VALIANT Solicitations for AUGUST 2013
BLOODSHOT #0
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CHRISCROSS
Cover by DAVE BULLOCK (JUN131317)
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by MATT KINDT (JUN131318)
Wraparound Gatefold Variant by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO (JUN131319)
Discover the declassified secret history of Project Rising Spirit’s Bloodshot program and its most successful soldier – as told by superstar creator Matt Kindt (MIND MGMT, Justice League of America) and fan favorite artist ChrisCross (Superman/Batman)!
From the darkest days of World War II and Korea, and through the hell of Vietnam and Afghanistan, Bloodshot's origin leaves a bloody trail of discarded lives and forgotten families. But which memories are real? Which families? Which children? Is Bloodshot many men...or no man at all? Is he simply a soulless killing machine or something more? Who is responsible? And why have they engineered the most dangerous weapon ever conceived by man? This issue holds the answers…but also reveals that we may have been asking the wrong questions all along…
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 21st!
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HARBINGER #15
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art & Cover by BARRY KITSON (JUN131326)
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by TREVOR HAIRSINE (JUN131327)
Variant Cover by KHARI EVANS (JUN131328)
Variant Cover by RIAN HUGHES (JUN131329)
HARBINGER WARS AFTERMATH!
ALL-NEW ARC, ALL-NEW JUMPING-ON POINT!
In the wake of Harbinger Wars, start reading here as Joshua Dysart and new series artist Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man, FF) begin the next year of Harbinger with a mind-bending trip to the outer limits of the Valiant Universe!
It’s been a brutal few months for Peter Stanchek and the Renegades, culminating in the harrowing events – and losses – of the Harbinger Wars. But now the members of the team have woken up to the Best. Day. Ever. As Lou Reed sang, it’s just a perfect day, problems left all alone. But for Peter Stanchek – a kid who deserves a good day – something seems off…like all is not what it seems…
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 14th!
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QUANTUM AND WOODY #2
Written by JAMES AMSUS
Art by TOM FOWLER
Cover by RYAN SOOK (JUN131320)
Variant Cover by TOM FOWLER (JUN131321)
Variant Cover by RIAN HUGHES (JUN131322)
Off to a bad start!
Eric and Woody Henderson have accidentally blown up their father’s life’s work – and themselves along with it! Now, as their bizarre new superpowers begin to manifest, will they be able to outmaneuver the squad of trigger-happy cops that think Eric and Woody are to blame for their dad’s murder? Plus! The mysterious cabal targeting the world’s worst superhero team only gets creepier. Seriously, it's like an iceberg of creepy. Only 10 percent is showing! And Quantum and Woody are about to crash right the %$!@ into it!
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 7th!
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X-O MANOWAR #16
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER (JUN131323)
Variant Cover by DAVE BULLOCK (JUN131324)
Old soldiers, new enemies.
X-O Manowar and the Eternal Warrior. Once they were brothers-in-arms, comrades sworn to the same cause. But now they find themselves on opposing sides of a battle for the very fate of civilization itself. Aric of Dacia, and the immense power that he wields, have the potential to the plunge the world into a new era of war, and the only man who can broker a world peace also happens its to be its most fearsome warrior. But can Gilad settle this conflict with words rather than weapons? And does he know how? As the world watches, two of Valiant’s most fearsome heroes will meet once again – and the outcome of their latest clash will decide the fate of us all.
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 21st!
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ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #12
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by PERE PEREZ
Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO (JUN131332)
Variant Cover by JUAN DOE (JUN131333)
Caught in the jaws of the Faraway!
General Redacted has laid claim to the greatest secret in a time-lost dimension that’s practically built on ‘em. Must be a doozy, huh? Well, it’s big enough that Redacted and his army of alien greys are laying waste to anyone and anything that approaches their occupied lands of the Faraway. Now, it’s down to Archer & Armstrong to run the greatest infiltration/liberation/inebriation mission history has ever known, which would be a cakewalk if its wasn’t for all the UFOs, hostile natives and, of course, the dinosaurs. Yup, could definitely do without those dinosaurs.
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 14th!
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SHADOWMAN #9
Written by JUSTIN JORDAN
Art by NEIL EDWARDS
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON (JUN131330)
Variant Cover by ANDREW ROBINSON (JUN131331)
The deepest cut of all.
