Will DC's $3 books hurt Valiant

[wwise03]

Will the fact that DC is dropping its books down to $2.99 in connection with Rebirth hurt Valiant?

The reason I ask is because, although I have every book Valiant has published since the relaunch, I am considering cutting some Valiant to make room on my pull list and jump into the DC Universe for the first time. The fact that I have enjoyed every DC Rebirth book released so far more than just about every Valiant book outside of Bloodshot and the 4001 AD event recently is making me start to look at cutting series like Faith, A&A, Wrath, and Ninjak. Is anyone else feeling this way?

[JCP]

DC and Marvel seem to be dueling each other for gimmicky restarts repeatedly. I have no interest in Marvel or DC anymore but that's me. I've heard rebirth has been fun to read but I doubt it will lure away too many readers to the exclusion of Valiant. I grew up on Marvel and if they publish something similar to DC I might pick up a couple of Marvel books to try them out but I wouldn't discontinue my Valiant pulls. Especially not for $3/book for a few extra monthly books. I hopefully can borrow $10 from my wife's purse when she isn't looking.

[NapoleonBlownapart]

I doubt it, last time DC drew the line at $2.99, it lasted for all of 6 months before they raised prices to $3.99 again.

[wwise03]

I intend to stick to with the better valiant books, but may very well cut a few titles that I'm only buying out of habit and am not getting $4 worth of entertainment from.

[Tim]

I dropped all Valiant books except for X-O and Harbinger-related titles. I was planning to do so anyway, but even if I hadn't, I think DC's Rebirth would have made me at least consider freeing up some room in my comics budget. I know that paring down Valiant titles has given me room in my budget to try a few Rebirth books.

[mkb28]

I still plan to buy all the Valiant TPB's and HC's that are released. I also plan to buy Batman, All Star Batman, Deathstroke, Batgirl, Green Arrow, and Supergirl (for my daughter) in TPB format. I did buy multiple copies of these #1 titles, plus the variant covers, for CGC purposes.

Mkb28

[jshelton2001]

The only book I am not subscribed to is Faith, not because it's bad, but she doesn't particularly interest me. Personally, DC's Rebirth affected Marvel the most. I had a ton on my pull, but very few that I considered great. I dropped all of them except Spidey which I thoroughly enjoy. Valiant's new announcements made this necessary as well. I plan on picking up all of them.

[nonplayer]

Buying price doesn't really affect what I buy. I've seen dc and marvel comics on the shelf but They look cheep. The quality isn't there. I do sometimes flip through interesting comics on the shelf. I'm pertucular about the art. If the presentation doesn't jump out at me enough to pick it up I won't look through it. Once I do look through it I can tell pretty quick if I'd be interested. 9.8 times out of 10 I pass.
If I see a artist I know I may spend more time flipping through.
I like numerous runs and I'm more inclined to stick it out than to just switch to something else.
I do like Image the quality is there and good stories. I need to pick and choose what valiant titles to get since I can't get them all and some don't interest me. But I do love bloodshot xo savage Harbinger renegades. Universe building is important to me so I try to follow that so Harbinger Imperium and any events.

[agent_graves]

Will the fact that DC is dropping its books down to $2.99 in connection with Rebirth hurt Valiant?

No. Dc's on that Island alone, with the exception of a few creator owned titles. Besides, Dc drew the line at $2.99 back in 2011 with the New52. VEI has been back since 2012, so....

Is anyone else feeling this way?

No. I read other titles from other companies, but that has no bearing on what I read from Valiant.

[Shadowman99]

I'm stilll happy to be all-in on Valiant, this is the universe I'm interested in. I'm not really bothered about reading anything else other than the odd short-run indie, so DC's pricing isn't going to warrant my attention in the slightest.

As for whether it'll 'hurt' Valiant, I doubt it. Where one person cuts back their Valiant monthlies someone new will step in to fill the gap anyway. Besides, I can't see DC running $3 books for long, it's just a marketing gimmick to entice new readers. They'll bump that price up again soon enough, just watch.

