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Valiant comics has been on the rise over the last few years in the direct market. Author Joshua Dysart has been instrumental part of the company’s success starting with his first title for the publisher: Harbinger. After the conclusion of that saga, the author went onto sculpt Imperium, a spinoff the previous series focusing in on Harbinger antagonist […]

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When Valiant Next was first announced, the biggest question mark for fans was: why Imperium? What is the series? Where’s Harbinger?

It turns out we were asking all the wrong questions, or so author Joshua Dysart would have us believe in Imperium #1. We should have been asking:

What will the future look like?

Thanks to the incredibly well designed cover by Raul Allen, the questions multiplied. Even though various interviews like the ones here disclosed more information about the book, there is still lots of secret information about this comic regarding the Renegades and other cast members.

What we do know about Imperium is that series takes the premiere Valiant nemesis, Toyo Harada, and teams him up with an assortment of ragtag villains.

Within the description text in the first issue villain and protagonist Toyo Harada notably wishes to: “end global conflict and bring about world peace…at any cost.” That’s a great window into this character, especially when thinking about how world peace may not be the absolute answer to all our problems on a global scale.

Joshua Dysart is a writer with political concerns in mind, a perspective that superhero comics rarely include. This story takes those elements to ground and enhance the backdrop of the story.

IMPERIUM #1 [VALIANT NEXT]

Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover A (Harada) by RAUL ALLEN
Cover B (Lord Vine-99) by RAUL ALLEN
Cover C (Major Mech) by RAUL ALLEN
Valiant Next Variant by TREVOR HAIRSINE & TOM MULLER
Character Design Variant by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Artist Variant by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Blank Cover also available

What will the future look like?

Have you ever found yourself asking that question? That’s the thesis on the first half of Imperium #1, a tale that might be one of the most bold superhero works since Dysart chronicled Unknown Soldier at Vertigo.

The author’s consistent choice to veer into the unexpected does not alienate readers, but fully draws them into the narrative surrounding the text. With that in mind, this comic is not for readers looking for a more traditional superhero story. This is not a more static reinterpretation of a villain in the Valiant world, it’s the start of something completely new.

Similar to Rai, there are various stray links to the Valiant Universe, equating to a stronger and more interesting storyline. Even if this comic is innovatively formatted, it’s still part of a huge shared Universe. The story never lets the reader forget that, and it’s all the better for it.

Readers will never see the plot twist coming, as the title has so perfectly evaded a concrete story synopsis. After a long form interview with Joshua Dysart conducted with Comics Beat, never once did the author mention nearly anything that happened in Imperium #1. The only clues to what the opening of the series are the preview pages already solicited.

This first installment of the story uses the protagonist in an extremely creative manner, having him interact with the story in an innovative hands-off approach. A new psiot taking the point-of-view narration is fully realized and reflected positively upon numerous interactions within the story.

Imperium #1 is built upon a lie, a potent beatiful lie that creates an exciting narrative thread. The implications for what this story could possibly mean and what the greater Valiant Universe holds for the rest of the series is left wide-open, but it’s for the better. If Dysart continues this streak of really using Imperium to make it’s audience second guess every decision they have ever made, this could be something really special. Imperium #1 stands out against a thousand #1’s in a crowded comics market. This is a comic that demands focus but culminates in an incredibly emotionally charged reward.

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By: Alexander Jones

Imperium is coming. After getting briefed from Joshua Dysart on mission orders, check out these brand new pages from the fantastical Doug Braithwaite in a press release sent straight from the Valiant Entertainment headquarters in New York City. Imperium is Valiant’s spiritual successor to Harbinger, a title that carried the company into greatness, and also introduced Toyo Harada, one of the most interesting villains in the Valiant world. Toyo is a decrepid old man, with intense psiot powers, enabling him to hide his appearance and true nature. Until, the events of Harbinger changed his path forever. Now, everyone knows the deranged actions of Harada. To combat his loss of power, the dictator is now seeking an army to help him operate in the shadows, enter Imperium, Harada’s band of merry misfits. These aliens, robots, and psiots may not bring holiday cheer.

Imperium #1 ships February 4th, and features covers from Doug Braithwaite, Raul Allen, and Trevor Hairsine with Tom Muller.

In our very own interview with Joshua Dysart, the author had this to say of what’s left of Toyo Harada’s empire before Imperium:

The current situation with the Harbinger foundation that was sort of the secret organization buried within Harada Conglomerates, is that Harada’s conglomerate has dissolved. However, Harada still has thousands of secret accounts located all over the world. These things are actively being tracked down all over the planet. It’s difficult for him to track all of them down, but they exist. The Harbinger Foundation itself is now whatever technologies he has found and pilfered. It’s now predominantly found within the U.S.S. Bush – Harada has stolen one of the largest nuclear aircraft carriers in the United States, and they are also taking the Somalia itself. But that’s all that’s left of Harada’s empire. It’s like if he were a musician, at one time he was in the biggest stadium band in history, but now he’s back to playing garages.

 

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By: Alexander Jones

“He’s definitely the largest robber baron in the history of the human species,”

said author Joshua Dysart of Toyo Harada, the main character in his newest ongoing series Imperium.

Valiant Entertainment could have just published another volume of their fan-favorite Harbinger title which Dysart also wrote and called it a day; but instead the company is striving for something different with their upcoming Imperium title. Toyo Harada, one of the most heinous villains of the Valiant Universe is the star of the upcoming series. Dysart shared some new information on the new project, spilling the secrets on the new Vine soldier joining the team, giving more insight into Toyo Harada’s motivations, and checking on the brand new status quo of Peter Stanchek. Witness how Dysart and artist Doug Braithwaite are taking advantage of Harbinger creators Jim Shooter and David Lapham’s groundwork to spin something wholly original:

Comics Beat: Let’s start with the obvious: why Imperium? After Harbinger was such a rousing creative success, why take this insane risk?