Jack suffers a devastating betrayal as Master Darque's ultimate plan stands revealed. Now, with the Brethren on the verge of wiping out Dox and the Abettors and the Deadside threatening to explode into our world, Jack will have to call on everything he's got to stop them…or lose everything trying.
$3.99/T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 7th!
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X-O MANOWAR VOL. 3: PLANET DEATH TPB (JUN131325)
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CARY NORD and TREVOR HAIRSINE
Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
The invasion is here – and X-O Manowar is the invader! From superstar creators Robert Venditti, Cary Nord and Trevor Hairsine, jump on board one of the year’s most ambitious series as X-O Manowar ignites an interstellar war and changes the landscape of the Valiant Universe forever!
Aric of Dacia, a fifth century Visigoth armed with the universe’s most powerful weapon, is all that stands between the Earth and all-out annihilation at the hands of the alien race that abducted him from his own time. Now, the day of Aric’s reckoning has finally come. As his Visigoth forefathers sacked Rome, Aric will take the battle directly to his oppressors on the Vine homeworld of Loam. He will decimate their armies, he will level their cities – and he will not stop until the whole of their empire is reduced to ash. This is PLANET DEATH!
Collecting the complete PLANET DEATH saga from X-O MANOWAR #9-14 by New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (Green Lantern, The Surrogates) and superstar artists Cary Nord (Conan) and Trevor Hairsine (X-Men: Deadly Genesis), start reading here to find out why X-O Manowar's one-man revenge mission has IGN declaring "X-O Manowar still kicks butt. Bring on Planet Death."
"Downright amazing." - Comic Vine
"Venditti continues to execute his vision with deadly precision. Everyone should be on board…" - Bloody Disgusting
Collecting X-O MANOWAR #9-14
ISBN: 978-1-939346-08-7
$14.99/T+/144 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 21st!
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VALIANT MASTERS: ETERNAL WARRIOR VOL. 1 – THE FIST AND STEEL HC (JUN131334)
Written by BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, JIM SHOOTER and KEVIN VANHOOK
Art by BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, JOHN DIXON and YVEL GUICHET
Cover by BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH
For a thousand generations, Gilad Anni-Padda has defended the innocent and dealt out justice as the Eternal Warrior – the undying champion of the Geomancers, the Earth’s chosen Fist and Steel. An unsung veteran of every war ever waged, Gilad’s hard-fought quest from the ancient world to modern day Los Angeles is about to force him to the forefront of the Valiant Universe – and into a brand new kind of battle alongside the likes of Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, and his own long-lost brother, Armstrong.
Featuring never-before-collected work by Eisner Award-winning comics legend Barry Windsor-Smith, along with all-time classic stories by Jim Shooter, Kevin VanHook, John Dixon and more, this Valiant Masters volume re-presents Eternal Warrior (1992) #1-7 and Archer & Armstrong (1992)/Eternal Warrior (1992) #8.
Collecting Eternal Warrior (1992) #1-7, Archer & Armstrong (1992)/Eternal Warrior (1992) #8.
ISBN: 978-1-939346-06-3
$24.99/T+/186 pgs.
ON SALE AUGUST 28th!
Showing posts with label Kevin VanHook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kevin VanHook. Show all posts
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Valiant Comics Offers 5 Releases in October 2012
VALIANT Solicitations For OCTOBER 2012
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #3
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Fnord!
Those email forwards Grandma sends you? ALL TRUE. Every lurid cover of every supermarket tabloid? ALL TRUE. That impossible-to-read GeoCities site rambling on about truthers, birthers and black ops alien greys working for the U.N.? ALL TRUE. The Sect has dragged a curtain of confusion across the inner workings of your world, but fear not, the conspiracy-busters Archer & Armstrong are here to deliver Truth in the form of ass-kicking! (And ass-kicking in the form of ass-kicking.) Our heroes' newfound friendship will face its greatest test as they battle The Sisters of Perpetual Darkness – the Nunjas ("ninja" + "nun") who guard Rome’s blasphemous secrets. Obadiah Archer thought he had been betrayed by his family before, but nothing can prepare him for this!
