ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vol.1: THE MICHELANGELO CODE
It’s history in the breaking! After years of meditation and training, 18-year-old Obadiah Archer has been dispatched to New York City to carry out the sacred mission of his family’s sect ― locate and kill the fun-loving, hard-drinking immortal known as Armstrong!
Collects Archer & Armstrong (2012) #1-4
Going against the more serious tones of Valiant’s other titles, Archer & Armstrong is a full-on caper with plenty of funny moments while still finding the time to add depth to the two main protagonists. Seriously, Valiant, you need to rerelease the Deluxe Editions again!
Review: by Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vol.2: WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR
After years apart ― the Eternal Warrior has a new mission: destroy young Obadiah Archer, Armstrong’s best-est new buddy and teammate in the war against The Sect. And, like it or not, Valiant’s history-smashing adventure duo is about to feel the wrath of the Eternal Warrior’s fist and steel.
Collects Archer & Armstrong (2012) #5-9
The Eternal Warrior’s series has a much heavier tone than A&A. While that might be a little jarring to read consecutively, I wouldn’t want either title to change. A&A is too much fun!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vol.3: FAR FARAWAY
Archer & Armstrong venture into the mystery of the Far, Faraway, the birthplace of The Boon!
Collects Archer & Armstrong (2012) #0, 10-13
Twists, turns and wall-to-wall weirdness? I really don’t remember Archer & Armstrong being this good when I first tried it. Reading the other Valiant books together certainly helps understand how pivotal A&A are in the Valiant Universe and how Fred van Lente relishes every moment in the sandbox. This is rapidly becoming my favourite Valiant series!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vol.4: SECT CIVIL WAR
Every enemy. Against each other. For centuries, the cloak-and-dagger coalition of conspiracies collectively known as The Sect has worked together to bring silent oppression and undercover tyranny to a world that thought it was free. But, now after centuries of profit sharing and uneasy alliances, the factions of The Sect are about to erupt into open conflict…and the only men that can end the insanity are Archer & Armstrong!
Collects Archer & Armstrong (2012) #14-17
Obadiah Archer is no longer a naïve assassin. Well, maybe a little. But he’s canny enough to turn the civil war between the various factions of the Sect to his advantage. But has he actually forgiven Armstrong for what happened in the Faraway? ‘Archer & Armstrong’ is now the Valiant book I most look forward to (sorry, X-O!)
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vol.5: MISSION: IMPROBABLE
Archer & Armstrong are going to war with Bloodshot and H.A.R.D Corps! That’s right, Valiant’s globe-trotting adventure duo have been targeted for elimination by Project Rising Spirit’s most elite kill crew.
Collects Archer & Armstrong: Archer #0, Archer & Armstrong (2012) #18-19, Bloodshot and H.A.R.D Corps #20-21
Archer & Armstrong continues to be the most entertaining Valiant title from this era! The perfect balance of action, intrigue and utter silliness. And Bloodshot’s story finally picks up speed again when his world collides with A&A!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
BLOODSHOT vol.1: SETTING THE WORLD ON FIRE
Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of ― no. That’s not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You’ve retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that ― no. That’s not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires.
Collects Bloodshot (2012) #1-4
Of the Valiant titles I’ve (re)read so far, Bloodshot is probably the least interesting. He’s a gun-toting, near-unstoppable super-soldier who learns the jobs he’s been doing and his motivation for doing them are a lie. Despite being the all-action bullet-fest I normally avoid, it’s still a pretty likeable book and I’m keen to see how his connection to the Harbinger series plays out.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
BLOODSHOT vol.2: THE RISE AND FALL
Bloodshot is finally free of the memories that have haunted him since his awakening ― but now even greater mysteries remain. Who was he before he was transformed into a walking weapon? And just what purpose did he serve for Project Rising Spirit?
Collects Bloodshot (2012) #5-9
Bloodshot invades Project Rising Spirit to find out the truth about his past, but it all goes T-up and kicks off the Harbinger Wars. Not a bad book, by any means, and it’s a must-read if you’re picking up the Harbinger Wars event.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
BLOODSHOT vol.3: HARBINGER WARS
In the deserts outside Las Vegas, Bloodshot has banded together with Project Rising Spirit’s most dangerous escapees. But when the Harbinger Wars erupt all around them, can he shape these super-powered children into a force for good ― or are they too far gone? (Part of the HARBINGER WARS event)
Collects Bloodshot (2012) #10-13
If you chose not to pick up the Harbinger Wars mini (again… why?!), you can at least see an expanded version of the key events from that title in the ongoing Bloodshot series. Plus more on the history of the his developing feud with Kuretich. And, as with all the Harbinger tie-ins, it somehow doesn’t feel like you’re reading everything twice!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
BLOODSHOT vol.4: H.A.R.D. CORPS
Every mission…is someone’s last! Out of the ashes of Harbinger Wars, Bloodshot is about to join the weaponized men and women of the Harbinger Active Resistance Division ― the black budget, technologically-augmented strike force where the powers are dangerously unstable and every mission is a one-way ticket into the meat grinder.
