shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Nov 10, 2014 17:22:50 GMT -5
I've decided to cancel all my Valiant pulls at this point. All of the books are quality, but they're not holding my interest enough to warrant the $4 investment each issue.
Harbinger was the best of the bunch, but it's in this weird in between phase right now, and it's hard for me to stay invested without having a sense of where the property is going next.
X-O Manowar has avoided providing any kind of worthwhile characterization by continually going BIGGER, and I think they've topped out with the conclusion of Armor Hunters.
Quantum and Woody, Archer & Armstrong, and The Delinquents all look like they're good for a few chuckles, but I can find cheaper ways to get a good laugh.
Rai just didn't do it for me. I loved the original series and found this one lacking in substance.
Bloodshot is a great concept lacking a direction.
Unity just feels too forced for me. A superhero universe trying to strike a more realistic tone shouldn't have a superhero team.
I'm open to picking up a given title again if I hear good buzz surrounding it that piques my interest, but, for the moment, I feel like these titles are running out of steam. The properties, themselves, remain fresh, so it's only a matter of time before things pick up again. I stand by my belief that Valiant has the capability to be to the 2010s what Marvel was to the 1960s, and not every issue of those books was a home run either. I just don't want to be there, paying $4 for all those inbetween issues, before things get great again.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2014 17:25:39 GMT -5
I am thinking of picking up The Valiant by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt and Paolo Rivera, but am waiting to see some reactions and reviews, so will likely pick up the trade if I do hear good things, not the individual issues.
-M
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 12, 2014 22:48:48 GMT -5
I'm currently reading the Armor Hunters event, myself. I find the back story intriguing, but this far into things, I'm still not sold on the protagonist of X-O Manowar. I have zero inclination to pick up the next issue, and probably wouldn't if I hadn't already bought them all. Also, for a company that's worked so hard to be more real than other superhero universes and to explain things so carefully, why did ALL these superheroes just happen to rise up in 2012? Most of the incidents that brought them into being were not related. I'm behind now and need to catch up. I guess I hadn't thought about the debut of all of them in 2012. Maybe they'll integrate that down the road. I could see that. Editor Warren Simons has greatly impressed me, where as I never really noticed what he had done at Marvel, when I was reading next to none of their product. One thing Valiant has done that no one else I can think of has done is to maintain the tight number of titles and be too spread out. They may wind something down, like Archer & Armstrong, and put Imperium on the stands in its place. The bench they have is top caliber and I hope others like Fred Van Lente and Clayton Crain who are no longer on current Big Two books continue to migrate to Valiant. It's truly impressive to me what they've been able to accomplish with the Valiant / Acclaim properties without the Gold Key characters. |
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 12, 2014 22:58:44 GMT -5
I've decided to cancel all my Valiant pulls at this point. All of the books are quality, but they're not holding my interest enough to warrant the $4 investment each issue. Harbinger was the best of the bunch, but it's in this weird in between phase right now, and it's hard for me to stay invested without having a sense of where the property is going next. X-O Manowar has avoided providing any kind of worthwhile characterization by continually going BIGGER, and I think they've topped out with the conclusion of Armor Hunters. Quantum and Woody, Archer & Armstrong, and The Delinquents all look like they're good for a few chuckles, but I can find cheaper ways to get a good laugh. Rai just didn't do it for me. I loved the original series and found this one lacking in substance. Bloodshot is a great concept lacking a direction. Unity just feels too forced for me. A superhero universe trying to strike a more realistic tone shouldn't have a superhero team. I'm open to picking up a given title again if I hear good buzz surrounding it that piques my interest, but, for the moment, I feel like these titles are running out of steam. The properties, themselves, remain fresh, so it's only a matter of time before things pick up again. I stand by my belief that Valiant has the capability to be to the 2010s what Marvel was to the 1960s, and not every issue of those books was a home run either. I just don't want to be there, paying $4 for all those inbetween issues, before things get great again. Much as I love the product I feel $ 4 is overpriced; not just for Valiant but everyone else too. That's just the way of the industry now. I hated when Marvel went to $ 4 and was really squeezing the market for no extra product. They can do it cause they're Marvel, but I'm not following, not at $ 4. Except for World's End and Future's End I'm not paying full retail. I'm just not. Nothing else grabs me enough, and waiting I can buy them later for $ 1.99 or even $.99. I've got the first 20 or so issues of the last Captain America run as well as Uncanny Avengers all @ $.99 ea. At those prices, I'll buy. I passed on Forever Evil until it was available as a bundle for half price a month or two ago. Kind of after the fact, and I sort of knew from the fan boards what had happened, but I still got the same story for half the coin. If you're willing to wait, and have a pretty broad spectrum of titles, genres, characters or publishers you like, you can save quite a bit, and get more bang for your buck, with both Comixology and Dark Horse Digital. They've completely won me over and if someone isn't on board yet, like First Second, I have faith they will be later. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Nov 12, 2014 23:47:15 GMT -5
If you're willing to wait, and have a pretty broad spectrum of titles, genres, characters or publishers you like, you can save quite a bit, and get more bang for your buck, with both Comixology and Dark Horse Digital. They've completely won me over and if someone isn't on board yet, like First Second, I have faith they will be later. While the $4 price tag is part of the turn-off, time is a precious commodity to me too, and there are things I could be reading right now in my limited spare time that I know I would enjoy more. Valiant has the right staff and is doing nearly everything right; it's just in a lull right now. When it's back on top again with top-notch stories and premises, I'll be there. And besides...  |
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 13, 2014 1:48:42 GMT -5
 You don't know the power of the Digital side ! ... and you can use the one hand you have left to click the mouse  |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Nov 13, 2014 1:56:32 GMT -5
You don't know the power of the Digital side ! ... and you can use the one hand you have left to click the mouse We tried to strike down Steve Jobs, but it only made him stronger than we could possibly imagine. |
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 13, 2014 2:11:59 GMT -5
You needed some of this to get it done  |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Nov 13, 2014 2:15:21 GMT -5
That's what happens when you buy iHands without a surge protector and three year warranty.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2014 20:01:50 GMT -5
Digital (specifically Marvel Unlimited) is a wonderful supplement to physical books, but I would sooner die than give up phsycial books.
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Post by hondobrode on Nov 14, 2014 11:58:56 GMT -5
I've only given up the new ones, though as I get my digitals I've been toying with the idea of thinning out my paper duplicates and selling them.
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