Also: the existence of God will be proven for all time. Or disproven. One of the two.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
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BLOODSHOT #4
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by MANUEL GARCIA
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
They call you Project Bloodshot, but you had a real name once.
You were born, raised, maybe even loved. And at some point, some evil bastards filled your head with dozens of false memories to motivate you, restrain you, control you. And oh, what they made you do in the name of national security… But what if one of those memories wasn’t false? What if you had a real wife and a child somewhere in the world who thought you were dead? Wouldn’t you go through seven kinds of violent hell to find them? Congrats. Your wish is about to be granted…
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
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HARBINGER #5
Written by JOSH DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Toyo Harada and Peter Stanchek. Master and apprentice. Creator and destroyer. Alpha and omega.
Humanity’s most powerful psionic, Pete Stanchek, has been run to ground. His few friends and family are gone. He is loved is by no one. At the nadir of his brief, 18-year existence, he has been drugged, deceived and deluded by a corporate master. But now he’s finally had enough. Tonight, the human race will find out exactly how powerful he is. Tonight, the boy who has nothing will go to war against the man who has everything. And soon the Valiant Universe will discover that anything can end – even the world.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
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X-O MANOWAR #6
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Variant Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Character Design Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Ninjak vs. X-O Manowar: Round II!
Aric of Dacia has bonded with the most powerful weapon in the universe, but his command of the sentient X-O Manowar armor will lead him to cross swords with Ninjak, the world’s most skilled weapons specialist. Hired by members of The Vine hidden deep within Earth’s governments, Ninjak has been sent to bring back the Manowar armor at any cost. It’s raw power versus stealth and cunning in the second installment of the espionage-edged thriller that pits two of Valiant’s most popular heroes against each other – to the death.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
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VALIANT MASTERS: BLOODSHOT VOL. 1 HC
BLOOD OF THE MACHINE
Written by Kevin VanHook
Art by Don Perlin, Andrew Wendel and Ted Halsted
Cover by Barry Windsor-Smith
The first in an all-new library of Valiant classics!
Collected for the first time anywhere, the best-selling title of the 90s is back! Re-presenting the first arc of his original adventures in the VH1 Valiant Universe, Bloodshot comes armed to the teeth with bullets, nanites – and questions. With all of New York as his battlefield, Bloodshot wages a one-man war for the secrets to his past. But with the whole of New York’s mafia underground hot on his tail, he’ll soon realize that some questions are better left unanswered! With appearances from Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, Rai and more, no fan can miss this essential piece of Valiant history! Collecting BLOODSHOT (1994) #1-8 and featuring AN ALL-NEW, NEVER–BEFORE-SEEN STORY by the original creative team of Kevin VanHook and Don Perlin.
$24.99/Rated T+/200 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 24th
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #3
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Fnord!
Those email forwards Grandma sends you? ALL TRUE. Every lurid cover of every supermarket tabloid? ALL TRUE. That impossible-to-read GeoCities site rambling on about truthers, birthers and black ops alien greys working for the U.N.? ALL TRUE. The Sect has dragged a curtain of confusion across the inner workings of your world, but fear not, the conspiracy-busters Archer & Armstrong are here to deliver Truth in the form of ass-kicking! (And ass-kicking in the form of ass-kicking.) Our heroes' newfound friendship will face its greatest test as they battle The Sisters of Perpetual Darkness – the Nunjas ("ninja" + "nun") who guard Rome’s blasphemous secrets. Obadiah Archer thought he had been betrayed by his family before, but nothing can prepare him for this!
Also: the existence of God will be proven for all time. Or disproven. One of the two.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
BLOODSHOT #4
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by MANUEL GARCIA
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
They call you Project Bloodshot, but you had a real name once.
You were born, raised, maybe even loved. And at some point, some evil bastards filled your head with dozens of false memories to motivate you, restrain you, control you. And oh, what they made you do in the name of national security… But what if one of those memories wasn’t false? What if you had a real wife and a child somewhere in the world who thought you were dead? Wouldn’t you go through seven kinds of violent hell to find them? Congrats. Your wish is about to be granted…
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
HARBINGER #5
Written by JOSH DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Toyo Harada and Peter Stanchek. Master and apprentice. Creator and destroyer. Alpha and omega.