Joshua Dysart: It’s for exactly that reason. I’m not super interested in going right back into the same thing. I feel like we pulled something off with Harbinger completely by accident. The last thing you wanna do is go in and keep meddling with it. Obviously we will eventually get back to that story. It’s just more interesting to do something new and different. The whole point of being a creative person is to not constantly repeat yourself.

CB: Is there a trend coming now with Valiant’s renewed interest in melding brand new characters and additions to the lore that were not present during the initial run of the company?

JD: Absolutely, I think that it’s in their best interest, and I think that’s what I am trying to do in Imperium, which is a book about almost all new characters. That’s a big part of what Valiant is looking to do next.

CB: While Imperium begins, are Peter’s stories going to be pushed to the side?

JD: Yeah, I think what’s happening with the Renegades and what’s happening with Toyo are on two divergent paths for the time being. I mean basically what’s happened here is Peter and his crew won, but in winning they sort of destroyed themselves. In Harada’s losing it sort of entrenched him and reinforced his ideals to himself so we have a situation where the winners have really lost and the loser has ultimately won, which I think says something interesting about the nature of conflict. That’s what I think where we are at. The Renegades are not even capable of fighting Harada, and is that even interesting to that even more. One of them lost their life and the rest of them gave all their efforts to this conflict for so long, and to what end? They just reinforced him and entrenched him. I don’t even know if that’s something they are interested in anymore.

CB:  How large is the scope of Imperium? Will Imperium affect the greater Valiant publishing line?

JD: It’s being designed to interact with the larger Valiant Universe in a way that Harbinger wasn’t. You know Harbinger was a sort of insular thing that was about these young people, and I sorta moaned and groaned every time the larger Valiant Universe came crashing into my little bubble. This is a much bigger conflict. This is ultimately a conflict for the world so we would have to imagine the whole Valiant U will come up against Harada and his plans. The whole thing is built to embrace that absolutely.

CB: Now that you are opening up the Valiant Universe more with your upcoming project, is there any correlation between penciller Doug Braithwaite’s art and what you are trying to do to sort of open this book up wider?

JD: I think thematically yeah, absolutely. You know I really love Doug’s work. I love that he can handle density and that he can handle these big moments but then I started talking about the series, but then I wanted him to do work that was really human and very concerned with the minutia of the moment, so Doug automatically became the perfect person for this book. He can go big, but instead he’s going small. He can have an epic moment, based around human drama that will lead to a better comic. I think he’s an incredible asset to the book.

CB: With an interest in HBO shows where we’re exploring a lot of anti-heroes, how do you walk that line between following some people who are sort of making some questionable decisions, but still making it so we can identify with them in the book?

JD: That’s hard to talk about, because it’s the kind of thing you do when you’re writing. It’s just really important to make sure they feel complicated and human. Once a person feels as complicated as you can make them as a character, then that person can actually become really interesting. Apart from that there’s no real secret trick or anything you just try to humanize them as much as possible.

CB: After reading Robert Venditti’s work with X-O Manowar, I saw that the Vine was painted as these dehumanized killers that entrapped Aric’s group of Visigoth. Whereas during the Planet Death Arc, we see a different side of the Vine. With the new Vine character integrated into the Imperium team are you going to explore that side that Robert opened up in Planet Death?

JD: Yeah absolutely, I think the complexity of the Vine is going to be revealed eventually, maybe not in the first arc, but eventually. Lord Vine 99 is less of a product of conscious free-will vine, and more of a clone that the Vine has created. He doesn’t represent exactly the Vine mindset. I don’t think we can share a story about Toyo trying to take over the planet and not have the Vine be intimately involved in this. The fact is that the Vine took over the planet and won a long time ago. Now we are going to share Harada’s history with the Vine that goes back to the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. It’s all going to be woven in pretty tightly into the narrative.

CB:  What will the antagonists look like in the title? I heard something about robots, aliens, and poets?

JD: Harada has his basic psiot that survived the collapse of his first post civilization in first crew. He basically has a fully functional robot which is a version of his med-bots that he kind of amped up. The A.I. was a total accident, and now he has an A.I. shackle. He is incapable of entering any network. He is extremely limited in how his intelligence can grow and what he can affect. This is Harada’s basic check to not having a singularity happen overnight. It’s only a matter of time before artificial intelligence is affected all across the internet. He’s a really interesting tragic character for me. He’s capable of so much, yet he can’t intellectually grow but he knows that. We also have mad scientists!

CB: While the Harbinger Foundation was in control of an incredible amount of corruption, Harada surely cannot employ telekinesis on the entire planet. With limited power, does Toyo Harada have any chance of clearing his name?

JD: The current situation with Harbinger foundation that was sort of the secret organization buried within Harada Conglomerates, but Harada’s conglomerate has dissolved. However, Harada still has thousands of secret accounts located all over the world. These things are actively being tracked down all over the planet. That exists, so there is money and revenue. It’s difficult for him to track all of them down, but they exist. The Harbinger Foundation itself is now whatever technologies he has found and pilfered. And it’s now predominantly found within the U.S.S. Bush – Harada has stolen one of the largest nuclear aircraft carriers in the United States, and they are also taking the Somalia itself. But that’s all that’s left of Harada’s empire. He has money, but it’s tricky for him to use the money without being seen and he has a lot of his old tech, but he doesn’t have it all. For instance, he can’t activate psiots right now. It’s like if he were a musician, at one time he was in the biggest stadium band in history, but now he’s back to playing garages.

CB: Is Harada interested in clearing his name?

JD: He has done everything he is accused of doing; he’s definitely the largest robber baron in the history of the human species.