Collects Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps #14-17
The fallout of ‘Harbinger Wars’! Where did Bloodshot end up? What’ll happen to what’s left of HARD Corps? And just how much of a bastard is Toyo Harada? Reveals galore!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
BLOODSHOT vol.5: GET SOME!
The most elite assets of Project Rising Spirit team up for an early mission together ― Bloodshot and the H.A.R.D. Corps, living weapons! But, in the decade of dial-up, the technology is far from perfect and bugs are bound to pop up in the wetware…with disastrous results! And the one-man army known only as Bloodshot is forced to turn his guns on his own people!
Collects Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps 0, 18-19, 22-23
A pair of two-parters taking place either side of ‘Mission: Improbable’ (see Archer & Armstrong vol.5), Bloodshot is looking to escape Project Rising Spirit. Plus, a third story that gives more insight into HARD Corps’ history. The all-out action continues in this reliable title.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
ETERNAL WARRIOR vol.1: SWORD OF THE WILD
Across ten millennia and a thousand battlefields, Gilad Anni-Padda has traversed the darkest, most mysterious corners of history. But the horror and bloodshed of constant warfare has finally taken its toll on the man myth calls the Eternal Warrior…and he has abdicated his duties as the Fist and the Steel of Earth for a quiet life of seclusion. But when a blood vendetta from the distant past suddenly reappears in the modern day, he must decide if he will return to the ways of war…
Collects Eternal Warrior (2013) 1-4
Thought this’d be a little too ‘Conan’ for my tastes, but Eternal Warrior defied my expectations with something completely different! This is more along the lines of Oeming’s ‘Ares’ series, with flashbacks to Gilad’s past while he deals with a threat in the present. Gorgeous art from Crain & Hairsine and a story from Greg Pak that’s gonna keep me coming back! One to read before ‘Archer & Armstrong’.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
HARBINGER vol.1: OMEGA RISING
Super-powered teenager Peter Stanchek is on a dangerous path. Skipping across the country in a desperate attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities, Peter is quickly realizing that he’s a psionically-charged “harbinger” with the potential to reshape the course of human history. But Peter’s plight has not gone unnoticed. Respected philanthropist and fellow harbinger, Toyo Harada, is about to offer Peter the chance at the things for which the boy has always longed…
Collects Harbinger (2012) #1-5
My past-self dismissed Harbinger as an X-Men knock-off. Moron. There’s more to it than that, by far. Harbinger is its own beast and Joshua Dysart is crafting a far more complex world than ‘good mutants’ vs ‘bad mutants’. This is far from black & white. In fact, I’m not sure who I’m rooting for, yet, and that’s a sign of a smarter book that’s willing to take chances and keep you guessing. There’s scope, here…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
HARBINGER vol.2: RENEGADES
Outside the law. Inside your head. Welcome to the Renegades. Battered and broken after his escape from the Harbinger Foundation, telekinetic teenager Peter Stanchek only has one option left — run. But he won’t have to go it alone.
Collects Harbinger (2012) #6-10
Is he destined to cause untold destruction or will Peter Stanchek lead a rebellion to prevent Toyo Harada’s seemingly unstoppable rise to power? Who’s the real bad guy, here? I don’t know, yet, but I’m loving figuring it out…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
HARBINGER vol.3: HARBINGER WARS
Before the Harbinger Foundation, before Project Rising Spirit, Toyo Harada spent decades circling the globe, recruiting empowered individuals to his cause through coercion, intimidation and influence. But how is one deal brokered in secret between Harada and Rising Sprit Securities forty years ago now wreaking havoc in the modern day? (Part of the HARBINGER WARS event)
Collects Harbinger (2012) #0, 11-14
If you chose not to pick up the Harbinger Wars mini, you can at least see an expanded version of the key events from that title in the ongoing Harbinger series. Plus more on the history of the Harbinger Foundation & Project Rising Spirit. And it somehow doesn’t feel like you’re doubling-up!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
HARBINGER vol.4: PERFECT DAY
Nightmares are just dreams, too. 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.