Humanity’s most powerful psionic, Pete Stanchek, has been run to ground. His few friends and family are gone. He is loved is by no one. At the nadir of his brief, 18-year existence, he has been drugged, deceived and deluded by a corporate master. But now he’s finally had enough. Tonight, the human race will find out exactly how powerful he is. Tonight, the boy who has nothing will go to war against the man who has everything. And soon the Valiant Universe will discover that anything can end – even the world.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
X-O MANOWAR #6
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Variant Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Character Design Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Ninjak vs. X-O Manowar: Round II!
Aric of Dacia has bonded with the most powerful weapon in the universe, but his command of the sentient X-O Manowar armor will lead him to cross swords with Ninjak, the world’s most skilled weapons specialist. Hired by members of The Vine hidden deep within Earth’s governments, Ninjak has been sent to bring back the Manowar armor at any cost. It’s raw power versus stealth and cunning in the second installment of the espionage-edged thriller that pits two of Valiant’s most popular heroes against each other – to the death.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
VALIANT MASTERS: BLOODSHOT VOL. 1 HC
BLOOD OF THE MACHINE
Written by Kevin VanHook
Art by Don Perlin, Andrew Wendel and Ted Halsted
Cover by Barry Windsor-Smith
The first in an all-new library of Valiant classics!
Collected for the first time anywhere, the best-selling title of the 90s is back! Re-presenting the first arc of his original adventures in the VH1 Valiant Universe, Bloodshot comes armed to the teeth with bullets, nanites – and questions. With all of New York as his battlefield, Bloodshot wages a one-man war for the secrets to his past. But with the whole of New York’s mafia underground hot on his tail, he’ll soon realize that some questions are better left unanswered! With appearances from Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, Rai and more, no fan can miss this essential piece of Valiant history! Collecting BLOODSHOT (1994) #1-8 and featuring AN ALL-NEW, NEVER–BEFORE-SEEN STORY by the original creative team of Kevin VanHook and Don Perlin.
$24.99/Rated T+/200 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 24th
Saturday, May 5, 2012
ComiXology to Offer New and Classic Valiant Comics
VALIANT AND COMIXOLOGY ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
All-New Upcoming Valiant Titles To Be Available Same Day As Print
Get X-0 Manowar #1 Digitally Today At ComiXology.com
Classic Valiant Titles Also Available Today!
Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that it has reached an exclusive digital comics distribution agreement with comiXology, the world's largest digital comics platform available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web with over 60 million comic and graphic novel downloads to date.
Beginning May 2nd with the release of the all-new X-O Manowar #1 by New York Times best-selling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates) and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan), comiXology will offer same-day as print digital releases for all of Valiant's upcoming titles. Additionally, Valiant's expansive back catalog of classic content will also be exclusively available via comiXology.
"There's tremendous excitement around Valiant's return, and they're bringing with them one of the greatest libraries of comic characters and stories in comics," said comiXology CEO and co-Founder David Steinberger. "We couldn't be more proud to partner with Valiant in the digital marketplace. We're sure to see the original Valiant fans energized by making these great comics available across the globe, while also bringing in a whole new generation of readers."
Set for a much anticipated summer 2012 relaunch, Valiant will soon return with four new series, all of which will debut as same-day as print digital releases on comiXology - X-O Manowar #1 on sale today, Harbinger #1 on June 6th, Bloodshot #1 on July 11th, and Archer & Armstrong #1 on August 8th.
Moreover, in conjunction with the today's release of X-O Manowar #1, comiXology is adding the first-ever digital editions of three classic storylines from Valiant's vast archive of best-selling comics to comiXology's library of more than 20,000 issues:
X-O Manowar (1992) #0-6 by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor-Smith & Joe Quesada
Harbinger (1992) #0-6 by Jim Shooter & David Lapham
Bloodshot (1993) #0-4 by Kevin VanHook & Don Perlin
"For the first time, through comiXology's platform, Valiant Comics will be available anywhere in the world," said Valiant CEO Jason Kothari. "With Valiant's return now in full effect with today's release of X-O Manowar #1, the timing couldn't be better to remind people once again of the incredible characters and stories that made Valiant a household name."
