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 The various characters of the Valiant Universe Founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics Editor Jim Shooter, and several top artists and writers, Valiant Comics was one of the many "creator owned" comic companies that appeared during the Dark Age. The main idea behind Valiant was to "out write" the competition, which it did by deconstructing the various aspects of the typical comic book universe as presented by its rivals. Valiant used strong characterization in its plots, at a time when the Big Two and Image were focusing more on art than writing. By having all of their characters' powers come from one of three sources (Technology, Psychic Powers, and Magic), they reduced the need for Applied Phlebotinum, allowing them to pursue a more Hard Sci Fi approach than would have been possible in the established universes of DC and Marvel. Their cast of heroes combined characters based on old pulp-style adventurers with more modern character types, as well as buying and revamping a few old Gold Key characters, with interesting results.Perhaps the biggest innovation was their use of continuity. The events in the comics almost always took place during the same time frame as publication with readers expecting one month time jumps between issues. There was the rare exception to this rule, such as two back-to-back issues covering the events of the same night, in this case the narration box would date them, for example both issues would be dated "December 12th 1991" if the event began in the December issue which was released on the 12th. Another method they used was to take advantage of the more hard scifi setting, and have characters experience a jump forward of several months as a side effect of traveling faster than light. An event in one comic had immediate and lasting effects in another. Once an event happened it was set in stone, RetCons never happened, and Comic Book Time was thus averted. The Valiant universe was split into two time periods, the modern day, and the 41st century, with events in the former having effects on the latter. All in all, the formula worked, attracting many fans with its refreshing and unique style, and Valiant sold over 80 million comics in its first 5 years, becoming the third highest selling comic book company (after of course, Marvel and DC, the big two).That is, until 1993, when Valiant did an ill-thought-out crossover with Image called Deathmate. Valiant's professionalism clashed brutally with Image's notorious Schedule Slip, and Valiant and Image's writers had no clue how to write the other company's characters. Both companies saw their reputations in tatters. Deathmate is widely believed to have been the straw that broke the comic book industry's back, setting off the comics crash that the industry is still recovering from.Valiant's sales started to slip and, after an ill-considered Birthquake revamp, Valiant was bought out by Acclaim Entertainment, a then-popular videogame company. The line was renamed "Acclaim Comics" that introduced a brand-new, "more marketable" universe (dubbed Valiant Heroes 2). Ultimately, though, the declining fortunes of Acclaim Entertainment and Executive Meddling led to the line's slow and painful demise. The original Valiant is still fondly remembered as one of the best companies of the Dark Age.Dark Horse Comics recently acquired all the Gold Key properties — and hired Shooter to manage them— but unfortunately after about 8 issues of each title Dark Horse announced they would be cancelling the line due to the rights holders wanting too much money as well as low sales.Luckily, the renewed Valiant Comics, now called Valiant Entertainment, has announced they will be publishing comics starring the Valiant characters starting with four series in 2012 starting with the release X-O Manowar #1 in May followed by the release of new #1s for Harbinger, Bloodshot and Archer & Armstrong in June, July and August respectively, with the promise of more titles depending on the performance of the initial four series. Following strong initial sales, they made good on this promise in November 2012, with a new #1 of Shadowman. The company's first major event Harbinger Wars is also set for Summer 2013, crossing over Harbinger and Bloodshot.Characters/Titles from Valiant Comics include (in alphabetical order):
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