X-O Manowar & His Valiant Friends: September 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Valiant Voices: The New Webseries

Looking for something fun to watch? Then head over to Youtube, where Gregg Katzman has just kicked off Valiant's weekly webseries!

VALIANT VOICES CELEBRATES COMICS WITH
CREATORS, PRESS, AND MORE

September 30th, 2020 – Cullen Bunn. Comicstorian. Vita Ayala. Jon Davis-Hunt. You know their work, but how well do you really know them? Valiant Entertainment is proud to launch Valiant Voices, a new monthly interview series on Valiant's YouTube channel that's all about picking the brains of comic creators, comic press, and many more about why they love comics.

Up first: a giant-sized debut interview with ComicPOP's Sal & Tiffany! The fan-favorite YouTube duo reveal their comic book reading origin stories, discuss what makes the Valiant Universe unique, pick their favorite comic book movies & TV shows, and much, much more.

What is the first comic they remember reading? What comic got them hooked on the hobby? What is their favorite single issue? What are they reading right now? Those questions and many more will pop up in each interview as Valiant Marketing & Publicity Manager Gregg Katzman talks to a new guest, each and every month. Future guests include...

Cullen Bunn (SHADOWMAN, PUNK MAMBO)
Kat Calamia (Newsarama, ComicUno)
Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum (X-O MANOWAR, Sea of Stars)
Valiant Senior Editors Heather Antos & Lysa Hawkins
Benny Potter (Comicstorian)
Jeff Parker (NINJAK, Batman '66)
Vita Ayala (LIVEWIRE, New Mutants)
Nathan Stockman (SAVAGE, Spidey)
Jon Davis-Hunt (SHADOWMAN, The Wild Storm)
And many more, including creators on books that haven't been revealed yet...

Stay tuned for a brand-new episode next month on Valiant's YouTube.

For now, I'll just leave you with a few teasers from their initial broadcast.

What is Sal and/or Tiffany's relationship to this comic?

What does Sal and/or Tiffany find so enjoyable about this series?

What aspect of this character inspires Sal and/or Tiffany?

Learn the answers to those questions, and many more in this first episode Valiant Voices.

Dragon Dave

About DMG Entertainment

DMG Entertainment is a global media and entertainment company based in Beverly Hills, CA. Founded in 1994 by Dan Mintz, the company portfolio has grown to include diverse holdings across film, television, comic book publishing, gaming, and location-based entertainment. Operating as both a production and distribution entity, DMG Entertainment is best known for films such as Looper and Iron Man 3 and the #1 box-office release of Bloodshot feature starring Vin Diesel.

About Valiant Entertainment

Valiant Entertainment, a subsidiary of DMG Entertainment, founded by Dan Mintz, is a leading character-based entertainment company that owns and controls the third most extensive library of superheroes behind Marvel and DC. With more than 80 million issues sold and a library of over 2,000 characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, and many more, Valiant is one of the most successful publishers in the history of the comic book medium. For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and ValiantEntertainment.com. For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com.

Monday, September 28, 2020

Breaking News: New Valiant Jigsaw Puzzles

During the initial quarantine period of Covid-19, several of my friends on Facebook posted photos of puzzles they had dug out of the closet and completed. And why not? Puzzles are a great way to have fun and keep your brain healthy at the same time. All of which leads me to think that this is the perfect product for Valiant to release at this time.

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS WITH MIGHTY MOJO TOYS

FOR UNIVERSE SPANNING PUZZLES!

New York, NY (September 28th, 2020) – Valiant Entertainment is partnering with Mighty Mojo Toys to bring new captivating puzzles!

Challenge yourself and bring together all the pieces of two 500-piece puzzles featuring a multitude of characters from across the Valiant Universe!

“We’re thrilled to partner with Valiant and have the opportunity to create some pretty cool toys worthy of the Bloodshot characters,” says Caryl Liebmann, Vice President of Licensing and Business Development at Mighty Mojo Toys.