As part of the exclusive agreement, Valiant Entertainment titles will also be available through comiXology's Digital Retailer Storefront program. This enables retailers to sell Valiant's digital comics through their own website while comic book fans can purchase digital comics from their local comic store's digital storefront with a portion of each purchase going directly to the retailer.
Future digital releases on comiXology will delve deeper into the Valiant catalog, and feature classic series including Archer & Armstrong, Rai, Ninjak, Shadowman, Eternal Warrior, and Quantum & Woody.
In the meantime, today fans everywhere can now add all-new Valiant material to their digital comics libraries with X-O Manowar #1, from writer Robert Venditti and artist Cary Nord, available now on the Comics by comiXology platform - available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web.
About Valiant Entertainment
Valiant Entertainment is a character-based publishing and licensing company that owns and controls some of the most cherished comic characters ever created across all media worldwide. Since their creation in 1989, Valiant characters have sold 80 million comic books and have been the basis of a number of successful video game franchises. Valiant's extensive library includes over 1,500 characters, such as X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, and Ninjak. Visit www.valiantentertainment.com.
About comiXology
Founded in 2007 with the mission of bringing comics to people everywhere, comiXology - in just five short years - has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel world. From creating the industry leading platform for digital comics to tools and services for brick and mortar retailers, comiXology has lead the charge in exposing new audiences to the rich history and culture of comic books. With the development of the Comics by comiXology digital comics platform - available across iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web - comiXology provides the easiest way worldwide for people to enjoy comics at just the click of a button! Regularly ranking as the top grossing iPad app in the entire iTunes App Store, Comics by comiXology was recently selected as a preloaded app on Amazon's Kindle Fire. Providing digital comics across multiple platforms, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the earth has been turned into a comic book fan.
All-New Upcoming Valiant Titles To Be Available Same Day As Print
Get X-0 Manowar #1 Digitally Today At ComiXology.com
Classic Valiant Titles Also Available Today!
Valiant Entertainment is proud to announce that it has reached an exclusive digital comics distribution agreement with comiXology, the world's largest digital comics platform available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web with over 60 million comic and graphic novel downloads to date.
Beginning May 2nd with the release of the all-new X-O Manowar #1 by New York Times best-selling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates) and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan), comiXology will offer same-day as print digital releases for all of Valiant's upcoming titles. Additionally, Valiant's expansive back catalog of classic content will also be exclusively available via comiXology.
"There's tremendous excitement around Valiant's return, and they're bringing with them one of the greatest libraries of comic characters and stories in comics," said comiXology CEO and co-Founder David Steinberger. "We couldn't be more proud to partner with Valiant in the digital marketplace. We're sure to see the original Valiant fans energized by making these great comics available across the globe, while also bringing in a whole new generation of readers."
Set for a much anticipated summer 2012 relaunch, Valiant will soon return with four new series, all of which will debut as same-day as print digital releases on comiXology - X-O Manowar #1 on sale today, Harbinger #1 on June 6th, Bloodshot #1 on July 11th, and Archer & Armstrong #1 on August 8th.
Moreover, in conjunction with the today's release of X-O Manowar #1, comiXology is adding the first-ever digital editions of three classic storylines from Valiant's vast archive of best-selling comics to comiXology's library of more than 20,000 issues:
X-O Manowar (1992) #0-6 by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor-Smith & Joe Quesada
Harbinger (1992) #0-6 by Jim Shooter & David Lapham
Bloodshot (1993) #0-4 by Kevin VanHook & Don Perlin
"For the first time, through comiXology's platform, Valiant Comics will be available anywhere in the world," said Valiant CEO Jason Kothari. "With Valiant's return now in full effect with today's release of X-O Manowar #1, the timing couldn't be better to remind people once again of the incredible characters and stories that made Valiant a household name."
As part of the exclusive agreement, Valiant Entertainment titles will also be available through comiXology's Digital Retailer Storefront program. This enables retailers to sell Valiant's digital comics through their own website while comic book fans can purchase digital comics from their local comic store's digital storefront with a portion of each purchase going directly to the retailer.
Future digital releases on comiXology will delve deeper into the Valiant catalog, and feature classic series including Archer & Armstrong, Rai, Ninjak, Shadowman, Eternal Warrior, and Quantum & Woody.
