Those covers bring back great memories. I didn’t get into Valiant quite at the ground floor, but I was in shortly before Unity started. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced as a comic book reader. The storytelling was first-rate, and the art was clean, clear, digestible, with the “watercolor” colors giving it a vaguely old-fashioned Norman Rockwell kind of feeling. When Image launched a little later, it was flashy, but often disastrous and deadly dull at the writing level. Shooter’s Valiant had the intricate plots and the interesting dialogue that Image couldn’t deliver.
I just found out today you’ve begun updating this blog again. Thanks for that. My heart still hurts over the loss of Jim. Every interview he gave and every article he wrote was always compelling and fascinating. I only got to meet him once, which was great, but it’s sad knowing I’ll never get to see him again. I always hoped he’d make a triumphant return to comics in some way. I think it would’ve been much easier to compete with the superhero books that are being put out now than it was in the early ’90s. And he was incredibly successful competing back then anyway. Also wish he had written a book covering his tenure in the comic book industry, aimed at the general public. Maybe you and others can still put together a book that takes his blog posts and pieces them together in a cohesive way that tells the chronological story of his career.
JediJones
Those covers bring back great memories. I didn’t get into Valiant quite at the ground floor, but I was in shortly before Unity started. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced as a comic book reader. The storytelling was first-rate, and the art was clean, clear, digestible, with the “watercolor” colors giving it a vaguely old-fashioned Norman Rockwell kind of feeling. When Image launched a little later, it was flashy, but often disastrous and deadly dull at the writing level. Shooter’s Valiant had the intricate plots and the interesting dialogue that Image couldn’t deliver.
I just found out today you’ve begun updating this blog again. Thanks for that. My heart still hurts over the loss of Jim. Every interview he gave and every article he wrote was always compelling and fascinating. I only got to meet him once, which was great, but it’s sad knowing I’ll never get to see him again. I always hoped he’d make a triumphant return to comics in some way. I think it would’ve been much easier to compete with the superhero books that are being put out now than it was in the early ’90s. And he was incredibly successful competing back then anyway. Also wish he had written a book covering his tenure in the comic book industry, aimed at the general public. Maybe you and others can still put together a book that takes his blog posts and pieces them together in a cohesive way that tells the chronological story of his career.