I don’t think that Harada believes that he has done anything wrong. I think he believes that the narrow shortsightedness of the species and their inability to see all that he gave them in return for the few things that he had to only reinforces him to see what others can’t see. It would have been easier if he keeps his global institution in place it would be easier for him to operate things within the shadows. Instead of having every government and every corporation pitted against him. He has no desire to clear his name.

CB: Was Unity Toyo’s failed attempt at building a team like the one featured in this comic?

JD: What’s really interesting about Unity is that their initial inception was to keep Aric [X-O Manowar] from taking over Romania. Harada has done exactly the thing that Aric did, in that he put together this team to fight him which is a real vine of hubris and hypocrisy.

CB: What has Peter learned from the first volume of Harbinger to now?

JD: For a while, we’re not gonna know what’s going on with them. The last time we saw Peter he was contemplating that the only true heroism is doing nothing at all. I don’t know that they were ever ready to play at the level they played Harada at all. They are just kids, they are kids with a lot of power and they took on a really big task, and I don’t think they knew what it entailed. I think they are pretty heartbroken and beaten down from the battle.

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Valiant continues to roll out some new books—this month it’s Josh Dysart’s Imperium—but I really just posted this for the Matt Kindt/Jeff Lemire  variant covers.

 

IMPERIUM #1 [VALIANT NEXT]

Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover A (Harada) by RAUL ALLEN
Cover B (Lord Vine-99) by RAUL ALLEN
Cover C (Major Mech) by RAUL ALLEN
Valiant Next Variant by TREVOR HAIRSINE & TOM MULLER
Character Design Variant by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Artist Variant by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Blank Cover also available

A daring new superhero saga from New York Times best-selling creator Joshua Dysart – writer of of the Harvey-Award nominated series HARBINGER – and superstar artist Doug Braithwaite (UNITY, Justice)!

Toyo Harada is the most dangerous human being on the planet. Imbued with incredible powers of the mind, he has spent his life guiding humanity from the shadows. But today he is a wanted man. His powers are public knowledge, his allies have turned to enemies, and he is hunted by every government on the planet.

Instead of surrendering, Harada has one last unthinkable gambit to play: to achieve more, faster, and with less, he will build a coalition of the powerful, the unscrupulous and the insane. No longer content to demand a better future, he will recruit a violent legion from the darkest corners of the Earth to fight for it. The battle for utopia begins now.
$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 4

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DIVINITY #1 (of 4) [VALIANT NEXT]
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by TREVOR HAIRSINE
Cover A by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Cover B by TOM MULLER
Valiant Next Variant by BUTCH GUICE & TOM MULLER
Character Design Variant by LEWIS LAROSA
Artist Variant by LEWIS LAROSA

From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (THE VALIANT, Mind MGMT) and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine (X-Men: Deadly Genesis) comes a shocking new vision of science fiction in an all-new prestige format limited series.

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union – determined to win the Space Race at any cost – green lit a dangerously advanced mission. They sent a man farther into the cosmos than anyone has gone before or since. Lost in the stars, he encountered something unknown. Something that…changed him.

Long thought lost and erased from the history books, he has suddenly returned, crash-landing in the Australian Outback. The few that have been able to reach him believe him to be a deity – one who turned the scorched desert into a lush oasis. They say he can bend matter, space, and even time to his will. Earth is about to meet a new god. And he’s a communist.

How long can it be before the first confrontation between mankind and DIVINITY begins?

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | PRESTIGE FORMAT | On sale FEBRUARY 11

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IVAR, TIMEWALKER #2 [VALIANT NEXT]
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover A by RAUL ALLEN
Cover B by BRIAN LEVEL
Variant Cover by PERE PEREZ
Variant Cover by RAMON VILLALOBOS

From the award-winning team that brought you ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, New York Times best-selling creators Fred Van Lente and Clayton Henry continue a centuries-spanning race against the clock! 

At this very moment in Geneva, Switzerland, history is being made. A thousand meters underground inside the Large Hadron Collider, researcher Neela Sethi is about to discover time travel – and jeopardize her life in the process. But she doesn’t know that yet. Ten minutes from now, every deadbeat chrononaut, wannabe conqueror, and misguided protector of the time stream will be banging down her door. Good thing that the legendary Ivar, Timewalker, got there first…right? Now it’s down to history’s most jaded, most tempestuous time traveler to stop the worst  of everything that is, was, and will be…before time runs out!

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 18

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THE VALIANT #3 (of 4) [VALIANT NEXT]
Written by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Art & Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
Variant Cover by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Variant Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

As the world teeters on the brink of a new Dark Age, superstar creators Jeff Lemire (Green Arrow, Animal Man), Matt Kindt (RAI, Mind MGMT), and Paolo Rivera (Daredevil) recruit each of Valiant’s most formidable heroes into the 10,000-year-old battle for the fate of all mankind!

The entire Valiant Universe faces off against the Immortal Enemy! Can they help Eternal Warrior succeed where he has failed so many times before? Civilization’s best hope against the darkness may lie in the unlikeliest of romances…

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | PRESTIGE FORMAT | On sale FEBRUARY 18

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X-O MANOWAR #33 (ALL-NEW JUMPING-ON POINT!)
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by RAFA SANDOVAL
Cover A by MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
Cover B by RYAN LEE
Variant Cover by CHRISCROSS

X-O Manowar has beaten the Vine. Survived the Armor Hunters. Come face to face with the Armorines. Now he faces an unimaginable threat…a threat from beyond the grave.

The lesson needed to defeat them resides with his past and the greatest love of his life, Deidre of Dacia. But the last Aric knew of her, she was captured by the Roman legions and heading towards a slave camp. Her story, however, did not end there. Heavy hangs the head the that wears the crown.

Join New York Times best-selling writer Robert Venditti (Green Lantern, The Flash) and rising star Rafa Sandoval (X-Men: Legacy) for this special done-in-one jumping-on point issue – revisiting a mystery ripped from the pages of X-O Manowar #1!

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 4

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QUANTUM AND WOODY MUST DIE! #2 (of 4)
Written by JAMES ASMUS
Art by STEVE LIEBER
Cover by MIKE HAWTHORNE
Variant Cover by JOHNNIE CHRISTMAS
Variant Cover by SINA GRACE

The fix is in – and award-winning creators James Asmus (Gambit) and Steve Lieber (Superior Foes of Spider-Man) are about to unleash a world of hurt on the world’s worst superhero mis-adventurers! 

Quantum and Woody have been hyp-mo-tized! But why? And how did these two chuckleheads suddenly become the heroes and idols of millions? A sinister puppet master lays his cards on the table and activates his Manchurian Candidates. Because when the world’s worst superhero team swoops into action…Quantum and Woody must die!

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 25

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UNITY #15 (NEW ARC!)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by PERE PEREZ
Cover A by RAUL ALLEN
Cover B by JENNY FRISON
Variant Cover by CHRISCROSS

ALL-NEW ARC! New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (THE VALIANT, RAI) and Harvey Award nominee Pere Perez (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) rebuild the world’s most elite super-team one member at a time!

The United have left Unity decimated – a member lost, a terrible secret revealed, and the entire world turned against them. Not Harada, not Dr. Silk, not even the mighty Armor Hunters left the team as fractured as this! Now, Unity must decide where their place is in this new world and whether they will stand together or fall apart, beginning with the one teammate that might just be the most dangerous of all…the lethal intelligence operative called NINJAK!

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 18

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RAI #7
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CLAYTON CRAIN
Cover A by CLAYTON CRAIN
Cover B by RAUL ALLEN
Variant Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE

“Battle for New Japan” explodes with another pulse-pounding chapter by New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (THE VALIANT, Mind MGMT) and featuring fully painted artwork by superstar artist Clayton Crain (X-Force)!

Romance threatens to destroy a necessary peace between Raddies and robots as Rai builds his army for the final assault on Father! Plus: a glimpse of Earth 4001 and the secret weapon hiding out on the planet’s surface that could be the key to taking back New Japan!

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 11

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Q2: THE RETURN OF QUANTUM AND WOODY #5 (of 5)
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art & Cover by MD BRIGHT
Variant Cover by RYAN LEE
Throwback Variant by MARC LAMING

It all ends here! Legendary creators Christopher Priest (Black Panther) and MD Bright (Iron Man) deliver the final chapter for a comic book milestone more than a decade in the making!

Quantum. Woody. The other Quantum has disappeared. The other Woody has been revealed. Heroes, enemies, frenemies, and armies of vicious mercenaries descend on one luxurious ballroom during a black-tie affair…they all want the secret young Woody guards, and nothing will stop them from taking it. As the bullets fly and the champagne flows, can Quantum save the life of his young ward? And just whose side is the slippery Woody finally on…?

$3.99 US | T+ | 32 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 11

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THE DELINQUENTS TPB
Written by JAMES ASMUS & FRED VAN LENTE
Art by KANO
Cover by PAOLO RIVERA

Quantum and Woody are the world’s worst superhero team. Archer & Armstrong are a mismatched pair of conspiracy-busting adventurers. When a mysterious force collides these ill-suited and irresponsible “heroes” are in for a cross-country race through the darkest corners of American mythology, all hell is bound to break loose. Can two busted pairs become four of a kind in time to defeat the Hobo King, save the day, and make it back home in time for happy hour?  Let’s hope so…’cause these guys make a really, really bad team. (And you don’t even want to know about the goat.)

It’s an all-new superhero joyride from fan-favorite writers James Asmus (QUANTUM AND WOODY) and Fred Van Lente (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG) and heat-seeking artist Kano (QUANTUM AND WOODY,Immortal Iron Fist), colliding Quantum and Woody and Archer & Armstrong for the world’s most disastrous team-up adventure! Collecting THE DELINQUENTS #1–4.

$14.99 US | T+ | 112 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 4
TRADE PAPERBACK | ISBN: 9781939346513

“✮✮✮✮✮…[The Delinquents] just might be the single most entertaining comic book released in…the entire year of 2014.” – Comic Book Resources

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VALIANT MASTERS: HARBINGER VOL. 1 – CHILDREN OF THE EIGHTH DAY HC
Written by JIM SHOOTER
Art & Cover by DAVID LAPHAM

Peter Stanchek and his band of teenage runaways are harbingers of a new age, born with the power to change the world… or break it. Plagued by emerging psionic powers he hardly understands, Peter turns to Toyo Harada and his Harbinger Foundation, an organization dedicated teaching young people like Peter. But when Peter learns to what lengths Harada will go to further his secret agenda, he turns on his mentor, gathering a group of like-minded rebels. On the road and always just one step ahead of Harada and his hit-squad of super powered Eggbreakers, these renegade harbingers will have to learn how to use their powers to change the world for the better along the way.

This deluxe hardcover collects the critically acclaimed masterpiece that kicked off a whole new age of superheroes from legendary creators Jim Shooter (Secret Wars) and David Lapham (Stray Bullets). Collecting HARBINGER (1992) #0–7 in a deluxe hardcover format, complete with process art, sketches, and more rarely seen back-up material from the Valiant vault.

$39.99 US | T+ | 200 pgs. | On sale FEBRUARY 25
HARDCOVER | ISBN: 978193934648

“’Children of the Eighth Day’ deserves to be uttered in the same breath as the masterpieces of the art form: Watchmen, Maus, Dark Knight Returns…” – Sequart

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Valiant is expanding its line with five new series in 2015 , some periodical format some prestige, some well known older Valiant properties and some that are less so.  The new wave kicks off with The Valiant in December and continues with:

• IVAR, TIMEWALKER #1 by Fred Van Lente and Clayton Henry in January

• DIVINITY #1 (of 4) by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine in February
• IMPERIUM #1 by Joshua Dysart and Doug Braithwaite in February
• NINJAK #1 by Matt Kindt and Clay Mann in March
• BLOODSHOT REBORN #1 by Jeff Lemire and Mico Suayan in April

Periodical comics are still a tough business to get a foothold in, but Valiant is playing the long game here.