[nscc]

I am still all-in on VEI too, along with Kirkmans 3 books and Batman. I ditched all the Marvel books I had 6+ months ago and don't miss them. I have never been too interested in DC but I liked the previous Batman run, so figure I'll try the new one out. Having the new DC books being a buck less doesnt make me want to get them just because they cost less. I actually find it hard enough to get time to read what I am getting and all the older stuff too. I would buy East of West and some other image books too, but I just pick them up cheap digitally or in trades every now and then.

I thought all the $3 DC books were twice a month now? I get that individual books cost less, but it works out to a 50% increase per month vs 1x $4 book, so I don't see how the pricing itself would hurt Valiant.

[Aram]

Dc will have my attention in 2-3 years for tpbs and hcs and maybe back issues if they make good comics the whole time between now and then. Every time I have liked and bought into them they have screwed it up. 0 faith in them.

I have 100% faith in Valiant that they will learn from any mistakes they make and work on fixing them.

Therefor.. Make mine Valiant.

[OhioValiantNut]

DC pushed me away when they began the 'DC 52' debacle. It was a statement that they did not give one damn about their longtime readers. Ironically, DC is getting some of my money with Scooby-Doo Team-Up and Future Quest ... but those books are well outside of DC's "universe of the month".

Marvel lost me with Secret Wars. However, I still buy Star Wars and Darth Vader ... and have begun buying the new Punisher series.

I'd rather put my cash into Valiant ... even with the multiple covers every single issue ... than be a sucker for DC's and Marvel's constant and insulting reboots.

[buff-beardo]

Yeah, maybe VEI's market share will plummet from 1.09% to 1.08%. Ouch.

[Bl00dsh0t]

Well it has for me. I've dropped some titles to pick up The Flash (which was very good) and may try some other DC titles. That's not the sole reason though, at least with DC I KNOW I'm going to get a book each month featuring the characters I WANT to read about - I don't get that month to month stability with Valiant unfortunately. In Australia a 4US comic costs 6.50 while a 3US goes for 5AU so there's that.

[Shadowman99]

...with DC I KNOW I'm going to get a book each month featuring the characters I WANT to read about - I don't get that month to month stability with Valiant unfortunately.

This statement has piqued my interest a bit. I can't really think what you mean here, so can you explain this a bit more? I'm interested to know what's happening here for you with VEI comics.

[slack]

I'm still not feeling great about A&A. I think I'm completely dissatisfied with the art. I hope that's what's keeping me from enjoying it.
I mean, I hate the art so bad, I can't tell if the writing is good or not... It makes me worry about Harbinger: Renegades.

[wwise03]

Based on the posts, it sounds like the pricing and the rebirth initiative will hurt Valiant at least to a degree in the short term.

Obviously most people on this board are going to read Valiant no matter what, but there are a few folks on these boards that mentioned dropping Valiant titles to pick up some new DC books. If people who bother to come to Valiant message boards do that, I can see people who don't come to message boards doing the same thing.

I'd disagree with the statement that if someone drops a Valiant book, someone else will pick it up. I would assume very few people are going to pick up Wrath of the Eternal Warrior #9 out of the blue unless they are already reading the series (especially when there are all kinds of shiny first issues of Batman, Justice League, Superman, etc.). WotEW is already selling under 6,000 copies at issue #7. My guess is A&A will be there soon too. I can't imagine those numbers going anywhere but down really quickly with $3 Batman books on the shelf.

[drmirage]

Valiant could also match pricing.

[jeremycoe]

Valiant could also match pricing.

I really don't think they could.

[grendeljd]

...with DC I KNOW I'm going to get a book each month featuring the characters I WANT to read about - I don't get that month to month stability with Valiant unfortunately.

This statement has piqued my interest a bit. I can't really think what you mean here, so can you explain this a bit more? I'm interested to know what's happening here for you with VEI comics.

I'll hazard a guess and say he might mean the rotation of which titles get published monthly... soon we won't have an X-O book, haven't had a Shadowman book in a couple years, didn't have an A&A title for a stretch...

[grendeljd]

I'm still not feeling great about A&A. I think I'm completely dissatisfied with the art. I hope that's what's keeping me from enjoying it.
I mean, I hate the art so bad, I can't tell if the writing is good or not... It makes me worry about Harbinger: Renegades.

I've felt the same way about the art on this title. I don't hate it - Lafuente is a pro, but I don't like the silly cartoon vibe it gives the series.

