Growing up my best friend and I use to play Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal on the Sega Saturn. I’ll be honest, I had no idea who this X-O Manowar guy was. I always wanted to play as Iron Man. Not that it mattered much, we would always become frustrated and never get farther than the first few levels. That was my first little taste of the Valiant Universe. Lemire (Green Arrow, Animal Man), Kindt (RAI, UNITY, Mind MGMT), and Rivera’s (Daredevil) The Valiant is my second. It was much more enjoyable.
The four part mini series is self contained so readers can pick it up and not be intimidated by continuity. I can think of no better marketing tool than this series to grow Valiant’s readership. It’s that good.
The premise is pretty straightforward. Since basically the beginning of time the Eternal Warrior has protected the Geomancers who are mystics that speak for the Earth. No matter how hard the Eternal Warrior tries the Immortal Enemy defeats him and kills the Geomancer plunging humanity into a dark age. The cycle continues a few times throughout the ages but this time the Eternal Warrior will have help from the Valiant super heroes.
Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt’s writing is solid for most of the series. It’s paced great so you’ll definitely want to have all four issues on hand when you begin reading this one. The duo really shines during the moments that the two contrasting characters Kay (the geomancer) and Bloodshot (nanite-infused super soldier) are together. This is where you’ll find some of the series’ best moments. The only problem I had was the use of time travel in the beginning of the fourth issue brought the action and emotional climax to an abrupt halt. What came next more than made up for that though.
The end of this series will drastically shift the face of The Valiant universe. Like I said, I have no prior knowledge of it but even to me the events felt significant. This surely has something to do with how well each character is established in the beginning of the series. Each hero getting their own little defining moments and story lines. By the time the final issue rolled around I was connected to each of them.
The strongest part of this mini series is the handling of the villain; the Immortal Enemy. This may be one of the most sadistic and maniacal villains I’ve ever seen. As his name suggests, he is immortal. He shifts his appearance into what his opponent fears most; for our Geomancer it is the tuxedo and top hat wearing Mister Flay from a story her father use to read her, The Littlest Princess and the Twilight Kingdom. Perhaps the scariest imagery is when his face splits opens revealing the face of a demon-like creature inside. Paolo Rivera’s drawings create a villain that is sure to haunt you long after you finish the series.
(Please don’t invade my dreams.)
Rivera does a great job with the art in the rest of the book as well. There are many instances where he is able to perfectly capture the emotion of a character with little to no words from Lemire and Kindt. From peaceful communities on the riverside, to giant action pieces Rivera masterfully handles it all. There is no other way to put it; this series is gorgeous.
This miniseries is great and definitely worth checking out. I won’t be surprised to see it on a few best of lists at the end of the year. Whether you’re looking to dive into the Valiant Universe for the first time or just for a great miniseries that you can read in an hour or two I’d highly recommend checking out The Valiant. The fourth and final issue hit shelves yesterday!
