Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game

 

Attention dice-masters and card-campaigners, here's some hot gaming news from Valiant HQ.

 

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT AND BLACKSTONE PUBLISHING 

ANNOUNCE INAGUARAL TITLES AND AUTHORS 

FOR JOINT NOVEL VENTURE

 

Green Ronin Publishing announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with DMG Entertainment and Valiant Entertainment and will be publishing the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game in 2024. The game is based on Green Ronin’s popular and award-winning Mutants & Masterminds RPG.

“We have designed RPG material that’s appeared in Valiant comics before, so making a full roleplaying game is the natural next step,” said Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. “We’re excited to bring the characters and settings of the Valiant Universe into the Mutants & Masterminds family.”

“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to team up with Green Ronin and bring our unique and exciting characters to life in the Valiant Adventures Roleplaying Game using their versatile Mutants & Masterminds RPG format. Valiant fans are some of the most engaged fanbase around the world and to give them the chance to inhabit the Valiant Universe as never before is a wonderful opportunity” said Russ Brown, President of Consumer Products, Promotions and Ad Sales at Valiant Entertainment.

“This project kicks off with Valiant Adventures Hero’s Handbook and the Worlds of Valiant campaign setting,” said the game’s developer Alexander Thomas. “Our mission is to bring the pages of Valiant comics to life in a roleplaying game. The Mutants & Masterminds rules engine, renowned for its adaptability, ensures a game world infused with Valiant’s signature gritty realism. The adaptations we made to our M&M Quickstart Character Generator cover Valiant staples like Deadsiders, psiots, or nanite-infused heroes. The Worlds of Valiant campaign setting features game stats for over 80 heroes and villains, and iconic locations like Britannia, The Deadside, Earth, The Faraway, New Japan, Space, The Stalinverse, and The Unknown.”

 

 

Valiant Adventures is a stand-alone RPG so anyone can jump right in. It is also fully compatible with Mutants & Masterminds so rules material can be shared freely between the two games. More information and previews of the Valiant Adventures RPG will appear on https://greenronin.com/ in the coming months.

 

About Green Ronin Publishing

Green Ronin Publishing is a Seattle based company dedicated to the art of great games. Since the year 2000, Green Ronin has been a force in tabletop roleplaying games, publishing such RPGs as Blue Rose, The Expanse, Dragon Age, and Mutants & Masterminds, and winning over 40 awards for excellence. Green Ronin has also worked as a design house for hobby giants Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast on such titles as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition and the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition supplements Out of the Abyss and the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. Green Ronin is publishing three new RPGs in 2023: Fantasy AGE 2nd Edition, Cthulhu Awakens, and the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy. For press and media inquiries, please submit an email to letsplay@greenronin.com.

About DMG Entertainment

DMG Entertainment is a global media and entertainment company based in Beverly Hills, CA. Founded 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 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 90 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 https://ValiantEntertainment.com/. For Valiant merchandise and more, visit https://ValiantStore.com/.

Green Ronin, Mutants & Masterminds, and their associated logos are trademarks of Green Ronin Publishing. All rights reserved.

Valiant and all its associated characters and logos are registered trademarks of Valiant Entertainment LLC.

 

X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 Review

 

Pre-Order Cover by Michael Leeke & Andrew Dalhouse

Writer: Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad

Artist & Colorist: Liam Sharp

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Cover Artists: Liam Sharp, Valentin Secher, Michael Leeke & Andrew Dalhouse

Publisher: Valiant

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 19, 2023

 

Aric of Dacia remains in self-imposed exile on the icy moon Scythia. Once again, he has tired of the needless suffering on Earth. Still, battle finds him: this time disguised as an invitation from messengers of the Novus Romanus. What happens when he declines their invitation? Let’s blast into X-O Manowar Unconquered #1 and find out!

 

Story

Aric and Shanhara survived their impact with Scythia, but neither has fully recovered. Aboard the Theodosius I command ship, General Cadmus and Commander Aurum watch as Aric fights their legionaries. Like the Vine before them, they view the armor as the ultimate weapon. Like technology leader and billionaire Troy Whitaker, they intend to use the living armor to level up their military. Even weakened, Aric and Shanhara defeat their warriors. So Cadmus and Aurum send their Senior Centurion, Thyria Antius, into the fray. Liam Sharp's Cover A of X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 captures the result.

 

 

 

Taken aboard their spaceship, General Cadmus invites Aric to dinner. Traditionally, eating with one's enemies is heavily symbolic. Thus, he does so warily. An act of cruelty reminds him that—despite their claims—his captors are little different from the Romans he fought on 5^th Century Earth.

