This Board and Alien Books

[ManofTheAtom]

So Harbinger Wars 2 was like Whedon’s Justice League? I always wondered what the hell moment the HW2 #0 send away cover was reflecting in the book. Harada wasn’t in the story and who was the faceless entity diving into his head?!? Inquiring minds want to know. It was such a good Crain cover for goodness sakes!

To get back on topic, I agree with the sentiment of this thread. However, it all starts with good books where there is something to talk about and share. Do we think Alien books changes the status quo now? Have no idea about them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree, which makes it all the more crazy that this place had so many fans during 2001-2010 when it seemed like there might never be Valiant books again.

The torchbearers.

There was so much energy, excitement, and anticipation. It was a fun time

Definitely. It boggles the mind that the board's community was able to survive over a decade without any new VALIANT comics but died out after just a few years of bad decisions from the current owners.

[aj583]

I agree! All the activity and engagement leading up to VEI. Then VEI came, we were on our way, and now crickets.

I’m trying to think of a good analogy. The best I got is like the Spinal Tap movies. We finally got The Return Of Spinal Tap..which was good, but nobody cares. ? Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ManofTheAtom]

I agree! All the activity and engagement leading up to VEI. Then VEI came, we were on our way, and now crickets.

I’m trying to think of a good analogy. The best I got is like the Spinal Tap movies. We finally got The Return Of Spinal Tap..which was good, but nobody cares. ? Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As bad as whatever DMG has done may be, I cannot imagine it being worse than what we saw between the end of Acclaim and start of VEI.

[Ryan]

I agree! All the activity and engagement leading up to VEI. Then VEI came, we were on our way, and now crickets.

I’m trying to think of a good analogy. The best I got is like the Spinal Tap movies. We finally got The Return Of Spinal Tap..which was good, but nobody cares. ? Lol.

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

[ManofTheAtom]

I agree! All the activity and engagement leading up to VEI. Then VEI came, we were on our way, and now crickets.

I’m trying to think of a good analogy. The best I got is like the Spinal Tap movies. We finally got The Return Of Spinal Tap..which was good, but nobody cares. ? Lol.

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

And that was it? All they wanted from the community?

[Ryan]

I agree! All the activity and engagement leading up to VEI. Then VEI came, we were on our way, and now crickets.

I’m trying to think of a good analogy. The best I got is like the Spinal Tap movies. We finally got The Return Of Spinal Tap..which was good, but nobody cares. ? Lol.

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

And that was it? All they wanted from the community?

Good questions. Maybe there's just been a lot of people who turned into lurkers and are waiting for the next shoe to drop to renew their fandom.

[TheFerg714]

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

I honestly think you're right on the money. I think once that dream was fulfilled, there wasn't really any higher to go. Like people thought that Valiant would just be around forever now, and there was nothing to worry about.

I really don't get it though. I kind of feel like OG fans lost interest in VEI after a couple years. I mean it's not like this board was super popular in 2016-2018 either. Even Only The Valiant quit podcasting.

And that was it? All they wanted from the community?

I don't fully understand what you mean by this. What else would one "want from the community"?

[ManofTheAtom]

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

I honestly think you're right on the money. I think once that dream was fulfilled, there wasn't really any higher to go. Like people thought that Valiant would just be around forever now, and there was nothing to worry about.

I really don't get it though. I kind of feel like OG fans lost interest in VEI after a couple years. I mean it's not like this board was super popular in 2016-2018 either. Even Only The Valiant quit podcasting.

And that was it? All they wanted from the community?

I don't fully understand what you mean by this. What else would one "want from the community"?

Well, there were the annual poker games at SDCC. Do those still happen?

[ManofTheAtom]

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

I honestly think you're right on the money. I think once that dream was fulfilled, there wasn't really any higher to go. Like people thought that Valiant would just be around forever now, and there was nothing to worry about.

I really don't get it though. I kind of feel like OG fans lost interest in VEI after a couple years. I mean it's not like this board was super popular in 2016-2018 either. Even Only The Valiant quit podcasting.

And that was it? All they wanted from the community?

I don't fully understand what you mean by this. What else would one "want from the community"?

Well, there were the annual poker games at SDCC. Do those still happen?

[TheFerg714]

Well, there were the annual poker games at SDCC. Do those still happen?

Yea, I remember hearing about those on OTV. Sounds awesome, but unfortunately, I'm a broke millennial with severe social anxiety, so I've never tried to transfer my Valiant fandom to real life. I would love to talk to Dinesh at least once in my life though, and tell him how much I appreciate the consistently great entertainment he's given me.

[ManofTheAtom]

Well, there were the annual poker games at SDCC. Do those still happen?

Yea, I remember hearing about those on OTV. Sounds awesome, but unfortunately, I'm a broke millennial with severe social anxiety, so I've never tried to transfer my Valiant fandom to real life. I would love to talk to Dinesh at least once in my life though, and tell him how much I appreciate the consistently great entertainment he's given me.

I attended the first two (at least I think they were the first two), and it was great.

I'm certain my presence was merely tolerated, but I had fun.

[TheFerg714]

I attended the first two (at least I think they were the first two), and it was great.

I'm certain my presence was merely tolerated, but I had fun.

Have you checked out Bad Idea yet? It's awesome, and contains that same VEI energy. I'm almost certain they've done some sort of meet-and-great thing.

[Ryan]

Yeah it's odd. In some ways maybe it was that VEI fulfilled the dream for some people. They wanted to see VALIANT comics done good again and in a modern way, VEI did that so they were satisfied and moved on with their lives lol

I honestly think you're right on the money. I think once that dream was fulfilled, there wasn't really any higher to go. Like people thought that Valiant would just be around forever now, and there was nothing to worry about.