In the meantime, today fans everywhere can now add all-new Valiant material to their digital comics libraries with X-O Manowar #1, from writer Robert Venditti and artist Cary Nord, available now on the Comics by comiXology platform - available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web.
About Valiant Entertainment
Valiant Entertainment is a character-based publishing and licensing company that owns and controls some of the most cherished comic characters ever created across all media worldwide. Since their creation in 1989, Valiant characters have sold 80 million comic books and have been the basis of a number of successful video game franchises. Valiant's extensive library includes over 1,500 characters, such as X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, and Ninjak. Visit www.valiantentertainment.com.
About comiXology
Founded in 2007 with the mission of bringing comics to people everywhere, comiXology - in just five short years - has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel world. From creating the industry leading platform for digital comics to tools and services for brick and mortar retailers, comiXology has lead the charge in exposing new audiences to the rich history and culture of comic books. With the development of the Comics by comiXology digital comics platform - available across iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web - comiXology provides the easiest way worldwide for people to enjoy comics at just the click of a button! Regularly ranking as the top grossing iPad app in the entire iTunes App Store, Comics by comiXology was recently selected as a preloaded app on Amazon's Kindle Fire. Providing digital comics across multiple platforms, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the earth has been turned into a comic book fan.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Leroy Douresseaux on "Batman vs. The Undead"
BATMAN VS. THE UNDEAD
DC COMICS
WRITER: Kevin VanHook
ARTIST: Tom MandrakeCOLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Steve Wands
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3035-7; paperback
128 Color, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN
I still find comic book back issues in which the credits list the comic book artist as an illustrator. I don’t know if the term illustrator is appropriate because comic book penciller or artist does not provide illustrations for a comic book story. Rather he tells a story using graphics and drawings.
Certainly, some comic book artists employ the techniques of illustrators because they are the best way to tell a comic book story. A recent example would be Tom Mandrake whose pen and ink style art makes the new trade paperback, Batman vs. The Undead a thrilling superhero comic book, but also a throwback to weird pulp tales.
Batman vs. The Undead collects the storyline originally serialized in Batman Confidential #44-48. This story arc finds Bruce Wayne in New Orleans to contribute money for the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort. Batman, on the other hand, is in the Big Easy on the trail of madman, Professor Herbert Combs. Combs was released from Arkham Asylum and is in New Orleans seeking to further his knowledge of the dark art of voodoo.
Batman isn’t the only one tracking Combs, so is the vampire Marius Dimeter and the Polish werewolf, Janko, both victims of Combs’ dark magic. Now, Combs has joined forces with another powerful voodoo practitioner, Mama Ezili, in a plot to raise the zombie army to beat all armies. The task to stop Combs is so big that Batman will not only need the help of Dimeter and Janko, but also the help of Superman.
Ten years from now, readers may not remember Batman vs. The Undead the way they remembered Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a decade after it was first published. Hopefully, new readers will continually discover this Batman Confidential storyline and many of them will remember it as one of the better Batman horror stories. Kevin VanHook and Tom Mandrake are in near-perfect dark harmony in creating this riveting mixture of Batman detective story and weird fiction.
Only a diseased mind or an imaginative comic book scribe could use rotting corpses, plastinated bodies, and moldy mummies as seed to grow one of the Dark Knight’s most challenging cases. Which is Kevin VanHook? I’ll let you decide, dear reader. Seriously, VanHook blends pulpy Robert E. Howard/H.P. Lovecraft horror and Denny O’Neil-style Caped Crusader into a gruesome stew that simmers like a summer potboiler.
Borrowing only a tiny bit from recent Batman artists like Jim Lee and Andy Kubert, Tom Mandrake creates graphics that recall the Batman comic book art of Berni Wrightson and Jim Aparo. When Mandrake weaves ghastly pages of undead action, dank swamps, and creepy graveyards, he conjures, in a way, early 20th century pen and ink illustrators (like Joseph Clement Coll). In the zombie and voodoo pages, Mandrake does award-worthy work that is as good as the best recent horror comic book art.
Batman vs. The Undead is a delight to read, like a good scary movie is to watch. The last chapter sort of stumbles in the last act, but overall, this is fun. I hope VanHook and Mandrake plan on giving us more such dark delights.
A-
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