Russ Brown, Valiant's President of Consumer Products, Promotions & Ad Sales, explains why he's so happy to reveal this partnership. "Valiant fans new and old have expressed interest in great cover art in puzzle form. As a result we are delighted to launch this month with Mighty Mojo. And fans should definitely be excited for what's to come from this collaboration."

Available right now for purchase are these two puzzles to enjoy at home:

Valiant Comics Universe Jigsaw Puzzle: Purchase HERE
Bloodshot Jigsaw Puzzle: Purchase HERE

Both of these puzzles are available for $14.99.

Stay tuned as more exciting items will be revealed from this exciting partnership between Valiant Entertainment and Mighty Mojo Toys with more puzzles, plushies, and cool new toys coming your way!

If you're a Bloodshot fan, you'll notice that Bloodshot is featured prominently in both puzzles. If you're an X-O Manowar fan, he's featured in the center of the Valiant Universe puzzle, just as he should be. (Incidentally, the latter puzzle is taken from the cover of Bloodshot USA #1. This seems appropriate, as Bloodshot is, in many ways, the All-American Hero).

So there you have it: a fun way to stay healthy during the pandemic, and enjoy the Valiant Universe in a completely different way. Which one will you buy and assemble first?

Dragon Dave

P.S. As always, many thanks to Valiant for sharing this breaking news with us.

About Might Mojo Toys

Mighty Mojo Toys is a licensing and manufacturing e-com retailer with a variety of hard and soft line products including toys and games, party goods/stationary, watches, pool floats, puzzles and more. Their first e-com platform, ArchiesToys.com, has been successfully buying and selling some of the biggest toy brands in the industry for over 10 years. The success of Archie’s lead to launching Mighty Mojo Toys in 2019. Their current licenses include Etch-a-Sketch from Spinmaster, Tetris, Doug the Pug, Valiant Entertainment, Pete the Cat, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Super Why and Stan Lee’s POW name a few. A triple threat – licensing, manufacturing and retail!

Join our team and become part of the Mighty Mojo Magic. http://mightymojotoys.comContact: Caryl Liebmann, Mighty Mojo Toys – 917-703-0915 Caryl@MightyMojoToys.com

About Valiant Entertainment

About DMG Entertainment

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Rai #7 Review: The Oncoming Storm

Rai #7 Cover A by Fritz Casas & Candace Han

After Rai defends a contingent of Roman soldiers from a horde of mutant animals in Rai #6, you might expect to see Rai in full-on Samurai mode again in Rai #7. Instead, writer Dan Abnett throws us a curveball.

Anyone who has ever been caught in a forest during a storm knows how defenseless it makes you feel. But in case readers haven't, letterer Dave Sharpe conveys the power of the howling, crashing wind.

A young woman, whom we glimpsed in Rai #6, appears and urges Rai and Raijin to follow. She leads them to a cargo pod that survived the fall of the orbital city of New Japan, and ushers them inside.

Behind Rai and Raijin, colorist Andrew Dalhouse aids letterer Dave Sharpe in conveying just how violent this sudden storm is.

One of my favorite new characters in the Valiant Universe is Raijin. There's been a lot of talk about Rai's sense of humanity, but long-time readers know this little positronic being has feelings and sensibilities too.

I like how out-of-sorts penciler Juan Jose Ryp makes him look, when Raijin gains a reprieve from the storm.

But then another noise--not caused by a normal storm--comes from outside. Now Raijin seems much more than merely out-of-sorts.

Meanwhile, Rai's friend Lula, also known as Psylocke, fancies herself an expert in navigating this future world's version of the internet. She has already revealed Rai's presence to Bloodfather once. Still, she refuses to take Rai's warnings about Bloodfather seriously. Confident she will not draw the attention of the malignant Artificial Intelligence that once ruled New Japan, Lula follows breadcrumbs an older and wiser person would avoid.

