NYCC '08: THE VALIANT FANS PANEL

[MattBrady]

Reporting by Michael C Lorah

Attending the panel were former Valiant editor Jeff Gomez (who also moderated), now the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, artist Sean Chen, and former Valiant colorist/current Creative Director of Starlight Runner Chrisoula Artemis.

Though sparsely populated, the panel attracted several devoted fans who kept the discussion active.

Opening with a discussion of the new X-O Manowar: Birth hardcover, Gomez explained that the new cover was drawn by Chen and colored by Artemis. Chen told the audience that after Valiant folded, he’d kept in touch with the status of the company and fans of the characters, and though he rarely takes work outside Marvel or DC, he made an exception to illustrate the cover and was glad to be involved in the new project in some small way.

Artemis, who colored the new cover, which was inked by Bob Layton, also worked on the Harbinger hardcover and is working on a Valiant bible to assist with pitching Valiant properties to other media. She’s also recoloring The Grackle and Armed & Dangerous, and is “really enjoying the old Bob Hall work.”

Asked which Valiant titles they originally worked on, Artemis said that she worked on nearly all of them, but named Dr. Mirage, Armed & Dangerous, Ninjak and Turok. She was also Art Director at Atomic Paintbrush and oversaw the Acclaim comics line as well, after Valiant was purchased and rebooted Acclaim Entertainment.

Chen worked on Rao: Futureforce, which was his first pro work. He followed with Harbinger before admitting that it all became a blur after that. He mentioned Bloodshot and then said he finished on “X-O after Acclaim took over, when he was wearing some blue suit or something.” That run, he said, led to three years on Ironman, “from blue flying guy to orange flying guy.”

Gomez confirmed that excepting the Gold Key characters, Turok, Solar and Magnus, Robot Fighter, Valiant owns all of its intellectual properties.

Gomez’s company Starlight Runner is helping to clean up inks and prep titles to introduce to media companies and video game companies.

When an audience member asked about the print quality of the Harbinger and X-O Manowar hardcovers, Gomez acknowledged that the books are not printed from original art. In the early 90s, there was “no way to digitize or permanently capture the original art.” They are scanning pages from the actual comic, carefully erasing the original coloring, retouching the inks, and then recoloring the pages. The lessons learned during the production of Harbinger have been applied to X-O Manowar: Birth, and he feels that the new X-O collection will be much better quality.

Artemis chimed in, saying the most difficult part was distinguishing black lines from other dark lines after the color had been removed. “We did the best that we could in the time that we had. It looks okay for what it is.”

Asked about the status of a possible Harbinger movie, Gomez offered the caveat that he is not an official spokesperson for Valiant, but his “understanding is that William Morris Agency made a deal with a studio,” and the studio brought Brett Ratner aboard to hopefully direct a movie version. Gomez added that “a generation of Hollywood people grew up on these stories and want to be involved.” However, Harbinger’s movie development is at a very, very early stage. The screenplay in development is based on first comic book arc, without any crossover elements.

Will there be a new Valiant comics line, was asked. Gomez could only say, “If I were them, I’d sure hope so. Valiant heroes will return, but in what form, I cannot say. There are discussions going on right now.” The Valiant bible he is working on is based on the original version.

Asked about the status of the Gold Key characters? That is “a separate deal, and some efforts have been made,” Gomez said. The Gold Key characters are now owned by Classic Media, he informed everyone, and told the audience that Valiant submitted a request to increase efforts for Valiant and Classic Media to work together. He was unsure if that cooperation will ultimately involve only reprinting old material or creating new stories.

Bob Layton wrote and inked an original story for the X-O Manowar hardcover, which Gomez feels is even better than Jim Shooter’s story in Harbinger. Layton’s tale explains events involving the arachnids before Aric’s return and “ties the entire origin story together.”

The Harbinger hardcover is now available though comic book retailers, but fans in attendance can currently only pick up the X-O book at Midtown Comics’ booth at the convention.

When asked, Gomez said that he did not know how many copies of Harbinger were printed, but that claims of a title dispute between Valiant and another company, which he neglected to name, were found baseless and both titles are being distributed through Diamond to comic book retailers.

Sean Chen admitted that when he started at Valiant, his real goal was to get noticed so that he could break in at Marvel, after being asked about starting his career at Valiant. “Valiant was my entry level thing, and I was looking at Marvel. After getting to Marvel, I realized that all the great stories and characters were at Valiant. I have a lot of affinity for them.” He continued, saying that lots of characters are thrown at the wall and few of them stick, but nearly all of Valiant’s characters have remained. None are redundant and they have a well-thought-out world. He concluded by saying that he’s glad to be involved in any new material, whatever that is.

Gomez suggested that the core concepts of Valiant were ahead of their time, noting that the concept of the television show Heroes is similar to Harbinger. If the properties were originally fifteen years ahead of their time, he said, they need “to be pushed ahead again to be relevant and resonant again.”

He would like to reunite and galvanize fans of original work, repackage and preserve the stories in beautiful new packages, and “despite how difficult they are to work with, we’re working with Shooter and Layton to put these packages together.” He told the crowd that fan approval helps when approaching Hollywood. Although in the end, Brett Ratner might have his interpretation of the property, it helps them to show that there is an audience for the concepts and ensures that the fundamental messages, the archetypes, remain true. “Cosmetically, things can change, but we’ll still enjoy what we’re seeing,” Gomez said.

When asked if future Valiant comics would jump ahead in time or pick up where they’d left off, Gomez laughed that he hadn’t “answered that to Valiant yet!” He is conflicted, because as an editor “I saw the big picture coalescing, but there was little the editors could do to stop the sales numbers sliding.” After Birthquake, the company was a mess, in his words, creatively and behind the scenes. He couldn’t blame them for rebooting as Acclaim, but as predicted, inside the company people preferred the original versions. There was a movement in 1999 to tell a story that would bring back the original universe, “combining it with the new aesthetics,” but that storyline never reached fruition. “We love all 600 of you,” he finally admitted, but Valiant has to design something that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, can relate to, so any new comics will probably not pick up exactly where original storylines left off.

Sean Chen said that his favorite Valiant book to draw was Harbinger, because he “likes drawing young kids and real world situations.” His other favorite was X-O, for the over-the-top action, “what I got into comics to draw. Michael Bay-type things.” He loved both for different reasons, acknowledging that he likes to “jump around a lot because I like the challenge of changing it up and drawing different things.” Because his training is in industrial design, X-O came easiest to him, he admitted, and it took him time to feel comfortable drawing human figures, though he joked that he eventually drew Elektra, which is about as far from a man covered in armor possible.

Asked how fast he draws, Chen said he’s not the fastest artist, but can draw a book a month. People outside comics don’t understand, he laughed, how involved it is. They usually ask how many pages he draws in a single day. The answer: three-quarters to one page. There are many artists who draw a lot slower, he tells them.

Artemis said that she colors one to two pages per day, because she spends too much time on details. “Stop that,” she says she has to tell herself.

A man in the audience asked if Valiant will produce their own movies, as Marvel is doing. Starlight Runner is exploring that option, Gomez told him, but said that first they need to get a few comics under their belt to “attract the type of invest power that allows a company to do these things.” He said that with Marvel, DC and Dark Horse taken, and Japanese companies being taken, there is an audience for the properties. “If anything achieves a level of respect, you can get enough funding to do some good work,” he said, before concluding that a Bloodshot film could b a great movie for $60M rather than $150M if Valiant were in a position to self-produce.

Newsarama Note: the panel was not officially sanctioned Valiant Entertainment, but one that was organized by fans of the comics. No actual Valiant Entertainment spokesperson was in attendance.

[Yung Hot Rod]

A hit movie would be the best thing for Valiant. Then maybe a major Hollywood backer would snap up all the rights from all parties involved and put the imprint back on track.

[kaiserdean]

I've still got my back issues but I plan on buying the new HCs for the new back up stories. I really hope the new Valiant can pull off a relaunch.

[Da_Black_Goku]

I'd love to see X-O on the big screen... with $200 million budget. Yeaaaaaah, that's the ticket.

[The Beyonder]

Great to see the Valiant ball get rolling.

I'll be picking up pretty much every Valiant hardcover that gets produced. I started collecting floppies after Unity, and the high price points kept me away from the early issues of these stories!

[mohenjo]

Great news!

But I still hope that at some point they can include Turok, Magnus and Solar. Maybe even Dr. Spektor?

If the current owner of the Western characters has any business sense, they'll realize that combining them with the Valiant characters is the best chance they have of making these characters profitable for a long time to come.

Maybe we will get that Magnus, Robot Fighter movie after all!

[WarriorSmurf]

Rao: Futureforce? I could of sworn it was Rai and the Futureforce and before that just Rai

[russellbuzz]

Actually, it was Rai, not Rao.

Rao is the name of Krypton's red sun.

Unless Sean Chen's first work was an unpublished Elseworlds crossover with Valiant, that was a typo.

Can't wait for more Valiant material!

[First Post]

Anyone else having trouble with that logo? I'm not sure why, but I just don't like it.

[AbacusComics]

I want new Archer and Armstrong stories.

[hondo]

I'm cautiously hopeful about the Harbinger movie. The lack of budget and coming across as a cheap X-Men knock-off is what scares me most.

Can't wait to see Valiant start to produce a rebooted universe and get rolling again. With the right talent attached, I think they would probably to eventually settle at the # 5 publisher behind either Dark Horse or Image. Hopefully they would eventually move up to # 3 as the premier superhero alternative to the Big Two.

If Valiant's really serious about this, they should look to eventually just buy out the rights for the Gold Key characters and go full throttle wide open. I think the wisest move and best bet right off the bat would be a Turok movie. It would have a built in audience from the 90's of not 1, not 2, but 3 Turok video games.