“We’ve spent two years building an award-winning publishing line, pouring our hearts into re-imagining X-O MANOWAR, HARBINGER and the rest of the Valiant Universe for the modern day. Now it’s time to take it to the next level,” said Valiant CEO and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani in a statement. “VALIANT NEXT taps into the same creative energy that made Valiant one of the most legendary comic book companies of all time. When I was a kid, one of the best things about Valiant was picking up an issue with a brand new character, like X-O MANOWAR or NINJAK. I’m excited that we’re doing that again now with series like DIVINITY and IMPERIUM. And that’s only a fraction of what we have coming next.”

“Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt and Paolo Rivera are delivering an absolute monster of a book with THE VALIANT and it’s the perfect title to lead off VALIANT NEXT,” said Valiant Editor-In-Chief Warren Simons. “This is our most ambitious initiative yet, and everyone’s bringing their A-game. The creative team of ARCHER & ARMSTRONG reuniting to launch IVAR, TIMEWALKER. Clay Mann on NINJAK – his first ongoing series at Valiant. Mico Suayan tearing it up with Jeff Lemire on BLOODSHOT REBORN. Joshua Dysart and Doug Braithwaite together for the first time for the devastating events ofIMPERIUM. Not to mention the introduction of an all-new, all-powerful force in DIVINITY from the minds of Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine. It’s a kick-ass time to be a Valiant fan.”

More information on Valiant Next will be revealed at New York Comic Con!

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THE VALIANT #1 (of 4)
Written by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Art by PAOLO RIVERA
PRESTIGE FORMAT LIMITED SERIES | BEGINNING DECEMBER 2014

A battle ten millennia in the making…

The Eternal Warrior has protected the Earth for more than 10,000 years. A master of countless weapons and long forgotten martial arts, he is guided by the Geomancers – those who speak for the Earth. During his long watch, the Eternal Warrior has failed three times. Each time, the Geomancer was killed…and a new dark age for humanity began. Each time, he was unable to stop The Immortal Enemy – a monstrous force of nature. A civilization killer. A horror that appears differently each time it arrives…and whose seemingly only purpose is to bring disorder and darkness to the world. Now, the time has come for The Immortal Enemy to return once more. But, this time, the Eternal Warrior will be ready. This time, he has a force greater than any single warrior. This time, he has…THE VALIANT.

      

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IVAR, TIMEWALKER #1
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
ONGOING SERIES | BEGINNING JANUARY 2015

From the award-winning team that brought you ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, New York Times best-selling creators Fred Van Lente and Clayton Henry present a centuries-spanning race against the clock!

At this very moment in Geneva, Switzerland, history is being made. A thousand meters underground inside the Large Hadron Collider, researcher Neela Sethi is about to discover time travel – and jeopardize her life in the process.  But she doesn’t know that yet. Ten minutes from now, every deadbeat chrononaut, wannabe conqueror, and misguided protector of the timestream will be banging down her door. Good thing that the legendary Ivar, Timewalker, got there first…right?  Now it’s down to history’s most jaded, most tempestuous time traveler to stop the worst of everything that is, was, and will be…before time runs out!

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DIVINITY #1 (of 4)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by TREVOR HAIRSINE
PRESTIGE FORMAT LIMITED SERIES | BEGINNING FEBRUARY 2015

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union – determined to win the Space Race at any cost – green lit a dangerously advanced mission. They sent a man farther into the cosmos than anyone has gone before or since. Lost in the stars, he encountered something unknown. Something that…changed him.

Long thought lost and erased from the history books, he has suddenly returned, crash-landing in the Australian Outback. The few that have been able to reach him believe him to be a deity -– one who turned the scorched desert into a lush oasis. They say he can bend matter, space, and even time to his will. Earth is about to meet a new god. And he’s a communist.

How long can it be before the first confrontation between mankind and DIVINITY begins?

From New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt and blockbuster artist Trevor Hairsine comes a shocking new vision of 21st century science fiction in an all-new prestige format limited series.

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IMPERIUM #1
Written by JOSHUA DYSART
Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
ONGOING SERIES | BEGINNING FEBRUARY 2015

A daring new superhero saga from New York Times best-selling creator Joshua Dysart – writer of of the Harvey-Award nominated series Harbinger – and superstar artist Doug Braithwaite!

Toyo Harada is the most dangerous human being on the planet. Imbued with incredible powers of the mind, he has spent his life guiding humanity from the shadows. But today he is a wanted man.  His powers are public knowledge, his allies have turned to enemies, and he is hunted by every government on the planet.

Instead of surrendering, Harada has one last unthinkable gambit to play: to achieve more, faster, and with less, he will build a coalition of the powerful, the unscrupulous and the insane. No longer content to demand a better future, he will recruit a violent legion from the darkest corners of the Earth to fight for it. The battle for utopia begins now.

—


NINJAK #1
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CLAY MANN
ONGOING SERIES | BEGINNING MARCH 2015

Then: Meet inexperienced MI-6 recruit Colin King on his first mission in the field as he learns the basics of spycraft and counterintelligence, and develops a volatile relationship with his first handler.

Now: Colin King is Ninjak, the world’s foremost intelligence operative, weapons expert, and master assassin.  And he’s hunting the Shadow Seven – a secret cabal of shinobi masters with mysterious ties to his training and tragic past.

For the first time, Ninjak’s past and future collide in the pages of an all-new ongoing series from New York Times bestselling writer Matt Kindt and superstar artist Clay Mann!

 

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BLOODSHOT REBORN #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by MICO SUAYAN with JEFF LEMIRE
Colors by DAVID BARON
ONGOING SERIES | BEGINNING APRIL 2015

From New York Times best-selling writer Jeff Lemire and red-hot rising star Mico Suayan, Valiant delivers an all-new ongoing series for Valiant’s most unrelenting hero!

Bloodshot’s nanites made him a nearly unstoppable killing machine. His enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and healing made him the perfect weapon, and he served his masters at Project Rising Spirit – a private contractor trafficking in violence – very well.

Now, Bloodshot is a shadow of his former self. He lives in self-imposed exile, reeling from the consequences of his past life and the recent events that nearly drove him mad. But when a rash of shootings by gunmen who appear to look just like Bloodshot begin, his guilt will send him on a mission to stop the killers, even if it means diving headlong into the violence that nearly destroyed him.

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Fictionalized biography of an old Latino

"Creative Non-Fiction" at La Bloga.

REVIEW: Robert Harris. Imperium : a novel of ancient Rome. New York : Simon & Schuster, 2006. ISBN 074326603X 9780743266031

Michael Sedano

The ancient world has held my rapt attention more years than I care to count. In elementary school, Victor Mature's macho performance in Demetrius and the Gladiators was a hook that led me in high school to Henryk Sienkiewicz' Quo Vadis, which led me into Mary Renault's The King Must Die. The ancient world seemed a great time to be heroic and romantic. Eventually, I did two stints in grad school in Speech and Rhetoric, a major whose most basic requirements include close reading of the ancients. Thus it seemed the natural thing to do, a few years ago as age began to sneak up on me, to turn for consolation to Cicero's essay on old age, De Senectute. I was recounting this to a friend recently when he treated me to a great prize, the 2006 fictional biography of Cicero, Imperium, by Robert Harris.

A reader need not be a classicist to enjoy Harris' entertaining story of Roman politics. All the history is self-contained in the novel's pages. Cicero's secretary, the slaveTiro, fills in all the characters and cites details that history would not have recorded. The plot is like a highlight reel at a political convention. The hero's early years studying rhetoric and public address show us a man dedicated to knowledge and reason. Next we see how Cicero takes on the prosecution of the abhorrent scoundrel, Verres. Cicero travels to Sicily to gather witnesses and damning evidence of corruption, crucifixions, and theft. But political machinations cast the outcome of the trial in doubt. Clever lawyer and rhetor who he is, Cicero comes up with a plan to save the day, win the case, and earn the lasting enmity of Rome's hereditary aristocrats.

We then fast forward through a catalog of similar trials and events that border on the hagiographic, but this is tempered by frequent reminders the narrator is a slave who longs to retire to his own farm and family, a free man.

Cicero being a self-made, or "new man" who has risen to the inner sanctum of Roman politics in the face of a spiteful "legitimate" aristocracy, frames the tensions that guide Tiro / Harris' story. In the process, Harris treats us to several delicious moments where the hero's rhetorical prowess brings chagrin to outclassed upper crust rivals. That his wit earns him dangerous enemies builds the plot to page-turning proportions.

Cicero's career advances steadily from his first public office up to the crisis point where his career goal of being elected Consul is threatened by bribery and collusion of notoriously corrupt aristocrats. The deck is totally stacked against him. Dauntless Cicero brings matters to a spectacular close whose outcome is never in doubt--Imperium is an historical novel, after all--but that certitude gets lost in the fun of a brilliant strategy, beneficial treachery, and old fashioned good luck.

Not that this historical novel doesn't have contemporary parallels. Harris draws attention to terrorists threatening the Roman peace and the usefulness of such threats as pretext to corrupt politicians to bleed a bit more wealth and power from the state. It's not heavy-handed, and Harris backs away from making the point a distraction from his aim of telling a good story. And, to paraphrase another author, the story's the thing whereby to capture the imagination of the reader! So, just as The King Must Die led me to a more extensive reading of Mary Renault's work on the ancient world, I'm now on a mission to see what Harris does with Pompeii, his 2003 novel of Roman times, and his 1995 WWII novel, Enigma.

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Creative Non-Fiction: So this is what I've been doing!

I was listening to National Public Radio over the new year weekend when I heard a term that caught my ear, "creative non-fiction." At first it struck me as perhaps oxymoronic, or if not, a redundancy. Then as the interview proceeded it struck me that the term describes a project I've been working on since the Fall. I've been collaborating with Shannon Sullivan, a woman from Spokane, Washington who, in 2005, helped recall from office that town's mayor. When the ex-Mayor, James West, died recently, his story was spotlighted by one of the national television networks. Shannon Sullivan got a few minutes air time as the woman who brought the Mayor down, then the news turned away from her to other issues in the lurid story.

Sullivan's part in the recall is far from lurid. Inspiring might be more descriptive, how one woman's outrage leads her to take on the political establishment and brings it to its knees. Perhaps it's a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of being a crusader--Sullivan lost her job and no one in her hometown will hire her even today. At any rate, I hope the story will make interesting reading once I get the whole story written. I'll be finishing it in the next few weeks--working title The Shannon Sullivan Story: Strong Mayor, Stronger Mom. Naturally, I'm on the lookout for a publisher. If not a full-length book, perhaps it can run as a feature in a personality magazine, or, who knows, film or television. After all, at one point, the newspapers were calling Shannon Sullivan "Spokane's own Erin Brockovich". Quien sabe. Here's an early chapter:

CHAPTER TWO: THERE’S NO PETITION

Mother’s Day means busting your behind over an intense week of ordering, storing, and delivering flowers all over town. I love my job in the flower shop—I used to own my own--but today’s my day off. The only thing I want to do today is spend time with my nine year old son, Dylan.

