�����������Issue 1 (of 6)

�����"Absent Friends"

��������Acclaim Comics

��������November 1999

����Writer: Jim Shooter

���Penciler: Jim Starlin

��Inker: Joe Rubinstein

�����������Fishing about for a one or two word cap term for this, both "memorial service" and "closure" came quickly to mind.

�����������If you're planning on reading the comic, why don't you go do that first. I'm not going to pussyfoot around any spoilers. Still, this is only the first of six issues, so it's mainly set-up and reacquaintence along the way... so there's not a great deal to spoil just yet. This didn't seem to hit the shelves until early December, despite the November publishing date on the cover, so I have no idea how far off schedule the project is. The second issue should be due any moment, though, as I write this on January 4.

�����������Once upon a time, Jim Shooter was in creative control of the Valiant Universe, (follow that link to loads of Valiant info, and an excellent interview with Jim Shooter) which was a partial revival of long-neglected Gold Key characters such as Magnus: Robot Fighter, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and Solar, Man of the Atom. Soon added to that were the likes of Harbinger (a group of paranormals in a series initially titled for the very organization they were up against), X-O, Manowar (a Conanesque barbarian from the days of the Roman Empire, who returned to Earth many centuries later wearing alien battle armor), Shadow Man (a jazz-playing, voodoo-connected guardian of humanity against various dark, mystical threats), Eternal Warrior (an immortal named Gilad) and others. Here they were joined into one timeline, the Valiant Universe, and for a while it was the best thing going for many fans who were hungry for a solid comics universe, with a continuity and inter-connectedness that was warmly reminiscent of Marvel at its height. While I'm open to correction, as best I can recall the Valiant wave was the last true success for comics which emphasized the characters over the Big Names behind the scenes. The Image onslaught came soon after, dragging the medium into a creative abyss that superhero comics have only begun to crawl out of in the past couple years. Shooter was pitching each new title as another star in a firmament that would shine well into the future - a chance to get in on the ground floor of the spiritual second coming of the Marvel universe - and it was a message I was receptive to. I bought extra copies of several of the series, and only tertierily as investments, since my first two aims were to give them out as Christmas and birthday gifts to friends and to show early financial support for a company that seemed intent on doing the Right Thing creatively.

�����������Astute fans recognized that the layout of the Valiant universe was built largely using plans developed for the failed New Universe Shooter had launched in 1986 over at Marvel. That project had been both rushed in many critical aspects, and was met with animosity that had nothing to do with the comics themselves, but years of accumulated ill will against Shooter personally and Marvel's domination of comics' mainstream, by critics, pros with old bones to pick and axes to grind, and some easily-manipulated fans. (If you want to explore my views on it more thoroughly, take a look at my piece on the New Universe.) Valiant is where Shooter landed after Marvel, and that's where he made the project work. To be sure, others were responsible for its success, too, not the least being Bob Layton, but I still tend to think of it as Shooter's baby.

������������Unity was Shooter's major crossover project, designed to tie all points together, including the far future of 4000 AD, where Magnus lived, in a time-spanning battle against a truly cosmic threat. While the heroes triumphed, the true threat, unfortunately, came from Shooter's partners who moved to redirect the line's comics, and soon left Jim with little choice but to leave. The line went downhill quickly, and I left before long, too, in dual response to the drop in storytelling and Shooter's ouster, removal, separation from - choose your euphemisms - from the company.

������������Jump ahead to 1999, and an Acclaim that wanted to carefully revive its line, and so they turned to the guy who made it work the first time.

�����������Personally, I'm taking this mini-series as a catch-up on the characters I remember, and a chance for Shooter to provide a closure to some old subplots... or at least give us a better farewell to the characters than his successors did. Acclaim's honcho is telling us "you gotta believe", and is looking at this as a relaunch of the Valiant universe... or at least A Valiant universe which will presumably be starting out with Shooter's seal of approval. It's clear that the new Shadowman is a success for them, though more as a video game than a comic, and this first issue moves him into position as the annointed by not only showing his too-cool struggle in the face of mystical and undead forces, but by giving a hero's death to Jack Boniface, the Shadowman of the first Valiant continuity. The storyline appears poised to make the new Shadowman - the only one left in a multiverse of realities - into a central hero. Hopefully issue six will see us in possession of a story that offers more than just that editortially-mandated ascension.

�����������Joining Shooter in this project is another talent of much note, who's not only no stranger to universe-sweeping tales, but is likely the first name to come up for comics fans of the 1970's when the word "cosmic" is mentioned: Jim Starlin. While some might feel that Starlin's graphics have stalled out, and no evolution of his work has happened in decades, my reply is an old one: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Crisp, clear, with distinctive, signature poses, it works well here... though a small part of me half expected to see Captain Mar-Vell or Dreadstar and some of his crew to pop up in a background. Having seen the strange "evolutions" of Bill Sienkiewicz, Keith Giffen and even an older name like Herb Trimpe, I'm quite happy that Starlin's stuck with an approach that works.

���������The writing is rich with exposition without seeming unnatural, and without stopping the pace for flashbacks. Characters call each other by their first names if they know each other, instead of using their Costumed Hero names. This might leave new readers feeling lost, but patience pays off. I don't think any of it is inaccessible to new readers, and I applaud any writer who brings newcomers up to speed without making the rest of us feel as if we're being punished for knowing too much. The villainous, apparently incestuous brother/sister duo is written in a personable way, and they avoid the raging, purple prose so many would-be universe-beaters tend to spout.

���������Issue one ends beside a memorial for Jack Boniface, and has Solar telling the others "this is far from over." While I'm sure it's true, the foiling of the evil villain's plans this issue is - despite the realities-spanning scope of his plans - familiar territory for comics readers. Jaded comics fans have been conditioned to see most endings this way - with the villain's plans foiled he escapes, and we know he'll be back eventually. As this is a mini-series we just have a better idea that it'll be soon. Well, at least as far as issue-numbering goes.

��������I'll be looking for the next issue, and expect to review each of them here - especially as I've just ordered issue five.

���������������������������������������������������������������������������MJN