[VertigoXX]

A Turok movie came out direct to DVD last month. It's still marked "Extremely Long Wait" in my Blockbuster Online queue. It's called "Turok: Son of Stone," but it ties in with the new video game.

[hondo]

I think that itself shows a Turok movie could help launch Valiant's movie franchise.

Hollywood loves comics too. Bring em back !

I came in a couple of years after they had launched thinking they were a Marvel rip-off until I tried my first issue : the silver foil Magnus Robot Fighter # 25 and was very impressed. Life wasn't the same after that.

There is enough room in the market for another interconnected superhero universe and Valiant would definitely be a solid # 3. Relaunching and pulling the best of the original Valiant along with the Acclaim version and building on it would be awesome.

One thing most of us long time fans love is the interconnected tight continuity that Marvel used to have. Valiant really carried that too and it was great ! If the entire line stayed at a maximum of 8 titles with the occasional one shot or mini, I really think it would cook.

[KryptonSite]

It's a shame that the Unity 2000 mini never even finished, and that Jim Shooter would probably not want to be much of a part of it anyway unless he was in charge... the pre-Unity Valiants are some of the best comics I've ever read.

...But then again, a lot of the post-Unity stuff was good too... and even come of the Acclaim (Nicieza's Turok and of course Quantum & Woody).

I think what I'd love to see the most would be to bring back the original Valiant Universe... I even wouldn't have a problem with it if all of the books had 10 years pass from their last issues, and picking up where we left off....

I remember vividly the day I bought Harbinger #1. Still one of my favorite comics ever.

[Corman]

Priest.

Bright.

Quantum & Woody.

PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Corman

[Doc_doom79]

I miss Valiant.

[Virgule]

Actually I would be more interestetd in their reprints schedule/plans.. because if they start doing HC for everything i won't follow.. so I'm just hoping for big fat essential/showcase collections with deluxe HC for great stuff (solar by BWS), unity or such.

[Panhandle]

Originally Posted by Doc_doom79

I miss Valiant.

Same here. Sold my BWS Archer & Armstrongs years ago and still regret it. I personally preferred the earlier stuff with A&A, Eternal Warrior, X-O, Harbinger, Magnus, Solar, Unity, and Rai issue 0 was just fantastic. Personally thought they expanded too fast with too many titles and by the time they got to Secret Weapons and Doctor Mirage and the Image crossover Deathmate, I'd lost interest and was long gone. Never read Ninjak but heard it was quite good.

[Doc_doom79]

Originally Posted by Panhandle

Same here. Sold my BWS Archer & Armstrongs years ago and still regret it. I personally preferred the earlier stuff with A&A, Eternal Warrior, X-O, Harbinger, Magnus, Solar, Unity, and Rai issue 0 was just fantastic. Personally thought they expanded too fast with too many titles and by the time they got to Secret Weapons and Doctor Mirage and the Image crossover Deathmate, I'd lost interest and was long gone. Never read Ninjak but heard it was quite good.

Ninjak was killer.

Some of Quesada's best artwork...

EXCEPT for X-O Manowar #0...My fav cover of his

[bkbirge]

Originally Posted by VertigoXX

A Turok movie came out direct to DVD last month. It's still marked "Extremely Long Wait" in my Blockbuster Online queue. It's called "Turok: Son of Stone," but it ties in with the new video game.

I got it from netflix when it came out, I thought it was very good and I'd like to see more. It would be great if Turok made a comeback in comics. Everyone could use more evil dinosaurs with robotic implants. I like the tone of the Son of Stone originals more than the Valiant/Acclaim reboots but it's hard to go wrong with Turok in whatever incarnation.

And Magnus... that would be just as awesome. It'd be cool if they kept it in the 50's retro-future style.

Out of the properties that the new Valiant actually has access to, I'd like to see new Harbinger, Eternal Warrior/Timewalker/Archer&Armstrong, and Shadowman, one of the few reboots that I think Acclaim got right.

Reprints are cool and I'm sure they are a good way to rebuild the brand but I want new stories as soon as possible.

[blakelylaw]

Valiant went downhill quickly after Jim Shooter left. I would like to see Shooter, Layton, and Barry Widsor-Smith back together working their magic. Of course, I believe in the tooth fairy and honest lawyers too.

[Big Red]

I'd love a Valiant revival.

[Quato]

Originally Posted by blakelylaw

Valiant went downhill quickly after Jim Shooter left. I would like to see Shooter, Layton, and Barry Widsor-Smith back together working their magic. Of course, I believe in the tooth fairy and honest lawyers too.

You nailed it.

Q

[Quato]

Originally Posted by Panhandle

Same here. Sold my BWS Archer & Armstrongs years ago and still regret it.

Uh! Why do you have regret? Unless you sold them for pennies a copy they can probably all be picked up for a dime each. It wouldn't even strain a homeless person's budget to replace them.

Q