It’s Monday, May 9, 2005. I didn’t wake up and say to myself, “Shannon, go out there and start a campaign to recall the Mayor.” But that’s how my day off is going to end. That is so ironic and ridiculous that just thinking about how all this got started makes me cry, then I get angry all over again.

Since the 5th of May, the three local television channels and both papers have been playing up the Mayor West story. The City Council, the newspapers, the television opinion makers all say he should resign. But the Mayor, while admitting to the scandal, stands fast. Elected by the voters by a large majority, a major power player in the Spokane Valley and northern Idaho, the only way to get West out of office is a recall election.

Yesterday, the talking heads on TV were blasting the same sorry old West story and I was blasting back. Dylan took it all in and cried. So I stopped complaining and gave him a hug, a bath, and put him to bed.

But at breakfast the next morning, Channel 3 replays the same broadcast, and it sets me off again.”Why in Hell can’t someone step up and do something right for once?” I look at Dylan and he is stirring his oatmeal without eating and I figure right away if my son is too upset to eat his favorite breakfast, I’d be better of by just clamming up.

Dylan can tell I am still upset but he eats his breakfast. We are going to have some fun after school today, and I can tell he is eager to get started with his day. So I shut up and listen to the rest of the broadcast. The talking head summarized the recall process in twenty words or less. Sounds pretty straightforward. Then, for some reason, I get the impression the County Auditor’s Office would have a petition tomorrow, and the recall process has already begun. Which is today, and so here I am.

The parking lot behind the courthouse serving the County Auditor’s office is almost empty. Well, I think, the office is just opening, so maybe I’m the first one here.

I look through the double glass doors to the County Auditor’s Office and I start to get a little antsy. Had I come to the right place? In my wildest fancy, I expected to see a long line of citizens shaking their fists in the air, angrily demanding to sign a petition to recall the mayor, chanting,”West must go! West must go!”

Yes! and that’s what I want to do, too. Give me a petition, I’ll sign it, and that’s how I’ll keep my promise to Dylan to do something about it.

I expected something; at least a tolerable but efficiently managed line. Instead I walk into the nearly empty County Auditor’s Office, where there’s a row of cubicles for the insiders. Their world is separated from the outside world by a counter and a receptionist.

“Good morning, may I help you?”

A slender woman with long brown hair smiles at me.

“Hi, I’m here to sign the petition to recall Mayor West.”

I am nervous and speak a little loud. In the big empty room my voice just seems to hang in the air for a moment. Two women—the only other people in the whole place--lean out of their cubicles to stare at me.

The brown haired woman’s face goes blank and her smile turns into a frown. Something, obviously, has gone wrong. I have no idea what is going on here, but I’m pretty darned sure I don’t like how I’m being treated, and I’ve been here only a couple of minutes.

The receptionist excuses herself and leaves me standing there, staring at the now-empty cubicles. All three county employees have gone around the corner out of sight. But not out of sound.

Have you ever been the subject of a whispered conversation? It makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong. That’s uncomfortable and more than a little confusing because I thought I was doing the right thing in signing the petition to recall Mayor Jim West.

What I don’t know is there is no recall petition, and these county employees are about to help me be the person to launch the petition drive to unseat the Mayor. Only I don’t know this as I stand, alone, in the County Auditor’s office, feeling uncomfortable and confused.

That’s how I am feeling just standing there in the empty County Auditor’s Office when this young fellow walks in. I hope he is the first of the crowd.

“Is anyone working here?” he asks me.

“The receptionist is down the hall.”

Out of the blue, he asks me, “Are you here to sign the petition to recall the mayor?” I’m not wearing a sign or anything, so I always wondered why he asked. If I could go back in time and change only one thing about all of this, I’d go back to this particular moment and either keep my mouth shut or kill this boy.

“Yes! Are you?” An ally, I think. But he shakes his head. “No, no,” he says, “I’m an avid Republican, and in fact, I worked on the Mayor’s campaign. I’m here to register to vote.”

It’s kinda funny this kid is just registering to vote and he knows more about what’s going on than the people working behind the counter. Still, people feel strongly on either side of the issue, and I hope I’m not in for a confrontation. The young man puts me at ease by adding,”But I respect your right to have your opinion. Some of the things the Mayor’s admitted to are pretty awful, but he hasn’t broken any laws.”

Just then, the brown haired clerk returns and gives him some forms to fill out. She does a good job and it is interesting overhearing her explain the state’s new mail-in ballot law, and how voters need to make sure their address information is correct. I can’t help thinking about being privileged to witness democracy in action as the young man takes his forms to become a registered voter. What I didn’t realize was this young man is about to trigger one of the worst times of my life.

Of course, I have no idea of this and I’m feeling so proud of our democracy and all, when the clerk reaches under the counter and places a telephone on it.

“You have a call on this phone,” she says,”Vicky Dalton. Ms. Dalton is the County Auditor.”

I wonder if I look as surprised as I feel. The County Auditor herself wants to talk to me? Now curious as Hell, I reach down and pick up the handset.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end is a deep, gravelly voice.

"This is Vicki Dalton, the County Auditor. I understand you want to recall Mayor West?"

Yeah, me and a million other Spokane voters, But where are they? All I can think of at the moment is to agree.”Yes," I say.

“Your name?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is Shannon Sullivan.”

“All right. Ms. Sullivan. A recall is a very complicated process, and all procedures must be followed to the letter. First I will need my staff to verify you are indeed a registered voter.”

She talks to me like Dylan’s third grade teacher talks to him.

"I assure you I am, I have been registered since I was 18. Voting is my only way to have a voice."

Vicky Dalton’s condescending abruptness puts me on edge. All I want to do is sign the petition and get on with my life. But here this woman--an elected public official herself--is treating me like, well, I’m not sure what, but this is nothing I want anything to do with. Just give me the petition and let me be on my way home to Dylan, I think. I want to be anywhere but here. Dalton doesn’t let up.