Collects Harbinger (2012) #15-19
The Renegades appear to be having the time of their lives! But are they really? One of the stranger chapters in the Harbinger saga that peaks in the middle. It doesn’t necessarily move things forward much, but this is still a book to stick with!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
HARBINGER WARS
Harbinger Wars, Valiant’s first crossover event, begins here! Two dozen undisciplined, untested, and untrained superhuman children have just escaped from a top-secret research facility and into the world. When Bloodshot, Toyo Harada, and Peter Stanchek join the chase, will the Valiant Universe be ready for its first all-out superhuman showdown? (Part of the HARBINGER WARS event)
Collects Harbinger Wars #1-4
When Bloodshot freed the psiots from Project Rising Spirit, Generation Zero also made their escape. The psiots converge as Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation and Peter Stanchek’s Renegades join the party, kicking off the first Valiant event! The difference between this and mainstream comics events? Not only does each title still stand alone, even in a major crossover, but this isn’t really a ‘superhero’ universe! Not in the traditional sense. And that gives it more of a ‘real world’ feel. Oh, and there are actual stakes!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
QUANTUM & WOODY vol.1: THE WORLD’S WORST SUPERHERO TEAM
Those guys are the worst! Once upon a time, Eric and Woody Henderson were inseparable. Adopted brothers. Best friends. Brilliant minds. Years later, they are estranged siblings, petty rivals, and washed-up failures. But when their father’s murder leads them into the throes of a life-altering scientific accident, Eric and Woody will find themselves with a whole new purpose…
Collects Quantum and Woody (2013) #1-4
Where ‘Archer & Armstrong’ is funny but still feels like it has consequences, ‘Quantum & Woody’ feels throwaway. And not particularly funny. Maybe it’ll find it’s stride…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️ out of 5
QUANTUM & WOODY vol.2: IN SECURITY
So what do you do when the most annoying person in your life is also the only thing keeping you alive? You move in with him! And his goat. And his clone girlfriend. Besides, every team of heroes needs a secret headquarters…and this one has a slightly used hot tub. Plus: Quantum gets a job ― and meets his first true blue super-villain!
Collects Quantum and Woody (2013) #5-8
Awkward jokes and what feels like unfinished art. Not funny at all.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️ out of 5
SHADOWMAN vol.1: BIRTH RITES
There’s a million dreams in the Big Easy. But now its worst nightmare is about to come true. As the forces of darkness prepare to claim New Orleans as their own, Jack Boniface must embrace the legacy he was born to uphold. As Shadowman, Jack is about to become the only thing that stands between his city and an army of unspeakable monstrosities from beyond the night.
Collects Shadowman (2012) #1-4
The first Valiant book that hasn’t really won me over. It’s ok, but it feels like the kind of ‘superhero’ origin story you’ve read a few times before. Cool redesign, though.
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️ out of 5
SHADOWMAN vol.2: DARQUE RECKONING
The coming of Master Darque is upon us! Jack Boniface has just been to Hell and back. After surviving the horrors of the Deadside, Jack is taking his new abilities to the limit and discovering more about the legacy of the Shadowman with each passing night. But, what if he wasn’t the only thing that managed to escape back to Earth?
Collects Shadowman (2012) #5-9
The use of the varied artists involved – switching between the Deadside and the Earthly plane- really works. Doctor Mirage seems like a potentially interesting addition. But there’s nothing here that’s making me care or want to come back. It feels like a goth blockbuster popcorn foil, and that’s not enough for me. Master Darque doesn’t seem to stand out as a villain or Shadowman as a protagonist. Wonder what goth popcorn tastes like?
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️ out of 5
SHADOWMAN vol.3: DEADSIDE BLUES
The secret origin of all Shadowmen, past and present… Long ago, in the antebellum South, Master Darque’s evil spawned the one thing that could stop him: the Shadowman.
