shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 19, 2023 21:11:54 GMT -5
Just as with my preparation for Episode 2, I've begun reading up and planning for Episode 5, and I'd have more fun doing it with company. I'm creating my notes in real-time in google docs, and members of the Fortress of Solitude are welcome to participate by reading along in real-time, leaving me comments in real-time, and giving me ideas and perspectives to consider as I plan my portion of the upcoming Episode 5! If you have any interest in Valiant Comics or even just want to see how the sausage gets made, check out our Patreon and consider joining at the "Monthly Pull" level, which will give you full access to the hidden Fortress of Solitude section of The CCF. There, you'll encounter a host of conversations and extras, as well as access to the google doc. See you there! EDIT...For those of you looking for a free and easy way to read these comics, GlobalComix provides free access to much of the Valiant library (though they cannot include Magnus, Solar, nor Turok for licensing reasons): (Note: These titles are listed in order of first publication) HarbingerRaiX-O ManowarShadowmanEternal WarriorArcher & ArmstrongBloodshot...And that's just the Pre-Unity and Unity era stuff. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,456
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Post by shaxper on Oct 20, 2023 15:24:35 GMT -5
18 months into the history of Valiant with four pages of notes so far, as well as a few eye-opening discoveries that really surprised me! We record the episode on Tuesday night, so all the work and discussion will be happening this weekend and into Monday!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 20, 2023 15:41:18 GMT -5
I've never read a Valiant comic in my life.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 20, 2023 15:41:52 GMT -5
I've never read a Valiant comic in my life. Wanna start? |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 20, 2023 15:43:29 GMT -5
I've never read a Valiant comic in my life. Wanna start? I don't have access to them. So it seems like I'm probably not going to start now. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,456
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Post by shaxper on Oct 20, 2023 16:47:14 GMT -5
I don't have access to them. So it seems like I'm probably not going to start now. If you don't mind digital, GlobalComix has much of the company library (though, for licensing reasons, they cannot offer Magnus, Solar, nor Turok). I believe they are free to read but are pay-to-download. Unfortunately, the classic Valiant titles are lumped in with the more recent reboot titles, causing some confusion for a new reader. If you're looking for floppies, one thing that's great about Valiant is that the original line only lasted for five or six(?) years, so it's not hard to obtain and read the complete output. Unfortunately, one thing that sucks about Valiant is that the demand for those 30-year old issues is low enough that not many stores and vendors carry them, so it's quite hard to obtain and read the complete output. |
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Post by MDG on Oct 21, 2023 8:20:09 GMT -5
I've never read a Valiant comic in my life. Neither did I, and I wrote six issues of X-O. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Oct 21, 2023 18:00:03 GMT -5
I've never read a Valiant comic in my life. Neither did I, and I wrote six issues of X-O. Awesome. I can't find you in a search. I did see you wrote a Gnort story. Edit : I found it. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 22, 2023 6:37:42 GMT -5
Well, my efforts to just discuss the issues I'm re-reading ended up turning into the dense and lengthy notes I'll be using for episode 5. Eleven pages so far, and no comments from the Peanut Gallery yet. Even if you have no interest in reading along, you might want to see what I'm planning and add your two cents to it!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 22, 2023 8:51:28 GMT -5
I got to read Rai #1 and a few pages of #2 before the site asked me to pay to read further, but I must say Michelinie packed a LOT of story in that first issue. The art looks very plain, especially compared to the very flashy style that was all the rage back then at Marvel and DC, but I found the comic much more engaging than a lot of its contemporary competitors due to its script. It reminded me of the 5YL era of the Legion, reading more like the start of a novel than a super-hero adventure.
I don't know if we were supposed to know beforehand who Grandmother was (I guess the whole Japan/space dragon thing came from the Magnus comic), but landing in media res was not a problem. I could easily figure out that Japan had been ruled until recently by a computer, that the citizens must have lived a life of leisure, and that upon the collapse of the system (due to some alien invasion), many of them were upset at having to work. No need of a recap section; Michelinie made things clear as he went along (with some ironic comments on human nature, as when a man is furious at now having to work thirty hours a week to make ends meet).
The marital situation of the main character looks like it could be the source of good dramatic material, and since I did read the series from issue #11 on, I was saddened to see his baby son back when he was all innocent. That is one of the strengths of the tight continuity of the early Valiant titles: they often read like history and not like stories made up month after month.
I look forward to that podcast!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 22, 2023 13:27:24 GMT -5
I got to read Rai #1 and a few pages of #2 before the site asked me to pay to read further D'oh! Sorry. I didn't know. You've hit upon two of early Valiant's most distinct trademarks: lackluster (and sometimes downright bad) art, and stories so internal and cerebral in nature that they don't really feel like any other "superhero" comic book of the era. Solar and Rai were the most introspective of the bunch. Rai was cancelled pretty quickly due to poor sales (and later brought back in a very different form), and I'm not sure how Solar sold, but it certainly wasn't a fan favorite at the time. The rest had more of a balance. I happen to like early Rai and Solar the best, myself, but I definitely didn't appreciate them as a twelve year old. The Magnus stories really should have been Rai #1-4, as it really helps to know what both Japan and Rai were like prior to Grandmother's departure. That being said, I agree that Michelinie mostly does an excellent job catching the reader up. It's just easy to confuse "The Grannies" and "The Healers," and the artwork doesn't really help to distinguish who is working for who. You read Rai straight to the end? Excellent. Magnus and Rai are the only titles I firmly believe got better after Shooter. I completely agree about going back and seeing him young and innocent. Thanks!! |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,456
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Post by shaxper on Oct 23, 2023 13:54:18 GMT -5
Re-reading Unity right now, and wow is it different than I remember.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Nov 7, 2023 8:13:25 GMT -5
Re-reading Unity right now, and wow is it different than I remember. Unity had tight continuity and beautifully explained things like Turok living alongside dinosaurs or Magnus's origins, but it suffered badly from comic-booky nonsense. Mothergod should not have needed a machine to rebuild reality, and even if she did she shouldn't have needed slaves to build it. The entire "resistance" aspect is ridiculous (and a cliché, too); if our time-displaced heroes were such a problem to Pierce, she could have isolated her city with a force-field of some sort (she's as close to a god as can be, after all), changed all the oxygen in the planet's atmosphere to argon for ten minutes, then changed it back. Or she could have burned everything down to the bedrock and later re-imported a new ecosystem from other time points. I mean, she's basically omnipotent... why waste time sending goons to trade blows with pestering gnats? Just nuke 'em from orbit, it's the only way to be sure. I understand that the plot required our heroes having a fighting chance, but the series' premise should have been set accordingly. |
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