I have been able to visualize it drawn differently when I read it - and I think it would have been a much better reading experience in the hands of Clayton Crain, Francis Portela or Pere Perez again. This style completely ruins my natural desire to suspend disbelief & enjoy a book that is actually set in a 'realistic' [or at least somewhat grounded] fictional setting where the rest of the Valiant characters exist. Looks like Lafuente only drew the first arc though, so I'm happy to carry on giving it a chance to keep getting better under another artist.

I think the writing has been pretty good overall with only a few nitpicky exceptions. Going off the way he wrote this character arc for Aram, I'm sure Rafer Roberts will have the range of skill to handle Harbinger Renegades in a different tone than A&A too.

[Aram]

I'm still not feeling great about A&A. I think I'm completely dissatisfied with the art. I hope that's what's keeping me from enjoying it.
I mean, I hate the art so bad, I can't tell if the writing is good or not... It makes me worry about Harbinger: Renegades.

I've felt the same way about the art on this title. I don't hate it - Lafuente is a pro, but I don't like the silly cartoon vibe it gives the series.

I have been able to visualize it drawn differently when I read it - and I think it would have been a much better reading experience in the hands of Clayton Crain, Francis Portela or Pere Perez again. This style completely ruins my natural desire to suspend disbelief & enjoy a book that is actually set in a 'realistic' [or at least somewhat grounded] fictional setting where the rest of the Valiant characters exist. Looks like Lafuente only drew the first arc though, so I'm happy to carry on giving it a chance to keep getting better under another artist.

I think the writing has been pretty good overall with only a few nitpicky exceptions. Going off the way he wrote this character arc for Aram, I'm sure Rafer Roberts will have the range of skill to handle Harbinger Renegades in a different tone than A&A too.

+1

I did not like the art at all at first, but I accepted it after issue 2 since the story was so good and it is always interesting to see a new take on some of my favorite characters.

Of course I'm apparently also a big weirdo because I just might have liked a few artists more than BWS on the original A&a run.

[grendeljd]

I'm still not feeling great about A&A. I think I'm completely dissatisfied with the art. I hope that's what's keeping me from enjoying it.
I mean, I hate the art so bad, I can't tell if the writing is good or not... It makes me worry about Harbinger: Renegades.

I've felt the same way about the art on this title. I don't hate it - Lafuente is a pro, but I don't like the silly cartoon vibe it gives the series.

I have been able to visualize it drawn differently when I read it - and I think it would have been a much better reading experience in the hands of Clayton Crain, Francis Portela or Pere Perez again. This style completely ruins my natural desire to suspend disbelief & enjoy a book that is actually set in a 'realistic' [or at least somewhat grounded] fictional setting where the rest of the Valiant characters exist. Looks like Lafuente only drew the first arc though, so I'm happy to carry on giving it a chance to keep getting better under another artist.

I think the writing has been pretty good overall with only a few nitpicky exceptions. Going off the way he wrote this character arc for Aram, I'm sure Rafer Roberts will have the range of skill to handle Harbinger Renegades in a different tone than A&A too.

+1

I did not like the art at all at first, but I accepted it after issue 2 since the story was so good and it is always interesting to see a new take on some of my favorite characters.

Of course I'm apparently also a big weirdo because I just might have liked a few artists more than BWS on the original A&a run.

Mike Norton is doing the next arc, which I'm looking forward to - I think that's the same Mike Norton who is doing Revival at Image, which is a really good comic. I like his work.

[Shadowman99]

...with DC I KNOW I'm going to get a book each month featuring the characters I WANT to read about - I don't get that month to month stability with Valiant unfortunately.

This statement has piqued my interest a bit. I can't really think what you mean here, so can you explain this a bit more? I'm interested to know what's happening here for you with VEI comics.

I'll hazard a guess and say he might mean the rotation of which titles get published monthly... soon we won't have an X-O book, haven't had a Shadowman book in a couple years, didn't have an A&A title for a stretch...

I can see how that makes sense, that didn't cross my mind earlier. I thought it might be something like the title characters not getting enough page time within their own comics or something which I thought was a bit odd, so better ask for an explanation

I read the first issue of A+A today. I thought the kooky art style fitted the fantastical tone of the events well. Maybe change my mind once A+A come back to the real world in the next issues, but we'll see.