Well, thanks, I'll talk there and I'm looking forward to your wonderful project

It's normal, take your time, I'm excited to see it

It evolved into this, which ended up focusing more on Jim Shooter and only a little on Valiant. George and I are definitely following up with a Valiant-specific episode at some point. If that ends up being episode 4, it will air in November.

Well it took far far longer than expected, but the episode has been recorded and is in the process of being edited. It should go live shortly after Christmas. Thanks for your patience!

Release date will be 1/21. It's all edited and ready to go. But since I've kept you waiting now half a year to get an answer to your questions, I feel pretty lousy. The episode touches on the things you asked, but I'd be happy to offer a more in-depth answer here.



Archer & Armstrong: Loved Armstrong as a solo character, but not the contrived odd-couple pairing. I much prefered when Aram and Gilad were paired together.

Armorines: Never read it.

Bloodshot: Not my cup of tea. I haven't gone back to read it in decades, so I could be missing something, but I found the Rai premise far less limited. He has all those powers and...shoots guns...at mob grunts? It just seemed so ordinary.

Deathmate: Oh boy do we talk about this one in the Podcast episode.

Doctor Mirage: I read the first issue and found it forgettable. I don't think I ever ventured beyond that.

Eternal Warrior: Discussed this one quite a bit in the episode too.

H.A.R.D. Corps: Didn't care for this one too much. Cool premise, but light on characterization.

Harbinger: The pre-Unity issues were extraordinary, though I definitely enjoyed them better as an adolescent. In hindsight, I really think it's the later #0 issue that gives the entire early run its energy. Without that, Peter is not an endearing character at all.

Psi-Lords: Never read it, though I enjoyed when it intersected with the later Magnus Robot Fighter issues.

Rai: I adored the original Rai when he first appeared in Magnus, both the characterization and concept. I was so ready to lose myself in the Japan of 4001 AD. But, after that initial story and Grandmother's departure, the series just became a massive bummer. And while I love how the later Rai and the Future Force expanded out Magnus' world, I couldn't stand that later Rai, himself. Far too much of a Mary Sue.

Shadowman: Strong tone, characterization, and setting, but it just wasn't my thing.

Solar: The Shooter issues are brilliant; possibly the character Shooter wrote the best. It's been years since I read the post-Shooter issues, but I enjoyed them well enough back in the day.

Timewalker: Priceless. It's been far too long since I re-read it.

Turok: As a fan of the original Turok, I feel Turok's setting was the title's most compelling asset. Removing Turok from that environment stripped the character of what I enjoyed about him.

X-O Manowar: Adored the early issues. Once Arik acclemates to our world, though, he loses everything that made him special. Of all the rebooted Valiant titles, this is the one that I feel most clearly improved in later volumes. They managed to maintain Arik's barbarian personality even after he'd learned the language and ways of the modern era.




EDIT: The episode is now live: classiccomics.org/thread/8534/valiant-comics-return-jim-shooter

No, but we did do an entire podcast episode about Valiant. If you're interested, it can be found here.