I want to start this review by stating that I have wanted to get into Valiant comics for quite some time. When I was a wee lad, I was gifted with a nice brown paper bag filled to the brim with comics that had been collected by said gift giver’s uncle. This gift is actually one of the main reasons I became so infatuated with comics as a whole. The crazy covers, the seriousness of the topics (keep in mind a majority of these comics were clearly collected in the early nineties) and the ludicrousness what is considered a “hero”. One of the series that was collected was the original run of Bloodshot, well, issues five, seven, and nine to be precise. Ever since then I was interested in the character, but seeing as I was missing issue one I never got around to reading it. Flash forward to two years ago, Valiant reboots and I completely drop the ball, missing every issue #1. I had lost hope. But not this time.
The Valiant is Valiant’s attempt at breathing some fresh air into their line-up. 
This is the beacon limited series that is going to bring their series’ into their next phase, Valiant Next. This next phase will introduce new series’ by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, Fred Van Lente, and Joshua Dysart. That having been said, this comic is phenomenal. I’m a huge fan of Kindt’s run on Rai so far and Lemire is one of my favorite writers hands down, so this comic brings the aspects I love of each of their writing. The sense of urgency Kindt brings to his stories along with the humanity that Lemire injects into his characters. This is a triumph in storytelling, having all but completely caught me up on all the main characters in only Thirty-two pages of story.
We begin the issue with The Eternal Warrior’s ten millennium spanning journey to protect the Geomancers from an unstoppable, unending evil. A journey that has lead to nothing but failure until now, now he seeks to assemble The Valiant. We then get to meet our current Geomancer, Kay, as she is talking to Armstrong in what is one of my favorite moments from this issue, magically captured by Paolo Rivera. We get to see Bloodshot on a mission to retrieve a mysterious package, along with Kay’s first attempt at Geomancing. We even get a little cameo from X-O Manowar towards the end, right before the epic reveal that will shape this series.
This issue is an extremely strong start to the series, one that makes me giddy for Valiant’s new line up. The art and storytelling are pitch perfect, not only serving as a fantastic first issue, but a perfect launching point for Valiant Next. This is an absolute must buy for comic fans, especially those of us who have been regretfully missing out on the Valiant experience. Check out The Valiant #1 in stores December 10th!
THE VALIANT #1 (of 4) [VALIANT NEXT]
Written by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Art & Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
Interlocking Variant Cover by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Variant Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
B&W Sketch Variant by PAOLO RIVERA
Blank Cover also available
$3.99 | 32 pages. | T+ | On sale DECEMBER 10
A battle ten millennia in the making is about to begin…with an all-new, prestige format epic from New York Times best-selling writers Jeff Lemire (Green Arrow, Animal Man) & Matt Kindt (RAI, Mind MGMT) and Eisner Award-winning artist Paolo Rivera (Daredevil)!
The Eternal Warrior has protected the Earth for more than 10,000 years. A master of countless weapons and long forgotten martial arts, he is guided by the Geomancers – those who speak for theEarth. During his long watch, the Eternal Warrior has failed three times. Each time, the Geomancer was killed…and a new dark age for humanity began. Each time, he was unable to stop The Immortal Enemy – a monstrous force of nature. A civilization killer. A horror that appears differently each time it arrives…and whose seemingly only purpose is to bring disorder and darkness to the world. Now, thetime has come for The Immortal Enemy to return once more. But, this time, the Eternal Warrior will be ready. This time, he has a force greater than any single warrior. This time, he has…THE VALIANT.
An entirely self-contained, new reader friendly comics event spotlighting Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and a cast of heroes and villains from across the Valiant Universe, THE VALIANT is a visionary new adventure from three of the greatest creative talents in comics today.