I really don't get it though. I kind of feel like OG fans lost interest in VEI after a couple years. I mean it's not like this board was super popular in 2016-2018 either. Even Only The Valiant quit podcasting.

Also good questions. My interest had dipped out for a while at that point too, and I was only occasionally lurking. Maybe things had hit a bit of a wall and people were waiting for something big like a movie to happen?

[ManofTheAtom]

I attended the first two (at least I think they were the first two), and it was great.

I'm certain my presence was merely tolerated, but I had fun.

Have you checked out Bad Idea yet? It's awesome, and contains that same VEI energy. I'm almost certain they've done some sort of meet-and-great thing.

Haven't had the chance. Haven't really kept up. I haven't really purchased comics in a long time, haven't been able to afford to.

[aj583]

Could a reason be that VEI never could achieve the heights that V1 achieved? That is the 3rd largest comic company and legit competitor to Marvel and DC? When VEI couldn’t continue its growth and become the “it” books…people moved on? Let’s say VEI really grew in interest and their ratio books were all the rage like in the v1 books in the 90s. Would people have stuck around?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ManofTheAtom]

Could a reason be that VEI never could achieve the heights that V1 achieved? That is the 3rd largest comic company and legit competitor to Marvel and DC? When VEI couldn’t continue its growth and become the “it” books…people moved on? Let’s say VEI really grew in interest and their ratio books were all the rage like in the v1 books in the 90s. Would people have stuck around?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think existing fans would have cared about that, but it certainly could have brought in more readers.

That said, I don't believe comics play much of a role in increasing the audience for comics. Rather, that comes from other media, dating back to the old black and white serials of the '40s to the Marvel Cinematic Universe today (though nowadays it does not seem as those that watch those movies actually read comic books).

I don't think people became fans of Superman and Batman on the strength of the comics themselves, but rather from discovering them in those serials and the Fleisher Superman shorts.

VALIANT has been sorely lacking in that sort of exposure. All they've gotten is video games, one online serial, and one movie.

[TheFerg714]

Also good questions. My interest had dipped out for a while at that point too, and I was only occasionally lurking. Maybe things had hit a bit of a wall and people were waiting for something big like a movie to happen?

I think maybe it was really exciting to see Valiant expand exponentially. During the 2015 soft-reboot (Valiant Next), I think it became clear that, while the quality was extremely high, Valiant had kind of hit a wall in terms of sales numbers. Then came 2016's Future of Valiant, which not only drew even less sales, but also saw a slight drop in quality.

For me, a VEI fan since 2014, none of this deterred me, because 90% of their output was *SQUEE* incredible. For OG fans, this might have been disheartening.

Just speculating.

[ManofTheAtom]

Also good questions. My interest had dipped out for a while at that point too, and I was only occasionally lurking. Maybe things had hit a bit of a wall and people were waiting for something big like a movie to happen?

I think maybe it was really exciting to see Valiant expand exponentially. During the 2015 soft-reboot (Valiant Next), I think it became clear that, while the quality was extremely high, Valiant had kind of hit a wall in terms of sales numbers. Then came 2016's Future of Valiant, which not only drew even less sales, but also saw a slight drop in quality.

For me, a VEI fan since 2014, none of this deterred me, because 90% of their output was *SQUEE* incredible. For OG fans, this might have been disheartening.

Just speculating.

Interesting.

[aj583]

Good point. Valiant needed it’s X-Men 90s cartoon around 2016.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ryan]

Also good questions. My interest had dipped out for a while at that point too, and I was only occasionally lurking. Maybe things had hit a bit of a wall and people were waiting for something big like a movie to happen?

I think maybe it was really exciting to see Valiant expand exponentially. During the 2015 soft-reboot (Valiant Next), I think it became clear that, while the quality was extremely high, Valiant had kind of hit a wall in terms of sales numbers. Then came 2016's Future of Valiant, which not only drew even less sales, but also saw a slight drop in quality.

For me, a VEI fan since 2014, none of this deterred me, because 90% of their output was *SQUEE* incredible. For OG fans, this might have been disheartening.

Just speculating.

That's interesting. Also speculating here, but they were so good at marketing that I think at times that can come off as over-marketing and that can burn people out. As well as the 'whales' who have to collect everything can get burned out by the volume of variants and whatnot, and they just end up quitting altogether.

[ManofTheAtom]

Good point. Valiant needed it’s X-Men 90s cartoon around 2016.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly.

[Ryan]

Good point. Valiant needed it’s X-Men 90s cartoon around 2016.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly.

Dude Harbinger the animated series would be WOW

[ManofTheAtom]

Maybe if the Doctor Mirage series on The CW had aired that could have tilted the scales in VALIANT's favor. Or even the Quantum & Woody series.

[ManofTheAtom]

Good point. Valiant needed it’s X-Men 90s cartoon around 2016.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly.

Dude Harbinger the animated series would be WOW

No doubt.

[greg]

... Also speculating here, but they were so good at marketing that I think at times that can come off as over-marketing and that can burn people out. As well as the 'whales' who have to collect everything can get burned out by the volume of variants and whatnot, and they just end up quitting altogether.

Exactly this.

A collector of pre-Unity Valiant anytime between 1992 and 2011 would have meant building a collection of 60 books over 20 years.
Throw in the Valiant variants, gold issues, and key first appearances and you'd still be under 100 books for a "very nice" old school Valiant collection.

VEI put out 100 different books (including variants) in about 8 months. By the second anniversary (May 2014), there were over 500 books.

Old school Valiant 100 "classics" in 20 years vs. New Valiant 500 "everything" in 2 years.