A terrific monster-extravaganza, “The Valiant” #1 is a top-notch read for anyone who wants their superhero action mixed in with horror. The heroes of the Valiant Universe are teaming together to fight off an ancient evil. The first issue is an awesome setup with tons of eye-popping action and bloody kill scenes. This will offer you a one way ticket to the Valiant Universe, with no other required reading it’s the best intro to a thriving world.
WRITTEN BY: Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt
ART BY: Paolo Rivera
PUBLISHER: Valiant Entertainment
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: December 10, 2014
Reviewed By Jorge Solis
The Immortal Enemy has been around for centuries, taking on different shapes and names. An unstoppable killer of civilizations, the Immortal Enemy has been recognized by mere mortals as the Minotaur or Grendal. Each time the Immortal Enemy has arrived for the Geomancer, and each time their protector, The Eternal Warrior, has failed. There is a new Geomancer living today in our modern time, and the Immortal Enemy has returned once more for the thrill of the hunt.
I loved what Jeff Lemire did for “Animal Man” in The New 52. Matt Kindt’s “Mind MGMT” is one of my all-time favorite comics. When you put these two creative minds together, they really don’t disappoint. Not only do we get the thrills of a slasher/creature-fest, Kindt and Lemire bring in the wicked humor in their snappy dialogue. In her opening, Kay McHenry, the latest Geomancer, has the most hilarious lines in her witty monologue.
These writers do a fantastic job presenting the Valiant heroes, such as Bloodshot, Armstrong, and X-O Manowar, for newcomers. Each character is given their own solo arc, an introductory piece giving just enough about their origin story. Each of them is appealing for readers in their own way, while none of them steal the spotlight. I liked a lot about Bloodshot. It makes me what to buy more of his comics.
Artist Paolo Rivera delivers different nightmarish designs of the Immortal Enemy. The Immortal Enemy appears much like a Lovecraftian monster in the opening pages. Because the Immortal Enemy can look like anything it wants, Rivera plays around and combines literary, mythological, and alien aspects into the character designs. Rivera gets to let loose his dark imagination whenever the Immortal Enemy shows up on the page.
My favorite part of this installment is Rivera’s action sequences. Bullets and explosions are everywhere in the background as Bloodshot goes on a rampage. Bloodshot doesn’t even flinch when his eye gets shot out by a stray bullet. The one-eyed Bloodshot continues to take down the bad guys and robots with an endless supply of ammo.
A fantastic read, “The Valiant” #1 puts the Valiant heroes into an epic and thrilling crossover event. They’re all fighting an unstoppable killing machine straight out of a horror movie.