of the series: There is an interesting and complicated story at the heart of this book, and Kot writes around it. You don't get to see the cool stuff happen. You don't get to see the characters develop. You get the prologue, the main action, the denoument, and the epilogue, but the climax isn't shown. You're just told Oh Yea This Is What Happened. It's not in another book, as far as I know. It's just omitted. There's a way to make that style of writing really cool, but this book didn't manage that.
I read this back to back with Jeff Lemire's The Valiant, which is also a limited series featuring a group of Valiant Universe characters who aren't usually paired together. You could teach a class on how that book manages to succeed and why this one fails, and it would be very helpful for up and coming graphic novel writers.
I don't recommend this book other than as a text for that imaginary class. If any of this plot shows up later in the Valiant Universe, I imagine it will be explained better, and you can skip this book. I wouldn't be sad to see Beta appear again in another book, but his use is not crucial for my enjoyment of The Valiant Universe, either.
July 29, 2021
The dialogue is great, with plenty of laughs to go with the action-filled story. It's a chase for a dangerous virus that can destroy the planet. It's initially in the possession of a couple of well-informed, resourceful hacker kids and several heroes are sent in turn by Neville to get the virus to safety or destroy it.
Aric tries to recover it, but ultimately fails. Archer, who is simply adorable, manager to retrieve the virus, but then gets captured by ninjas. Beta-Max, who just wants to help and become a serious agent, gets fooled by an impersonator into retrieving a flash drive, then gets captured by the same ninjas. Detective Ceujdo, one hardcore woman, is brought in to pick up the pieces and finish the mission. Her end-of-mission report is hilarious.
Aric tries to recover it, but ultimately fails. Archer, who is simply adorable, manager to retrieve the virus, but then gets captured by ninjas. Beta-Max, who just wants to help and become a serious agent, gets fooled by an impersonator into retrieving a flash drive, then gets captured by the same ninjas. Detective Ceujdo, one hardcore woman, is brought in to pick up the pieces and finish the mission. Her end-of-mission report is hilarious.
March 11, 2016
An anticlimactic ending cannot sour my opinion of Gorham's fluid motion in the artwork. A fun side story in the Valiant universe, unessential but still interesting for how it ties different characters together in one big MacGuffin chase/conspiracy.
March 12, 2016
An awesome sort of reboot of many of the 90s Valiant characters, all tied together with some twists and turns and humor - a little nostalgia, a lot of action. Even some parts where this could have gone seriously lame are carried over with heart and weirdness. I enjoyed this quick and fun read.
May 31, 2022
Fast paced, thoroughly entertaining read.
April 21, 2016
Wish I could give a 3.5.
Action based story...felt like ending resolved way to quickly and off screen.
Action based story...felt like ending resolved way to quickly and off screen.
August 26, 2020
Just one really long scene really, no plot, not at all gripping. Incredibly disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews