Posted in: Comics | Tagged: archer and armstrong, comicon, Harbinger, san diego, sdcc, valiant, xo manowar

Valiant Entertainment Teases Second Summer Of Valiant And Greg Pak on Eternal Warrior

Chris D'Lando writes for Bleeding Cool: 

After a long and busy day three of Comic-Con, the creators and executives behind Valiant Entertainment gathered for an after dark panel and Q&A to discuss what's to come in what's been dubbed the "Second Summer of Valiant."

Moderator Brian Wells of valiantfans.com was joined by Valiant CEO Dinesh Shamdesani, Publisher Fred Pierce, Executive Editor Warren Simons, and writers Joshua Dysart (Harbinger, Bloodshot & H.A.R.D. Corps), Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar), and Matt Kindt (Bloodshot #0).

Starting with X-O Manowar, the entire panel was excited to finally re-debut Eternal Warrior – who will soon be starring in his own series by Greg Pak. Simons said that Eternal Warriors immortality will give them a chance to peel back layers of the Valiant Universe we haven't quite seen before. Expect some interesting dynamics between the Eternal Warrior and the children he's had throughout his immortal life. Also, it was teased a badass new character would ride an Elephant through an army. So there's something for everyone.

Moving over to Bloodshot & H.A.R.D. Corps, Joshua Dysart praised writing partner Christos Gage. "[Chris] does a good job of capturing real people and putting them on the page," he said. Dysart said that spinning out of Harbinger Wars, the rebranded book will have a large focus on untrained civilians being drafted into the H.A.R.D. Corps program. Throw in the leadership conflict between Bloodshot and Charlie Palmer and Dysart says they've created a book that's "awesome and dynamic."

Touching briefly on Bloodshot #0, Matt Kindt said he was excited to tell an origin story but still maintain the air of mystery he believes is necessary for the character. The issue will explore early versions of Bloodshot during WWII and the Vietnam War.

After that Josh Johns briefly took the stage to talk about what was coming for Archer & Armstrong. He teased issues 13 and 14 will result in a huge rift in their friendship following the upcoming Sect Civil War storyline.

After that it was time for some Q&A.

When asked about whether or not the new Valiant U would be revisiting the line-wide crossover Unity, Simons says they can't say anything about a large scale crossover yet but they would be announcing something soon.

Many members of the audience were curious about which classic Valiant characters would be getting their own books next, or whether books based on entirely new characters were in the cards.

Simons said that although they'd love to do books based on new characters, they currently have a large bench of classics waiting to get the revamped treatment.

"Any new character would have to be better than Ninjak or Rai" to get their own title, Pierce chimed in. Though Dysart said he would love to do a series based on the Generation Zero characters from Harbinger Wars.

On the subject of creating more female characters for their testosterone filled universe, Shamdesani was quick to say that the industry has evolved in the past 20 years. More female characters and female led books are certainly coming in the future.

When asked if Hollywood has come knocking on Valiant's door, he said that they are first and foremost a comic publisher – but movies are an inevitability these days. But when they do come, he says, "they'll be up to the same standard and quality of the books." I think I'm not alone in thinking a Harbinger movie would be pretty sweet.

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