What will Lula find as she navigates the datastream? Will she draw Bloodfather's attention to her community?

Rai #7 Cover B by Nethro Diaz and Candace Han

Will the cargo pod keep Rai and Raijin safe? And if so, what will they find when the storm passes?

Oh, and who is the young woman we glimpsed in the last issue, and has just rescued Rai and Raijin from the storm?

Rai #7 Preorder Cover by Don Perlin & Andrew Dalhouse

Writer Dan Abnett piles up mystery upon mystery in this issue, making Rai #7 a crucial new chapter in this intriguing series.

Dragon Dave

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

A Journey of Discovery: Review of Rai Book One Trade Paperback

Presenting the Rai Book One Trade Paperback

Everyone enjoys a good quest story now and then, and that's what Valiant Comics gives us with writer Dan Abnett's ongoing Rai series. Rai's mission is to protect mankind, as well as the lives of all sentient-biological creatures, by locating and destroying the Offspring. In order to do this, he and his brother, fellow robot (or positronic) Raijin, set out across the blasted lands and deserted cities of North America.

Raijin attempts to placate the Anarcho-Baron clan

The Offspring are the remnants of an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) once known as Father, which ran a vast, orbital city of New Japan. As with the Horcruxes in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, if Father, or Bloodfather as he is now known, can assemble enough of them, the A.I. can regather his strength, and exercise his powers to their fullest extent. Thus, Rai sees locating and destroying these as key to the preservation of intelligent life on Earth. For if Bloodfather reclaims them first, he can remake all biological life in his image. The Humans and Positronic Robots who survived the destruction when New Japan fell to Earth, and the intelligent animals known as the Kor'Tunga who now call our planet home, will be robbed of free will. Through the use of nanites, their bodies will be possessed, and their identities rewritten, if Bloodfather becomes all-powerful.

Beware the Bloodfather

No one feels this mission quite as personally as Rai. It was his disagreement over how New Japan should be run that led to his battle with Father, and the destruction of New Japan. After pieces of the orbital city fell to Earth, some of the survivors gathered in Sontaku City, where Rai attempted to cobble together a functional--if not a utopian--society in this post-apocalyptic world. What happened there when the A.I. Father awakened, and became Bloodfather, propelled Rai on this quest. As a Positronic imbued with a sense of Humanity, as Rai seeks to find and destroy all the Offspring, he is also discovering what it means to be Human.

Gilad Anni-Padda, the Eternal Warrior, questions how Rai treats Raijin

Along the way, many will criticize him for his single-minded approach. Friends will accuse him of being uncaring. Survivors of New Japan will blame him for the death of family and friends, and insist he aid them in remaking their lives. The inhabitants of this damaged and changed world will blame him for the devastation caused by fallen debris, and how the influx of refugees from New Japan have strained their communities' resources. Even his brother Raijin will insist that he moderate his stance, and balance his all-consuming desire to destroy Offspring with aiding isolated communities.

Raijin and Rai discuss Rai's ability to empathize with Humans

Rai is not wholly wrong about the virtue of his cause. But neither is he totally right as to how best to achieve it. Like many of us, he finds growing up means taking on responsibility, not just for himself, but also for those around him. As a robot with the ability to think and act as a Human, he finds it no easier to juggle responsibility, mission, and caring for others. Yes, he can be obstinate at times, and shut others out, believing he knows best. But as he can feel and learn, he becomes no stranger to personal growth.

Rai meet Loci, a forgotten smart-home A.I.

Traveling to distant places, and interacting with the people there, can promote personal growth. In Rai and Raijin's case, they meet up with technology scavengers capable of taking on any of the isolated communities in the Mad Max franchise. In an abandoned city, they find a pristine home managed by an A.I. called Loci, who after eight hundred years still yearns to fulfill her programming, and care for those who walked through her door.