 

Art

Like Cloonan and Conrad’s story, Liam Sharp steeps art in symbolism. His multi-layered approach challenges readers to interpret what they see. He weaves characters into scenes like a collage. Has he drawn them from several viewpoints and pasted them in as needed? Like filmmaker Ridley Scott, he melds character design, backgrounds, and atmosphere to create the mood.

 

Sometimes, Sharp's art in X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 suggests a lenticular cover caught in transition. The eyes weary while waiting for the image to form. Some panels--such as one that paints Aric with Elfin ears--remain unclear. Yet striking imagery abounds. With Shanhara wounded, Aric's helmet takes on the appearance of the beast he fought in issue #1. 

 

 

One wonders how Robocop's helmet might look if designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Much of the backgrounds—especially Theodosius I interiors, remind me of Alien. A lavish banquet scene brought to mind Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee's '90s Inhumans series. An overhead glimpse from above, seemingly distorted by a mirror, seems more at home in a Cathedral than a comic.

 

As in issue #1, Troy Peteri deploys a war chest of lettering in X-O Manowar Unconquered #2. Dialogue from speakers emerges as uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons. Blobby black fields with white lettering capture the narrator’s ruminations. Shanhara’s thoughts float in puffy bronze clouds. Nimane’s insights waft through blue clouds that suggest an X, as in an X-Men comic. Stressed words grow bold. Sound effects enhance already fraught scenes.

 

Final Thoughts

Steeped in the history and culture of ancient Rome, X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 returns Aric of Dacia to his 5^th Century roots. Like Soothsayer Nimane’s visions, one glimpses his adventures through a glass darkly. While characters and situations coalesce, other mysteries—such as the identity of Emperor Ursus Nox—remain. As with Ridley Scott’s movie Alien, the story and art leave us much to ponder.

 

Rating 8.2/10

A slightly amended version of this review appears at Comic Book Dispatch.

Forthcoming Valiant Novels

 

 

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT AND BLACKSTONE PUBLISHING ANNOUNCE INAGUARAL TITLES AND AUTHORS FOR JOINT NOVEL VENTURE

Valiant Entertainment and Blackstone Publishing are proud to announce the inaugural titles in their trade publishing program. The newly created Valiant imprint will feature all new stories with some of Valiant's most popular and beloved characters.

 
BLOODSHOT: AWAKENING

 

 

Fred Van Lente, an award-winning New York Times-bestseller who has previously worked on Valiant's Archer & Armstrong, will be reimagining Valiant's blockbuster character in this young adult novel as an eighteen-year-old who wakes up in a laboratory with no memory of who he is or why he has such incredible powers. Breaking out of his imprisonment with nanite-powered blood, Angelo finds himself on the run, trying to piece together his memories and fight back against the sinister forces chasing him.

 

 

SHADOWMAN: THE ABYSS STARES BACK

 

 

Debut novelist Shola Adedeji dives into the shadow world of New Orleans in this terrifying new take on Shadowman. Jack Boniface returns to New Orleans after being away for years because his father has died. Jack tries to reacclimate himself to his hometown, but things have changed so much. There seem to be dark forces at work. And then Jack finds out that his father was The Shadowman, a supernatural warrior. Jack now finds himself pulled into a much larger, terrifying world, and must assume his father’s mantle.

 

 

 

LIVEWIRE: CIRCUIT BREAKER

 

 

Author of the Effigies book series Sarah Raughley electrifies with a new story starring Livewire. This young adult novel is about a teen girl who has lived in foster care for most of her life. She becomes the ward of the incredibly wealthy Toyo Harada, only to discover that he has nefarious plans for her technopathic powers (and the world).

 

 

 

THE ETERNAL WARRIOR: SERVANTS OF THE DEAD

 

 

Ari Marmell, who has written for Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering, travels through the centuries with The Eternal Warrior. In this epic that spans hundreds of years, culminating with a battle in the streets of modern-day New York City, Gilad Anni-Padda finds that the mistakes made generations earlier continue to haunt him, and must battle to save his soul and the entire world itself.

 

 

Fred Pierce, Valiant’s Publisher, commented, "We're very excited for this new partnership with Blackstone Publishing. Here at Valiant Entertainment, our focus has always been on strong storytelling and excellent character development. Those elements aren't exclusive to comics so having the chance to explore the Valiant Universe in other forms of publishing is always a thrill for us."
 