Collects Shadowman (2012) #0, 10-12
Shadowman’s third volume has more of an anthology feel. Master Darque had been feeling like a nondescript cackling villain, so far, but issues 0 and 10 flesh out his origin to the point where I’d rather read that saga than follow Shadowman himself. His tales really carry this book, followed by the decent one-shot story from issue 11 and a mixed bag of three different stories in issue 12. Just as he finds his feet on the book, Justin Jordan departs as series writer…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
UNITY vol.1: TO KILL A KING
To kill a king…they created an army. The world’s most dangerous man, Toyo Harada, has been struck by the one thing he never thought possible ― fear. Halfway across the globe, a new power threatens to topple modern civilization and, to preempt the cataclysm that is to come, Harada will unite the most unforgiving team the world has ever known ― UNITY. (Part of the AT WAR WITH UNITY event)
Collects Unity (2013) 1-4
A direct crossover with X-O Manowar 19-22 that can also be read on its own. Aric of Dacia’s claim to Romania causes an international incident that brings Livewire & Toyo Harada of the Harbinger Foundation, Ninjak and the Eternal Warrior down on him hard! Again, Valiant’s universe treats the concept of powers with a real-world feel that isn’t just people in bright costumes punching each other…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
UNITY vol.2: TRAPPED BY WEBNET
Coming off of the earth-shattering repercussions of their first mission, Ninjak is leading the newly formed Unity team right back into the trenches to face the Valiant Universe’s next colossal threat – the enigmatic Dr. Silk and his high-tech terror cell: WEBNET!
Collects Unity 5-8, X-O Manowar 5
Unity’s first mission is a call back to the original Valiant Universe, but you don’t need to know that to get into it!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
Sure, Unity are Valiant’s all-star team, but they’re nothing like the Avengers or JLA. There’s more grit & realism here, while still having a healthy dose of ‘comic book hero’ weirdness! Valiant is my universe of choice, right now, and I’m keen to see how long this fractious dynamic will hold together…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
X-O MANOWAR vol.1: BY THE SWORD
Aric of Dacia has lived his life under the heel of the Roman Empire, but now a far more terrible enemy has come to subjugate him. Taken from his home and family, Aric is enslaved aboard a starship belonging to a brutal race of alien colonizers known as The Vine. If he is to have any hope of escaping and returning to Earth, he will have to steal the Vine’s most powerful weapon – a sentient suit of indestructible armor – and become X-O Manowar!
Collects X-O Manowar (2012) #1-4
Aric of Dacia takes the ‘man out of time’ concept to new extremes in the relaunched & modernised X-O Manowar. Not sure how this compares to the original from the ‘90s but the new take is a bloody breath of fresh air! This is my second go round at the series and I’m relishing every moment!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
X-O MANOWAR vol.2: ENTER NINJAK
Agents of the alien race known as The Vine have been living in secret among us for centuries, and now they’ve just been activated for one final mission ― purge the Earth of all human life! An invasion fleet is on its way and the only weapon in existence powerful enough to defeat it is the X-O Manowar armor.
Collects X-O Manowar (2012) #5-8
I still struggle with the silliness of Ninjak’s name, but this is still a fantastic, action-packed chapter of X-O that deserves the hype. I could breeze through this easily, but Harbinger’s up next…!
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
X-O MANOWAR vol.3: PLANET DEATH
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!
Collects X-O Manowar (2012) #9-14
Eric of Dacia’s intergalactic revenge trip doesn’t go according to plan. And ‘Planet Death’ is better for it! Cary Nord & Trevor Hairsine provide the art for this arc as Robert Venditti continues to surprise us at every turn with this modern reinvention of X-O Manowar…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
X-O MANOWAR vol.4: HOMECOMING
With his nation state of Dacia fortified in eastern Romania, X-O Manowar has bent the world to his will. But he will not stand unopposed. With the assembled forces of the United Nations and NATO primed to assail the newly founded homeland of the Visigoth people, the man inside the indestructible Manowar armor is about find himself more vulnerable than ever…
Collects X-O Manowar (2012) #15-18
Eric of Dacia’s back on Earth. And it turns out he’s not the great tactician he thought he was! A fight with the Eternal Warrior and a clash with another nation won’t make him any friends…
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5
X-O MANOWAR vol.5: AT WAR WITH UNITY
X-O Manowar finally has it all, but threats from all sides now threaten to destroy Aric of Dacia and the peace he has struggled to secure. The most dangerous strike force ever assembled – Unity – have joined forces with Toyo Harada to achieve but one goal: destroy X-O Manowar before his actions push in western civilization to the brink of all-out nuclear annihilation. (Part of the AT WAR WITH UNITY event)
Collects X-O Manowar (2012) #19-22
This really needs to be read with Unity 1-4 in a rare crossover moment for Valiant. A fun event that pits Aric of Dacia against Toyo Harada, Livewire, Ninjak and the Eternal Warrior as he starts to become a genuine threat. But to who?
Review: Dave Molyneaux, Omniverse Comics Guide
Perhaps not quite as strong as the series is tells is, but it’s a logical step forward.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5