Raijin greets a hungry Torvosaurus

Sauropods and Theropod dinosaurs--positronic constructs that roamed entertainment zones of New Japan--pursue and attack them. In an attempt to contact them, a well-meaning friend will inadvertantly reveal Rai's physical location to Bloodfather. And at a community farmed for nineteen generations, a fifteen hundred year old piece of terraforming equipment--once used in an attempt to colonize Mars and now essential to the community--attracts an army summoned by Bloodfather.

Bloodfather's army attacks.

Rai Book One collects the first five issues of the ongoing Rai series. At $9.99, this represents a real bargain. And that's before you consider all the extras that Valiant throws in, such as copies of covers and interior art. Issues that entertained on a monthly basis function equally well when read in a single sitting. Story aspects that seemed incidental will combine, making aspects of the characters and this future world more clear.

The Eternal Warrior in Black & White.

Tying Dan Abnett's intricate and evolving story together is the beautiful penciling of Juan Jose Ryp, the vibrant coloring of Andrew Dalhouse, and the energetic lettering of Dave Sharpe. Through the guidance of Series editors Lysa Hawkins and David Menchel, Collection editor Ivan Cohen, and Collection Designer Steve Blackwell (as well as many other talented people), Valiant Comics has produced a must-have trade paperback for your bookshelf.

My beloved Rai #1-5 Pre-Order issues

When I say must-have, I mean what I say. For even though I already own the individual issues, and have read each through several times, I purchased the trade paperback as well. This will save wear-and-tear on my bagged-and-boarded issues, and make rereading the series much easier in the future.

Rai Book 1 finds its place in my home

All of which goes to say that there can be no question as to whether Rai Book One is worth your time and money. And look: it's even Rai-approved!

Dragon Dave

Monday, September 21, 2020

Valiant Press Release: Bloodshot #10 Preview

Bloodshot #10 Cover A by Simon Bisley

If you're a big Bloodshot fan like me, you were no doubt disheartened when the pandemic prevented Valiant Comics from continuing Tim Seeley's story on a regular monthly schedule. So here's some welcome news for Bloodshot fans.

Bloodshot #10 Cover B by David Nakayama

VALIANT'S SUPERSOLDIER BLOODSHOT
HAS "ONE LAST SHOT" IN JANUARY

September 21st, 2020 – Get ready for rampage as the action-packed storyline "One Last Shot" begins this January in BLOODSHOT #10!

Pencils by Brett Booth

For the explosive final arc of TIM SEELEY'S critically-acclaimed run, the New York Times best-selling writer will be joined by industry icon BRETT BOOTH and the amazingly talented PEDRO ANDREO to unleash all kinds of mayhem as Bloodshot faces retribution. The upcoming storyline will also feature two characters from Bloodshot's blockbuster movie starring Vin Diesel: Wilfred Wigans and KT!

Pencils by Brett Booth

"Coming out of The Burn storyline, Bloodshot feels like he should finally leave himself in the darkness and not come back, but then Wigans calls him and says he needs him," teased Seeley. "Every time he turns his back on humanity, he has another reason to come back to humanity."

Pencils by Brett Booth

Seeley enjoyed building a past for Wigans, hinting that the upcoming tale introduces a familiar face for longtime Bloodshot fans. "Wigans is a story generator and we get to tie his story back to the past with our villain, who I won't spoil for everybody. It's a nod back to some classic BLOODSHOT continuity by bringing back a new version of one of the bad guys."

BLOODSHOT #10, Part 1 of "One Last Shot", goes on sale January 13th, 2021. Visit SYFY for more details.

Valiant FCBD 2020 Issue

Incidentally, this year's Valiant Free Comic Day issue, the Valiant 2020 Year of Heroes special, includes a short Bloodshot story that takes place between Bloodshot issues #9 and #10. (It also featured a much longer story by this blog's namesake, X-O Manowar). So if you've not yet read it, or still need to hunt down a copy, make sure you do so!

Dragon Dave

P.S. Once again, thanks to DMG Entertainment, and Valiant Entertainment, for sharing this exciting press release with us!

