Rose City Roll Call: Valiant Panels and Creators


While they don't have a table (that I can determine, anyway), Valiant Entertainment will still have some cool things going on at Rose City Comic Con this year, and I wanted to point them out to folks, because while I'm not as enthusiastic about Valiant as my friend Claire, I still love the fact that if you want to follow everything that's going on in their shared superhero universe, it only takes a few books each week. And the universe itself has a lot of great characters, established by some of the best (Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Steve Englehart, Barry Windsor-Smith, and more) and then restarted with a passel of people who are definite favorites of the Panel Patter team: Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and many others over the past several years.

Who are the characters of Valiant? Well, there's a Roman-era dude who gets taken into space and comes back with a powerful suit (X-O Manowar), a near-immortal with a drinking problem who often teams with the child of cultists who trained him to be a killing machine and doesn't understand most pulp culture (Archer and Armstrong), a master assassin who makes James Bond look like Inspector Clouseau (Ninjak), a superhero of size who loves everything geeky (Faith), a man who dabbles in dark arts as a family trade but can't seem to control it (Shadowman)--and that just to name a few.

Intrigued? Valiant has an intro panel they run called Valiant Comics: 101 and Beyond. They'll be holding it at Room 4 on Friday, September 7th, at 3PM. Here's the panel description:
New to the Valiant Universe? With Valiant’s all-new and exciting “BEYOND” initiative approaching this fall, there’s never been a better time to become a fan! Jump on board right here with a concise and fun-filled introduction to the origins and adventures of Valiant’s greatest and most iconic heroes – from past hits like HARBINGER and SECRET WEAPONS to current bestsellers like X-O MANOWAR and NINJA-K, and brand-new upcoming titles featuring FAITH, BLOODSHOT, LIVEWIRE, and more! Valiant has been hailed as the premier superhero publisher in comics today… Now, look no further than this panel to find out where to start!
On Saturday, Valiant pulls back the curtain with Valiant: The Craft of Comics at 1pm on Saturday the 8th, also in Panel Room 4. This panel is described as:
Join some of the talented people behind Valiant's slate of critically acclaimed comic series for a candid, behind-the-scenes panel discussion! Find out just what it takes to put together a compelling story from start to finish, how to make your series stand apart, and how the editorial process functions at the highest levels – from the award-winning industry veterans behind the Valiant Universe’s greatest hits and a host of fan-favorite titles, including X-O MANOWAR, BLOODSHOT SALVATION, DIVINITY, and more!
Additionally, there will be a few Valiant creators around who would be happy to sell you their work with the publisher if they have any with them, along with other projects. The ones I know of include:

  • Amy Chu wrote some X-O Manowar material
  • James Asmus, who wrote Quantum and Woody
  • Jennifer Van Meter, who wrote Dr. Mirage
  • Jody Houser, writer of Faith
  • Joe Harris, who wrote some Bloodshot issues
  • Steve Lieber, who drew Quantum and Woody

I really hope you'll take a moment to look into Valiant, either by checking out a panel, a creator, or by looking into their comics at your local shop. If you like superheroes but are kinda burnt out on the Big Two material, give Valiant a try. I think you'll dig them!