"Before you ATTEMPT anything, I will need to verify your information,” she tells me. Then she says something surprising:”I will be back in town in the morning, and will do so then.”

What? I come all the way down to the office in Spokane, on my day off, talk to a clerk, and now I’m talking long distance to some big chief who’s out of town and wants me to wait? Don’t these people know how to do their job? Do they have to call their boss to get permission?

“Ma’am, could you possibly do so now, or maybe could one of your staff here take care of it, since I’m already here.”

“Uh, Well, I will be back tomorrow.”

By now it’s totally clear to me that this a big run around. I’m pissed off. This is not acceptable treatment and I put my foot down.

"Ms. Dalton, I would really like the necessary information TODAY. Mayor West's behavior is unacceptable and I need to know what I can do, TODAY. I am sure your staff is competent to verify whatever information you’re talking about."

“Uh, well, put Mr. Brandt on the phone.”

I am stunned at the way she is treating me. Who wants to be pushed around by a voice over the phone? Not me, so I give her a taste of her own medicine.

“Do you mean ‘please put Mr. Brandt on the phone’?"

There’s a long pause. I can hear it in the silence. This woman is so full of herself that she wouldn’t say”please” if I paid her. So I hand the phone to the only man there, a guy in a brown suit who came into the room from somewhere in the back offices. I guess that’s what the whispered conference was all about, bringing in reinforcements. Am I the enemy? I thrust the phone at the brown suit.

"Here. She would like to speak with you."

The two cubicle dwellers are standing there in rapt attention. The brown haired lady smiles at me, then moves down to the end of the counter to let Mr. Brandt talk on the phone to the big boss. I sense the receptionist wants to talk to me, so I slide down the counter while the brown suit confers with Vicky Dalton.

I guess maybe I just surprised the brown-haired receptionist to produce that awful frown. Right now, I get good vibes from her. She confirms this when she leans in and says in a whisper,” You ARE the one. You will be fine.”

I get the feeling that she sees from my phone confrontation with Ms. Dalton that I am not someone who’ll go down without a fight, and now she’s on my side.

Now I turn my attention to what Mr. Brandt is saying to Dalton. Of course, all I can hear is his side of the conversation.

"Yes, yes, I will take care of her," he assures. Vicky Dalton must be a real bear of a boss, because even while he’s on the phone with her, Brandt stands at attention acting all deferential.

Brandt shoves the phone back to me with a look on his face of pure frustration. He still hasn’t said a word to me. I take the handset and there’s the gravelly Dalton voice. At this point, I realize she has someone else on another line, checking on me in the background while she”takes care” of me.

"Ms. Sullivan, it appears you are not registered at your current address. Nor did you vote in the last mayoral election."

I detect a note of triumph, as if she has the upper hand. In what, I have no idea. But she’s wrong. I can tell she’s trying to frustrate me and get me to go away. What the heck? Whatever it is I’m up against, Dalton wants to make sure I know that it’s me against her.

“Yes, that would be correct. I did not care for either of my choices. Is that a problem, Ms. Dalton?”

“Well, uh, no and yes.”

Listen, I know I’m pig-headed and have no problem standing up for myself, especially when I know I am right. I take one of the voter registration cards the young man had filled in and start writing.

“Ms. Dalton, for your information, even as we speak, I am filling out a current registration form. Does that fix the problem Ms. Dalton? Could I now have the information regarding the recall?”

This stops her cold in her tracks.

“Well, uh, I suppose, all the law requires is that you are a current registered voter.”

"OK, great! Can I get the information from Mr. Brandt now?"

“I guess that will be FINE,” she says, like I have just asked her for her first born.”Mr. Brandt will hand you an envelope,” she says, but she hasn’t given up the intimidation and gives it another try.

“Ms. Sullivan, you will need to follow the RCW recall laws to the ‘T’. A recall is very easy to threaten, but VERY hard to execute. Do you have a lawyer?”

Lawyer? All I want to do is sign a petition, and here I am getting into something totally different. Of course I don’t have a lawyer.

“No, do I need one?”

“Wellllll, the law does not require you to have one, but neither I, nor anyone in my office, can help you with any legal information.”

And with this, her realization that I have no idea what I’m doing, Dalton’s tone now changes and she sounds delighted, like she’s thinking to herself,”ha ha, nothing to worry about here.”

"You will need to turn in your petition to me. I will stamp it, and then send it to the prosecuting attorney’s office.”

And she can’t resist just piling it on with one more taunt.

“Are you similar with the recall laws, Ms. Sullivan?"

I imagine her dancing in her hotel room, or wherever the Hell she’s calling from.

“No. But I will look it over, and return later today."

“Oh. OK. Good luck.” I’m surprised she’s not laughing and singing at my ineptitude.

With that—and another”ha ha go away you loser” tone of voice—she hangs up. As I place the handset to the cradle, I see Mr. Brandt and the other staff members hovering over the counter. They are enjoying the show.

I look at Mr. Brandt and stick out my hand.

“Hi. I’m Shannon Sullivan.”

Brandt’s handshake feels like a wet fish. His eyes, though, look at me like he feels sorry for me. I take the packet he’s brought from the back offices, thank him, and just to be smart, say, "See you later".

I wheel around with my head held high, a fat envelope of recall information in hand, and a bad taste in my mouth. I'm thinking ”Jeez, that was awful.” In a moment I am going to find out I’ve just gone from bad to worse. In fact, when I walk out of the County Auditor's Office, the first of a series of worst times of my life is about to smack me in the face.

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So here we are, the first week of 2007. An interesting beginning to the new year, que no? An historical novel of a recognized hero who takes on a corrupt political system and beats them at their own game, and a creative non-fiction account of an unknown hero who takes on a corrupt politician, beats him, and can't find a job anywhere in town. Maybe someone will buy her story. See you next week.

mvs

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