About DMG Entertainment

About Valiant Entertainment

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Bloodshot 8 Review: Those Caught Between

Cover A by Tyler Kirkham

In Bloodshot #8, super-powered beings--once normal people--roam the Earth.

Meanwhile, writer Tim Seeley reminds us of an ongoing conflict that most ordinary Americans have forgotten about, but still impacts our world.

This conflict originated with the Saur Revolution of Afghanistan, before morphing into Soviet-Afghan War. Sometimes called Russia's Vietnam, the prolonged conflict weakened the USSR, and left the Taliban in charge of Afghanistan. Of course, we all remember the thousands who died in New York on September 11, 2001, and how the Taliban enabled that act of terrorism. Despite American efforts to support a representative democracy, the Taliban remains a very real power in Afghanistan in 2020.

As in Vietnam, many outside powers got involved in the Soviet-Afghan War. These nations, including the United States, aided the Taliban with training and armament.

Just how high tech was this armament? In a world where biological and chemical weapons are developed and deployed, Tim Seeley suggests that countries such as the United States supplied the ultimate in bio-tech weapons. These are called the Glorymen, just one of the superhuman bioweapons Bloodshot inadventently released from a Black Bar facility in Bloodshot #7.

Pedro Andreo's pencils and Andrew Dalhouse's coloring demonstrate just how much power is coursing through these enhanced human soldiers. Their words--translated from Arabic by letterer Dave Sharpe--reveal a hatred for their former masters equal to their superpowers.

The words of the leaders who altered them--who fashioned them into tools of the powerful--reveal how much they valued these soldiers as individuals.

The late Terry Pratchett, remembered the world over for his Discworld novels, once said, "Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things." This has certainly proven true for Bloodshot, a man who has forsaken any semblance of a normal life. He will always be sought out, and used--willingly or unwillingly--by nations, and less-well-known organizations, such as Project Rising Spirit, Omen, Black Bar, and The Burned.

Like the Glorymen, he was fashioned into a tool. Whether he likes it or not, he remains a weapon to be wielded by those who can control the nanites, or tiny machines, that course through his bloodstream.

Chronologically, this series began in Russia, with Bloodshot #0. There, in a poor Siberian town called Veles, Bloodshot launched onto his current mission to help ordinary people caught amid the conflicts created by powerful factions and nations.

In Bloodshot #1, he moved to Hodeidah, Yemen. In this port city, crucial to the importation of food, he foiled soldiers who would have let the Yemeni poor go hungry.

You know, just in case the wrong people--drafted into fighting for a faction in the ongoing conflict--wanted to eat.

Cover B by Diego Bernard and Candice Han

In Yemen, Bloodshot met Mina Nez, a psiot acquired by Project Rising Spirit, and sold to Black Bar. As psiots who survive activation are difficult to find, she has also forgone any hope of a normal life, and goes by her new name Eidolon.

Cover C by Cryssy Cheung

Bloodshot #8 features a guest appearance by Aric of Dacia. Like Bloodshot, the 5th Century Visigoth was captured and used by others, and thrust into our modern world. In X-O Manowar #1 by writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum, Aric's desire to safeguard those caught in the conflicts of powerful factions and nations take him to the Ukraine. There, amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, Aric tries to quell the fighting, and make life safe for ordinary Ukrainians.

Cover D by Shawn Crystal

These are interesting times at Valiant, with converging stories and themes, and superpowered heroes fighting in ongoing conflicts for ordinary people like you and me. It's important to stay informed, lest you get caught up in the fighting, and events overtake you. To learn the latest about the forces shaping our interconnected and complicated world, pick up Bloodshot #8, in stores today.

Dragon Dave

P.S. The world-shaking events portrayed in Bloodshot #8 were overseen by the editorial team of Drew Baumgartner, Lysa Hawkins, and Robert Meyers, in consultation with X-O Manowar editor Heather Antos.