British newbie here!

How did you become a VALIANT collector?

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runciblemoon
paulsmith56 is my hero
paulsmith56 is my hero
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Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:15:52 am
Valiant fan since: 2016
Favorite character: Kris Hathaway
Favorite title: Archer & Armstrong
Favorite writer: Fred Van Lente
Favorite artist: Cary Nord
British newbie here!

Post by runciblemoon »

Hello! Apologies for the longwindedness of this post, but my journey to Valiant is perhaps a little atypical and needs a fair bit of context if I’m going to tell it right! So here goes...

As a kid growing up in the UK in the 90s, I loved comics as a medium but back then I was mostly into classic British children’s humour comics like The Beano and The Dandy. That was actually the first manifestation of a collector’s bug that still definitely holds sway with me today, as I found myself buying up every tatty old British comic or annual I came across and eventually amassed a collection of well over 1000 comics and a copy of every Beano annual from the mid-60s to 2000. In addition to British “funny” comics I also had a fondness for European comics (Asterix, Tintin etc.), but I never really connected with DC or Marvel.

My first exposure to superheroes was actually through cartoons (Batman, Spider-Man and, my personal favourite, X-Men). Sadly, when I checked out randomly selected copies of recent-ish TPBs from my local library I was immediately turned off by the level of violence, confusing continuity and very different tone compared to the cartoons. I concluded that American comics simply weren’t for me and didn’t pay them much heed from that point on.

Fast-forward to 2012. Avengers hits cinemas. I’m an out-and-proud geek with a love of sci-fi, fantasy, comedy etc. I still read a ton of comics, but mostly indies, manga, webcomics and standalone “graphic novels”. As for films, I quite liked some of the X-Men films and Raimi’s first couple of Spider-Mans, didn’t much care for Nolan’s Batman trilogy (well made films, for sure, but just not my thing) and had enjoyed the first Iron Man well enough when I’d rented it on a whim. What excited me about the Avengers wasn't the realisation of every comic book fan's dreams, but simply that it was Joss Whedon doing an ensemble action/sci-fi film. Man, I got so much more than I'd bargained for. I'd gone in as a Whedon fan and came out as a total Marvel convert, eager to go back and catch up on all the MCU films I’d missed up to that point.

That was my first taste of a proper shared universe – not just a franchise with a few random spin-offs, but a proper diverse shared universe with multiple genres all grinding up against each other. I loved the insane scale and ambition of that idea, and now having an affection for the Marvel characters I began dipping into the enormous Marvel Comics back catalogue, mostly via Comixology (I have poor eyesight and live 2 hours away from a proper comic shop so it’s the perfect solution for me!). Some of it grabbed me, some of it didn’t, but what quickly became clear was that the scale of it was such that I could never realistically get to grips with it in the same way I could with the MCU. I also tried a couple of DC books but, frankly, they just didn’t grab me and the scale of that universe is similarly overwhelming to a Johnny-Come-Lately like me!

I’m not really sure when I first heard about Valiant. Probably via one of the frillion podcasts I listen to every week. The idea of a smaller, more carefully planned shared universe had instant appeal, and the characters all sounded pleasingly offbeat. A few months ago Comixology had a brief sale on a load of Valiant titles and I finally caved and picked up a handful of Vol 1’s (X-O, Archer & Armstrong and Quantum & Woody). I read them, loved them all and decided I’d try to read things more or less chronologically from thereon (whilst reserving the right to skip books that I was less confident I’d enjoy, like Bloodshot).

Since then I’ve been picking up one or two digital trades per month, finding myself more immersed with every page. Harbinger #6 was probably the moment I realised I was in this for the long haul. That might be the single greatest issue of any ongoing series I've read to this day. So the months roll by, and then Comixology hits me with another sale on Valiant titles. I decided to abandon the chronological thing for now because there are just so many characters that I desperately want to check out. So I set myself a budget of £50, took a deep breath and dove in, grabbing a few more volumes of A&A, Q&W, X-O and Harbinger, plus Vol 1s of Unity, Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, Divinity, Rai, Dr Mirage, and Ivar, Timewalker. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say…

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magnusr
I would hang a left...
I would hang a left...
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Location: Stockholm
Re: British newbie here!

Post by magnusr »

Welcome, nice to see another fellow European here. A few of us have even met in real life thanks to our shared interest in the Valiant universe. I like your story. Your reason to like Valiant is common for many of us. If you have the old TV Tornadoes in your collection, you might also have read the first version of Magnus Robot Fighter - a character that Valiant upgraded in the 90s and which resparked my interest in comics and especially in Valiant.

/Magnus

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DirtbagSailor
I only know how to fish, f^%k, fight, and throw rocks
I only know how to fish, f^%k, fight, and throw rocks
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Valiant fan since: 1993
Favorite character: Harada
Favorite title: Imperium
Location: Maryland
Re: British newbie here!

Post by DirtbagSailor »

Welcome!

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TheeBaldMoose
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
Rockin' out in Torquehalla
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Valiant fan since: ECCC April 2016
Favorite character: Bloodshot/Ninjak/Divinity
Favorite title: Divinity/BS Reborn/Britannia
Favorite writer: Kindt/Lemire/Roberts
Favorite artist: All of them, really
Location: Tacoma
Re: British newbie here!

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

Welcome to the board!

If violence isn't your thing, I can see the squeamishness regarding Bloodshot. I will add though (as a fan of Bloodshot) that if you get past the violence, the story is brilliant! A little dark, a little violent, but one heck of a great comic.

Regardless if you change your mind, happy to have you on board!
Moose

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bobby97801
Just jumpin' through time arcs, that's all.
Just jumpin' through time arcs, that's all.
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Location: vancouver, washington
Re: British newbie here!

Post by bobby97801 »

Welcome :thumb:

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lorddunlow
I think you might be a closeted Canadian.
I think you might be a closeted Canadian.
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Re: British newbie here!

Post by lorddunlow »

Welcome to the boards. It's fun here. I'm very glad to see you're not Canadian. We're full up on those guys.

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*SQUEE* your science, I have a machine gun.

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grendeljd
innerSPACE does whatever I tell them
innerSPACE does whatever I tell them
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Favorite character: Aric
Favorite title: Harbinger
Location: On the 7.5th floor of LesterCorp, headed through the back door to John Malkovich's brain.
Re: British newbie here!

Post by grendeljd »

lorddunlow wrote:Welcome to the boards. It's fun here. I'm very glad to see you're not Canadian. We're full up on those guys.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
If Canada is America's little brother... Britain is our mum. We shouldn't fight while mum's around, we'll both get in trouble...

But just for the record, Dunlow started it!! :P


Welcome to the boards, runciblemoon!
I like to draw stuff... http://grendeljd.deviantart.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My wife likes to draw stuff too, and she is better than me! [I'm very proud of her]... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sara-Dec ... ref=stream" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Phantom
I will call my mum and ask what the *SQUEE* is going on.
I will call my mum and ask what the *SQUEE* is going on.
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Re: British newbie here!

Post by Phantom »

Hello from Cambridge UK.
I often met with MagnusR, Shadowman99 and also Draco (he owns dead universe comics and publishing).
Sometimes we met at conventions, or at each others houses.
I wish their was a Spinal Tap comic, and I had a copy CGC graded at 11.


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