Into the Void: Sharing Valiant/Acclaim with the Universe

I've decided to fire a satellite into space. The satellite, which I'm calling the VCSUSA Intergalactic Space Nugget, will carry on it my equivalent of the Voyager Golden Record. Except instead of a phonograph record, I'm using an assortment of YouTube videos. And these videos aren't so much "a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings" as they are a cosmic cry for help. Maybe this way extraterrestrial life will get to experience our ridiculousness along with our descendants. Perhaps they'll even come to Earth's rescue. Here are just some of the videos I've chosen to represent various comic subcultures:

Hairy the BFD: Webcast 7


Bob Layton/Valiant Annual Birthday Party 1992


Turok 2_Seeds Of Evil_Gameplay (N64)


Turok "Bring It" TV Spot (PS3,Xbox 360,PC)

Are 2 Valiant Fan sites good or bad..........

So, over the course of the last couple of months, another Valiant Fan site has surfaced on the Internet. It is located here & too poor to afford a domain apparently but with the name of Valiant Collector Society, they have taken everything we love about Valiant and made it into a profiteering site. The first project is Shadowman #0 Gold signed by Bob Layton and Bob Hall, both forefathers of Valiant past and Valiant future. Two great guys in there own right, I have had great email contact with them over the years. I commend the attempt of a gold book fan project, I really do!

The second project has something to do with Unity #0 and Unity #1. Both of these books are some of the core books that drew the attention of many, many fans 15 years ago and continue warrant attention in today's comic market. BUT, the new website is peddling its wares on its own site, (if it can be called that) and the Original Valiant Fans website, not to mention, stepping on peoples toes, just assuming the reigns and running their own show. Not much is known about the project, but I think Martha Stewart signed it with a red glitter pen.

Now, I have been a member of the Valiantfans site since before the board crash of 2004, but do not post all that often! I am not biased or affiliated to this site in any way! I have a few of the fans projects, not all mind you, but they were really great to be a part of while nothing new was being published by Valiant. BUT Valiant is now on the cusp of publishing new material. Are these projects really necessary. You tell me.......

Until next time.....

VEI Website Review.......

**Before I get to my review, I must admit I am sorry for being tardy. It appears, someone contacted the powers that be and said this a spam posting and my account was locked down for a period of five days.

Thank you very much for doing this, VEI has not always been forthright with its customer base, no matter how big or small we are. Now that VALIANT Comics Snob is fully verified, it will not be silenced again.....**

I set here behind my keyboard and wonder exactly what to expect from the new Valiant (not capitalized, how sad). I sit here scratching my head from time to time when I think of how the government fleeces America and think that VEI is nothing more than a new magic trick we have yet to encounter.

First off, I understand that re-releasing material is great to rebuild and add new customers to its demographic and gain capital. VALIANT, that we know and love, was a company, an entire generation of readers ago. Hence the new coloring, making it jump off of the shelf is very important. It has to compete with Manga comics now. Which is great for the new art contained on the website, it appears to be animated cell stills, something that Dinesh knows something about, since he graduated from the University of Southern California and has had limited work in movies.

Regardless, the website is fun and has a wealth of knowledge and the Valiant Wiki site it comical to say the least. Some of the write-ups are very detailed and some are off. I have to admit, I have had to correct a few to make them correct, and we are talking obvious ones at that. I have not read them all.

Furthermore, lets just see how this folds out, will VEI be around in one year, two years or three years, only you and I can make that happen. I have bought five copies of the Harbinger Hardcover already, I suppose I will purchase five of the X-O Hardcovers as well. After that, they will really have to WOW me more than just making me pay twenty-five dollars for an eight page story. The fan projects (VcVSS/VfVSS) have WOW'd me more than the material released from VEI so far and the upcoming book.

VEI has released some art from the upcoming X-O Hardcover, I will review that this week. I have emailed a few of the creative folks on their contribution to the X-O Hardcover, maybe if they get back to me in a timely manner, I will post bits from those interviews this week as well.

Thats all for this week,
The Snob

The new VALIANTENTERTAINMENT.com website

My critique will go live midnight eastern time, Friday March 7th, 2008