Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 4001 ad, bloodshot, Comics, entertainment, eternal warrior, ninjak, rai, valiant, x-o manowar

Valiant May 2016 Solicitations Take Us To 4001 A.D.

Published Wed, 17 Feb 2016 11:00:22 -0600

by Dan Wickline

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Valiant Entertainment has sent over their solicitations for May 2016 and they kick off with a trip to the future, almost 2,000 years into the future. 4001 A.D. #1 by Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain brings us more of Rai and a big crossover event in the tradition of Book of Death, Armor Hunters and Harbinger Wars. It goes along with Rai #13 by Kindt and Cafu and 4001 A.D. X-O Manowar #1 by Robert Venditti and Clayton Henry.

4001 A.D. #1 (of 4)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CLAYTON CRAIN
Cover A by CLAYTON CRAIN
Cover B by TULA LOTAY
Cover C by RYAN BODENHEIM
Valiant x CGC Replica Variant by CLAYTON HENRY
Character Design Variant by CLAYTON CRAIN
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE
Interlocking Artist Variant by RYAN SOOK
Interlocking B&W Sketch Artist Variant by RYAN SOOK
Blank Cover Also Available

In the tradition of BOOK OF DEATH, ARMOR HUNTERS, and HARBINGER WARS, Valiant's most ambitious crossover event yet starts here! At the dawn of the 41st century, the future of Earth will be decided in the stars. This May…the rebellion begins in 4001 A.D.!

One hundred years from today, Father – the benevolent artificial intelligence that governs the island nation of Japan – will gain sentience. To defend its borders, Father will take drastic action by launching Japan into space…where its people will thrive in isolation, away from the overpopulated and resource-deprived planet below. Over the centuries, as New Japan orbits our increasingly unstable world, it will become a model society – one built on peace, prosperity… and Father's control.

A thousand years from today, Father will create the first Rai, founding a lineage of technologically enhanced heroes engineered to defend New Japan and sworn to protect it from all enemies. For hundreds of years into the future, the Rai will single-handedly enforce New Japan's justice well…and serve Father without question.
Now, at the dawn of 4001 A.D., the latest Rai is about to inherit the dark truth behind the origin of his kind…and discover the sinister secret at the heart of Father's existence. For New Japan to live, Earth must die…and as Rai challenges his former master for the first time in more than a millennium, the lone guardian of New Japan will be cast out of his own Father's kingdom…

Exiled from the only realm he's ever known, Rai now walks the ravaged world of 4001 A.D. in search of forgotten heroes like himself… on a mission to collect the last surviving legends of a broken planet…and to forge a rebellion with the power to bring the most advanced civilization in history crashing back down to Earth.

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RAI #13 (NEW ARC! "4001 A.D.")
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CAFU
Cover A by DAVID MACK
Cover B by CAFU
Valiant x CGC Replica Variant by CLAYTON HENRY
Character Design Variant by CAFU
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE

ALL-NEW ARC! ALL-NEW JUMPING-ON POINT! THE BATTLE FOR 4001 A.D. CONTINUES HERE!

As 4001 A.D. teeters on the brink, discover the intertwined origins of New Japan's very first Rai and his creator, Father – the despotic artificial intelligence that would one day threaten us all. And as the truth behind these long-lost beginnings resurfaces, so too will the questions that have eluded mankind for nearly two millennia. How did New Japan come to orbit Earth? Who created Father? And what happened to the nine previous Rai that once swore allegiance to his empire?

The architect behind the summer's most anticipated crossover event, Matt Kindt (DIVINITY II), joins forces with all-star artist CAFU (IMPERIUM) to uncover the never-before-told story of New Japan's rise to power…and reveals just how the Valiant Universe of today became the 4001 A.D. of tomorrow!

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4001 A.D.: X-O MANOWAR #1
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover A by CAFU
Cover B by PHIL JIMENEZ
Character Design Variant by MATT KINDT
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE

ROCKETING OUT OF THE PAGES OF 4001 A.D…the present and future of Valiant's #1 hero come together for an essential standalone chapter at the heart of the summer's blockbuster comics event!

How did the rise of Earth's most powerful hero lead to humanity's ultimate destruction? Just what was the War of the X-O Manowars…and how did its catastrophic fallout bring ruination and despair to a besieged planet? And why is the sacred extraterrestrial armor called Shanhara the one weapon Father fears more than any other?

The answers to the pivotal questions behind Valiant's planet-shaking summer event arrive here as New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (BOOK OF DEATH) and acclaimed artist Clayton Henry (IVAR, TIMEWALKER) blast two thousand years into the future of the Valiant Universe to reveal the never-before-told history of New Japan's dominion over Earth…and the doomed role that the X-O Manowar armor was forever fated to play in the coming war for liberation!

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WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #7 (NEW ARC! "LABYRINTH" – PART 1)
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN
Cover A by RAÚL ALLÉN
Cover B by PERE PÉREZ
Cover C by JUAN JOSÉ RYP
Character Design Variant by KHARI EVANS
Variant Cover by DAVE BULLOCK

ALL-NEW ARC! ALL-NEW JUMPING-ON POINT! "LABYRINTH" starts now!

Across six millennia, Gilad Anni-Padda – an immortal warrior sworn to forever serve the Earth – has felled zealots and madmen, emperors and tyrants in the course of his duty. But nothing he's faced yet can prepare him to run the "LABYRINTH" – a miles-long maze of horrors specifically designed to undermine his every strength, enhance his every weakness…and to send him screaming into the darkness of death at every turn. But what kind of brilliant but twisted psyche could have possibly conceived such a monument to terror…and for how many centuries have they plotted to break the mind and body of history's most formidable soldier?

The answer lies at the heart of the "LABYRINTH" itself…and as Gilad endures a gauntlet of cutting-edge technology and sharpened steel, he'll soon discover why the merciless figure known only as THE DYING ONE has singled the Eternal Warrior out for the ultimate deathtrap.

He will run. He will suffer. And when his ordeal is ended, the Eternal Warrior's place in the Valiant Universe will be forever altered as New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (BOOK OF DEATH) and visionary artist Raúl Allén (Hawkeye) unleash an all-new epic for Valiant's immortal master of war!

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DIVINITY II #2 (of 4)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by TREVOR HAIRSINE
Cover A by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Cover B by TOM MULLER
Variant Cover by TREVOR HAIRSINE
Variant Cover by TULA LOTAY
Variant Cover by ADAM GORHAM

Russia reigns supreme!

Just a month after the arrival of long-lost cosmonaut Mishka, the former Soviet Union has made an impossible push to become the world's preeminent superpower. But how? Ninjak has a theory, but it will require going undercover across enemy lines…and maybe some help from Mishka's old comrade, Abram Adams – the god-like being known as Divinity! But can the motives of a deity among men ever truly be known…and will the return of Divinity's former teammate rekindle his old allegiances?

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X-O MANOWAR ANNUAL 2016 #1
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI with AMY CHU, JODY HOUSER and MORE
Art by PERE PEREZ with CAFU, ADAM GORHAM, MIKE McKONE and MORE
Cover A by PHIL JIMENEZ
Cover B by CARMEN CARNERO
Variant Cover by BRIAN LEVEL
Variant Cover by JEFF DEKAL

Join the adventures of Valiant's flagship hero here with 64-pages of armor-busting action on the front lines of the Valiant Universe in X-O Manowar's first-ever annual!

2016 is primed and ready to be X-O Manowar's most pivotal year yet! But before Aric of Dacia can confront the biggest threat Earth has ever faced, he must first reflect on the past…and the outcome of a bloodstained battle on the frontier of the Roman Empire that continues to be felt to this day! Then: X-O Manowar's sworn enemy, Commander Trill, readies for the war that is to come…by undergoing a life-threatening trial-by-fire that will test every ounce of his intellect and fury. Plus: Col. Jamie Capshaw must singlehandedly defend G.A.T.E from a menace nobody expected… and the Armorines begin an all-new mission at the heart of X-O Manowar's world!

The life and times of the unstoppable X-O Manowar loom large as series mastermind Robert Venditti leads an all-star cast of Valiant's greatest talents – including Amy Chu (Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death), Adam Gorham (DEAD DROP), Jody Houser (FAITH), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Pere Perez (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG), and more – into a 64-page epic too gargantuan for a single issue!

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A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #3
Written by RAFER ROBERTS
Art by DAVID LAFUENTE
Cover A by DAVID LAFUENTE
Cover B by KANO
Cover C by MONICA GALLAGHER
Variant Cover by RAFER ROBERTS
Variant Cover by BEN OLIVER
B&W Sketch Variant by DAVID LAFUENTE

Archer and Armstrong and Mary-Maria versus Bacchus —a dude who thinks he's the god of wine!

At last…Bacchus' diabolical plan stands revealed: get Archer and Armstrong drunk! Too bad one is an immortal with a liver of steel and the other is a bit of a lightweight.That can only mean one thing: Mary-Maria to the rescue! But can she and Armstrong put aside their differences in time to hold Archer's hair back? Or is he about to ruin the expensive interior of Armstrong's bottomless satchel?!

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BLOODSHOT REBORN #13
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by LEWIS LAROSA
Cover A by BEN OLIVER
Cover B by JEFFREY VEREGGE
Variant Cover by TULA LOTAY
Variant Cover by MIKE CHOI

"THE ANALOG MAN" slams into a wreckage-strewn showdown that will shatter Bloodshot's world…or what's left of it…

Los Angeles. Thirty years later. The new mystery at the center of America's post-apocalyptic future stands revealed when Bloodshot and Ninjak finally discover the identity of the Man in the White Tower. Who is he? Why does he ruthlessly rule over Los Angeles? And what is his connection to the silent army of X-O Manowar sentries that police this world, the strange Goo-tech that pervades it…and to even Bloodshot himself?

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NINJAK #15
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by DIEGO BERNARD
Cover A by MIKE CHOI
Cover B by DIEGO BERNARD
Variant Cover by THONY SILAS

"THE SIEGE OF KING'S CASTLE" – PART 2!

Roku and the remnants of Weaponeer have destroyed Colin King's home, his identity and his very life. But they made one mistake – they didn't kill Ninjak when they had the chance!

Ninjak's darkest hour is nigh as New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (4001 A.D.) and red-hot artist Diego Bernard (X-O MANOWAR) continue the most pivotal turning point yet in the deadly life of MI-6's most elite intelligence operative, only in "THE SIEGE OF KING'S CASTLE"!

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IMPERIUM #16
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover A by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover B by DIEGO BERNARD
Variant Cover by ZACH MONTOYA

"STORMBREAK" explodes!

Toyo Harada has gone to war to save his vision of world peace from the twin threats of his former protégé Livewire and Major Charlie Palmer's H.A.R.D. Corps! Amid the chaos, the tables have turned…and now, members of Harada's own team are angling to knife each other in the back! When the villains trying to save humanity fight their noblest instincts and the heroes who are trying to stop them struggle against their own demons…can anybody win?

And, now, even as the walls of Harada's IMPERIUM begin to the fall, the seeds of his biggest strike yet are already being sown…

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RAI DELUXE EDITION BOOK 1 HC
Written by MATT KINDT with SHAWN KITTELSEN and SEAN RYAN
Art & Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
Art by CLAYTON CRAIN with RAUL ALLEN, VICENTE CIFUENTES, RIAN HUGHES, MATT KINDT, RYAN LEE and DYLAN TODD

From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY, THE VALIANT) and superstar artist Clayton Crain (Carnage), discover the world of 41st century Japan with an all-new vision of the future unlike anything you've seen before – now in deluxe, oversized hardcover!

The year is 4001 A.D. – led by the artificial intelligence called "Father," the island nation of Japan has expanded out of the Pacific and into geosynchronous orbit with the ravaged Earth below. With billions to feed and protect, it has fallen to one solitary guardian to enforce the law of Father's empire – the mysterious folk hero known as Rai. They say he can appear out of nowhere.

They say he is a spirit…the ghost of Japan. But when the first murder in a thousand years threatens to topple Father's benevolent reign, Rai will be forced to confront the true face of a nation transformed…and his own long-lost humanity…

Collecting RAI #1–12, along with material from RAI #1 PLUS EDITION and RAI #5 PLUS EDITION, this prestige-sized hardcover comes packed with more than 20 pages of rarely seen art and extras direct from the Valiant vaults.

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THE DEATH-DEFYING DR. MIRAGE VOL. 2: SECOND LIVES TPB
Written by JEN VAN METER
Art by ROBERTO DE LA TORRE with DIEGO BERNARD
Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC

In time, even the dead may die…

Occult investigators Shan and Hwen Mirage lived their lives in the thrall of an epic love that few will ever have…until Hwen died tragically before his time. Now, after a perilous trip through the underworld, Shan and Hwen are reunited…but Hwen is still an intangible spirit of the dead – incapable of opening a spellbook or even touching his wife.

Their options exhausted, the death-defying Doctors Mirage are about to enact a dangerous spell to restore Hwen's solid form…and grant his ghost a second life. But, in the wrong hands, their ancient rite will become a tool of terror – and unleash a force of pure, homicidal evil that lusts for the murder of the living and the dead alike… a torturous death that obliterates not just everything a person ever had in this world, but everything their ghost will be in the next!

After multiple 2015 Harvey Award nominations, the most sought-after couple in comics returns with an all-new adventure from Eisner Award-nominated writer Jen Van Meter (Hopeless Savages) and acclaimed artist Roberto de la Torre (Daredevil)!

Collecting THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE: SECOND LIVES #1-4.

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NINJAK VOL. 3: OPERATION: DEADSIDE TPB
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE with JUAN JOSÉ RYP
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE

In December 2015, a covert military intelligence unit sent a team of 20 agents and one special operative into a parallel dimension. Only one came back.

The purpose of their mission was classified. Now, out of options, MI-6 has recruited their most elite operative – codename: Ninjak – to follow the doomed mission's sole witness back into the dimension called Deadside…and bring her missing teammates home. What will they find there? And who will be waiting for them? Jump on board here as New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY) and superstar artists Doug Braithwaite (ARMOR HUNTERS) and Juan José Ryp (Clone) reunite for a terrifying journey into an unknown plane of existence…and bring Ninjak head-to-head with Shadowman.

Collecting NINJAK #10–13.