Series: The Valiant
Writer: Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt
Art: Paolo Rivera and Joe Rivera
Publisher: Valiant
Summary from Valiant Entertainment: “As the world teeters on the brink of a new Dark Age, superstar creators Jeff Lemire (Green Arrow, Animal Man), Matt Kindt (RAI, Mind MGMT), and Paolo Rivera (Daredevil) recruit each of Valiant’s most formidable heroes into the 10,000-year-old battle for the fate of all mankind!
The entire Valiant Universe faces off against the Immortal Enemy! Can they help Eternal Warrior succeed where he has failed so many times before? Civilization’s best hope against the darkness may lie in the unlikeliest of romances…”
The first two books in this mini-series have been absolutely fantastic. Lemire and Kindt are weaving a terrific tale that is both beautiful and a bit disconcerting. The Valiant #3 is no exception. I won’t reveal too much because this is a series everyone needs to be reading, but this issue oscillates between Gilad and Co. combating the Immortal Enemy and Bloodshot trying to get Kay the Geomancer away from the fighting. The battle sequence is told in the style of Boondock Saints (I assume that’s not the technical term), in that Gilad’s plan is being narrated as the battle itself is taking place.
There were a lot of highlights in this issue. First of all, Paolo Rivera is doing some amazing work on this series. His work is so crisp that he is slowly becoming a personal favorite as far as artists are concerned. One of the opening panels has a majority of the heroes of the Valiant Universe ready to begin battle, and epic is the only way to describe it.
Another highlight for me is the back and forth between the curious Kay and Bloodshot. This issue has Bloodshot portrayed as a complete BAMF. He is the strong, silent type that doesn’t really care for the inquisitive Kay’s questions. Their exchanges are at times both hilarious and touching, and serve to flesh out the personalities of the two characters.
Also, the Immortal Enemy is terrifying, and gets steadily creepier in each new issue. As we saw in the last issue, one of Mr. Enemy’s powers (besides apparently immortality judging by his name) is to play on the fears of those he is facing. For Kay, he chooses the form of Mr. Flay, the terrifying storybook character from her childhood, but his battle with the large group of Valiant heroes gives the writers and artists the chance to flex their creative muscles.
All things considered, this title is shaping out to be a nearly perfect mini-series. The creative team is as good as it gets, and they are consistently putting out an amazing product. If you aren’t reading this book you need to be. It’s an excellent jumping on point for the Valiant Next initiative, and is giving an already amazing company a great leg to stand on moving forward.
The Valiant #3 hits the stands next Wednesday! Below you can check out the preview images that our friends over at Valiant were kind enough to send us:
