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  Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy has been a cornerstone of comics since his debut in 1993 (he’s as old as I am!).  The character has survived the tumultuously shifting tides of the industry and a series of creative changes during his tenure at Dark Horse.  Now a few more changes are coming. Today, EW revealed the […]

The Valiant is the lynchpin of  Valiant Next, a new hopping on point for readers from Valiant. A prestige format limited series with art by Paolo Rivera, and a variant cover by Francesco Francavilla, there’s no chance we’re not going to run a preview any time it gets into our  inbox.  The story by Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire doesn’t hurt either—and they’ve also collaborated on a variant cover.

The Immortal Enemy has crawled out from the black depths of history to destroy this generation’s Geomancer and send Earth back to the Dark Ages! Now…the Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, and Kay McHenry must overcome their worst nightmares before the unlikeliest of white knights rides in to save the day. Will he be enough to battle back the unyielding evil that threatens to plunge the Valiant Universe into the darkness?

Be here on January 21st as the world’s most formidable heroes join a battle ten millennia in the making, only in THE VALIANT #2 – featuring covers by Paolo Rivera (Daredevil), Jeff Lemire (Trillium) & Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), and Francesco Francavilla (Afterlife with Archie)! An entirely self-contained comics event spotlighting Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and a cast of heroes and villains from across the Valiant Universe, THE VALIANT is a visionary new adventure from three of the greatest creative talents in comics today. 

THE VALIANT leads into a number of new series that sound intrguing, including,

• 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

THE VALIANT #2 (of 4) [VALIANT NEXT]
Written by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT
Art and Cover by PAOLO RIVERA (NOV141677)
Interconnecting Variant Cover by JEFF LEMIRE & MATT KINDT (NOV141678)
Variant Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA (NOV141679)
$3.99 | 32 pages. | T+ | On sale JANUARY 21 (FOC – 12/29/14)

Valiant will be set up at NYCC at booth #2028 with exclusives and signings by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, Fred van Lente,  Michael Walsh, Robert Venditti, Robert Gill and Paolo Rivera. They also will have an exclusive X-O Manowar toy!

From Thursday, October 9th through Sunday, October 12th, join Valiant at Booth #2028 inside the Javits Center in midtown Manhattan to shop a brand new selection of NYCC-exclusive offerings – including the limited edition X-O Manowar Urban Vinyl Figure by CKRTLAB Toys! The first in a new line of Valiant Urban Vinyl figures set to debut in 2015, the first-ever X-O Manowar stands 5.5 inches tall with 6 points of articulation and comes enhanced with a luster-rich metallic finish, “lightning sword” weapon accessory, and collectible packaging that is perfect for display.

Plus: pick up the X-O MANOWAR #0 NYCC Exclusive Variant, featuring an all-new cover by rising starMichael Walsh (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, Secret Avengers)! Jump on board here and discover the untold origins of Valiant’s armored Visigoth hero with Valiant’s latest essential zero issue by acclaimed creators Robert Venditti and Clay Mann!

And that’s not all – look for signings and appearances all weekend long from some of Valiant’s biggest talents, including Robert Gill (ARMOR HUNTERS: HARBINGER), Jeff Lemire (THE VALIANT), Matt Kindt (THE VALIANT, RAI, UNITY), Paolo Rivera (THE VALIANT), Michael Walsh (ARCHER & ARMSTRONG), Fred Van Lente (THE DELINQUENTS, ARCHER & ARMSTRONG), Robert Venditti(X-O MANOWAR, ARMOR HUNTERS), and many more!

Then, on Friday, October 10th at 12:15 PM, join an all-star panel of guests for the VALIANT COMICS: THE VALIANT, RAI, X-O MANOWAR AND BEYOND panel presentation! This winter, superstar creators Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and Paolo Rivera launch the year’s most anticipated new series withTHE VALIANT…but what happens next? Find out here as Jeff Lemire (THE VALIANT), Matt Kindt(THE VALIANT, RAI, UNITY), Paolo Rivera (THE VALIANT), Fred Van Lente (THE DELINQUENTS, ARCHER & ARMSTRONG), Robert Venditti (X-O MANOWAR), Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons, and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani lead off an exclusive round of news and announcements, right here at New York Comic-Con! Plus: RAI, X-O MANOWAR, UNITY, ARCHER & ARMSTRONG, QUANTUM AND WOODY, and much, much more!

And the action continues on Saturday, October 8th at 8 PM as Valiant brings the superstar creative team behind THE VALIANT – Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and Paolo Rivera – to New York’s famous St. Marks Comics for an exclusive post-show signing, featuring free THE VALIANT: FIRST LOOK preview editions, and more!

Marvel is always generous with artwork in their emails, some of it quite notable. Over the last 24 hours they released this nice cover by Paolo Rivera for their Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1, an anthology celebrating the release of Marvel Comics #1 back in the day.

The interior of the book includes Bruce Timm adapting “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge”, a text story originally published in Captain America Comics #3 (1941), which was the first Marvel work by Stan Lee. (And yeah, stan Lee has been working in comcis since BEFORE PEARL HARBOR. Think about that for a minute.)

Other Tales:
• James Robinson and Chris Samnee relived the first journey of the Fantastic Four.

• Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos create a new story about upcoming Netflix star Jessica Jones investigating cases with connections to the history of the Marvel Universe/

• Tom DeFalco joins Stan Goldberg & Scott Hanna on a Peter Parker story.

• Len Wein & Paul Gulacy on Wolverine.

• Bendis and various on a series of covers devoted to the comics Marvel never published. (Now that should be INTERESTING.)

• Article, retrospectives, tributes, and other new material.

The book hits in October.

Marvel also revealed more Skottie Young variants for the upcoming Spider-Verse event, which hits in November and unites all he various spider-folk from different universes. Two Young covers will lock together transformers style into one big cover. How do they figure this stuff out?

As revealed by Marvel.com this stunning two-part cover features just a fraction of the Spider-Men and Spider-Women that will feature throughout Spider-Verse as rendered in Skottie Young’s inimitable style. Fans can get their hands on the first of these two interlocking covers when it graces the front of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #32 this August. Blockbuster writers Dan Slott & Christos Gage join fan-favorite artist Giuseppe Camuncoli for a time travelling tale of epic proportions as the Superior Spider-Man travels to the far future of 2099! But can he stop the coming of the Spider-Verse?
                                                                                                                                                                                    
Then, hold on to your hats as the second Skottie Young variant cover adorns November’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 – the first chapter of the universe spanning Spider-Verse event! The sinister Morlun has returned with a singular and terrifying goal – exterminate every Spider-Man in every universe. And it will take thousands of spider-powered heroes to battle back the greatest threat to this universe or any other! Spider-Verse is poised to take the Marvel Universe by storm, and no fan should miss out on these two epic variant covers when they hit comic shops in August and November!

It may be horrifying news for fans of Daredevil, but now both of the original artists attached to the series have decided to amicably part ways with Marvel, in order to pursue their own creator-owned work. In a post made to his blog today, Paolo Rivera states that he is going to step down from his 10-year exclusive contract with the company. In this, he joins fellow artist Marcos Martin as creators look outwards to the greater world of comics, interested to create their own legacies and stories in order to keep their futures secure.

What I create in the next decade needs to pay dividends when my vision gets blurry and my hands start to shake (and who knows what else). Now is the time to make that choice, while I’m still young, possess “great power,” but have few responsibilities.

Noting that he isn’t leaving the company entirely, and may well still contribute covers to Mark Waid’s acclaimed relaunch of Matt Murdock’s life, Rivera has nothing but compliments for his employers, and wishes them the best.

The reason you’re reading this now — the reason I have a career — is that I have played a privileged part in stories and characters that predated my birth and will long outlast my life. As an artist, my reputation — my fame, in blunt terms — is what makes this a profession, and not a hobby.

His attention now rolls over to some personal work – not forgetting the other exclusive contract he’s attached to (congratulations!) – as well as his commissions list, which is understandably rather large. It’s a fond farewell from Rivera, and well worth reading in entirety.