Rick Bleiweiss, Blackstone’s Head of New Business Development, added, “I am so pleased that we are going to be publishing Valiant’s fabulous comic book characters in newly written full novels. I know that their existing fan base will love these books and stories, and it will give many more people exposure to the worlds and figures Valiant has created that so many of their ardent followers regularly enjoy.”

 

 

Brendan Deneen, Blackstone’s Director of Media, TV, & Film and an editor at the company, is running point on the publishing program. “I’m excited to have worked with the Valiant team to find the perfect prose authors for these books and develop exhilarating takes for this amazing comics library. This is a great chance to bring in new readers to the Valiant Universe while also staying true to what makes these characters so iconic in the first place.”

That's the latest from Valiant HQ. Have a great day, and stay Valiant, my friends!

 

About DMG Entertainment
DMG Entertainment is a global media and entertainment company based in Beverly Hills, CA. Founded 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 90 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. 
 
About Blackstone Publishing
 
Founded in 1987, Blackstone continues to pioneer new and creative ways to bring stories to life. With multiple New York Times Best Sellers, Grammy award-winning audio productions, and three books placed on the New York Times Best Books of the Year list, Blackstone has firmly positioned itself as one of America's fastest growing and respected publishing houses. A truly independent, privately owned publisher, with offices on both coasts, Blackstone is home to a vibrant and eclectic community of storytellers and story lovers, offering hundreds of new titles each month to its catalog of 19,000+ books. The authors published are as varied as the books themselves, with works by some of the biggest names in literature including Gabriel García Márquez, Ayn Rand, Ian Fleming, George Orwell, Robert Heinlein, James Clavell, as well as more contemporary authors like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Karin Slaughter, Robert Downey Jr., Jeneva Rose, Norman Reedus, and many more.
 
 

Brendan Deneen Director of Media, TV and Film Blackstone Publishing (800) 378-1304 x1084 BlackstonePublishing.com

 

 

X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 Preview

 

Cover B by VALENTIN SECHER

The Novus Romanus are on the attack in X-O MANOWAR UNCONQUERED #2!

Wounded and deep in space, X-O MANOWAR finds himself under attack from the Novus Romanus-- the freed Romans formerly abducted by The Vine. With his armor badly damaged, Aric must face down an entire Legion with only hit wit, courage, and of course, SHANHARA at his side. X-O MANOWAR UNCONQUERED #2 is also a 1st appearance of THYRA ANTIUS, an elite Novus Romanus centurion with a dark past!

Now sink into your hyperspace couch, strap tight that safety harness, and prepare for these X-O-lent preview pages, courtesy of the good folks at Valiant HQ!

 

Romans, the Vine, and a first appearance? What more could a true blue-and-yellow Valiant fan want? Clear your schedule, take the day off work, and rocket over to your local comic book store this Wednesday when X-O Manowar Unconquered #2 hits the stands!

And now, for all you cheering fans out there in the digital arena, here's the official blurb from the great ones at Valiant Entertainment. All hail the holy blurb!

 

X-O MANOWAR UNCONQUERED #2
Written by BECKY CLOONAN and MICHAEL W. CONRAD
Art by LIAM SHARP
Letters by TROY PETERI
Cover A by LIAM SHARP
Cover B by VALENTIN SECHER
Pre-order Cover by MICHAEL LEEKE WITH ANDREW DALHOUSE

X-O MANOWAR… conquered??  Wounded and with Shanhara badly damaged, Aric gets captured by the menacing Novus Romanus Legion.  What hidden horrors lie aboard the Theodosius I wait for our hero? From the acclaimed writing duo of Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan and superstar artist Liam Sharp, X-O MANOWAR UNCONQUERED #2 promises to deliver the grand space epic you’ve been waiting for!

On sale April 19th | 32 pages, full color | $3.99 US | T+

Liam Sharp's Cover for X-O Manowar Unconquered #2

 

 

Can't wait to read X-O Manowar Unconquered #2? Can't wait to see what happens next? Here's a sneak peek at Liam Sharp's Cover A. Is that awesome or what?

And now, to whet your Visigoth appetites, here's the official blurb from Valiant HQ. All hail the glorious blurb!

X-O MANOWAR... conquered??  Wounded and with Shanhara badly damaged, Aric gets captured by the menacing Novus Romanus Legion.  What hidden horrors lie aboard the Theodosius I wait for our hero? From the acclaimed writing duo of Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan and superstar artist Liam Sharp, X-O MANOWAR UNCONQUERED #2 promises to deliver the grand space epic you've been waiting for! 

X-O Manowar Unconquered #2: In Shops Apr 19, 2023