#bloodshot & the h.a.r.d. corps

[evilhorse]

The Valiant Era cards U5

[fuckyeah-nerdery]

I never ever expected any of Valiant Comics’ characters getting the big screen treatment, but I sure hope Bloodshot is successful enough that their other titles get a turn

X-O: Manowar, Doctor Solar, Turok, or Magnus, Robot Fighter would be good choices. I think H.A.R.D. Corps would make a good TV show.

[radroller]

Stephen Reads Valiant: Part 5

So here we are, more fun to be had! Let’s get into it!

Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps Vol 4: more Bloodshot! I’d be lying if i said i wasnt more happy to be stretching my legs in some other series this go-round, but Bloodshot continues to kick ass. His journey continues, gripping with fallout from Harbinger Wars and finding himself back working for Project Rising Spirit (which deserves a yikes even with the new management). But that’s only the half of it, the rest of the book is devoted to the eponymous H.A.R.D. Corps which i mentioned last post. They’re a lot like the Suicide Squad except that they privately owned and cut out the middle-man of recruiting criminals by simply dangling money over vulnerable and desperate peoples’ heads. Leader Charlie Palmer’s attempts to turn the team into something good for the sake of the innocent new recruits lines up well with Bloodshot’s own personal journey, no doubt why they decided to make a book out’ve both of them. All in all a solid new direction for the comic, i both look forward to seeing where it goes and am happy to set Bloodshot aside for the moment to read other things. Speaking of which!

Eternal Warrior Vol 1: I’ve been looking forward to reading this one (even before i learned it was written by Grek Pak) mostly because Gilad Anni-Padda is a pretty important character who’s been popping in and out around the Valiant Universe. He’s Armstrong’s little brother, he was Aric of Dacia’s friend in Visigoth times, cool immortal guy stuff. And i LOVE immortal characters/plots in general, but even with that in mind Gilad is incredibly cool. A badass master of all forms of combat with an undying thirst for battle tempered by a heroes heart and respect for the sanctity of human life? Fucking ACES man! X-O Manowar remains my favorite comic of the bunch, but Gilad is a contender for my favorite character. That said Eternal Warrior is pretty damn good, building off some of the lore introduced in other books like the various houses and the geomancers while also telling a great personal story about Gilad getting back into the swing of things after decades in seclusion. An awesome time and i look forward to more!

Archer & Armstrong Vol 2: Finally back with these bozos again! The end of last arc led to the inadvertent death of a geomancer, putting Archer and Armstrong in the crosshairs of….the Eternal Warrior!!! This reading order i looked up is by no means essential but it comes in handy sometimes. I’m assuming Gilad’s series takes place a good deal prior to this adventure because A) he is fully back in his brutal defender of the Earth mode and B) im fairly certain the geomancer who died is his friend Buck. But enough about that, the important thing is they need to find the next geomancer so that Gilad doesn’t super murder Archer, all while combating and evading a cult dedicated to reducing the world to pure nothingness. Among all of these things, the big win for me personally is the new geomancer character Kay McHenry who is a real joy in spite of her origins. Another great volume, it’s great to be back with these fools!

Overall: This section is becoming redundant but what the heck: i loved these comics. Real solid stuff. But i’m even more excited for next time, because i’ve got not only more Archer & Armstrong but the first two volumes of Quantum & Woody too!!!

[paullovescomics]

Comic books read July 30 to August 5, 2017, part 1 of 8

Archer & Armstrong #18-19 Bloodshot & H.A.R.D. Corps #20-21 Archer #0

[omniversalobservations]

Deathmate Prologue (September 1993)

The '90s was the era for independent comic book publishers to make it big, and there were no bigger names than Image and Valiant. Both companies were comprised mainly of creators who had already been in the industry, with Image being founded by hot young artists and Valiant being the brainchild of comic book stalwarts like Jim Shooter.

Despite their near-simultaneous rises to prominence, they had very different approaches to publishing. Founded on the idea of letting creators own their work, Image didn't own the creators' over-the-top characters, and the Image Universe was built more on loose connections that tight continuity. On the other hand, Valiant completely owned its original characters and teamed them up with licensed heroes like Solar, Man of the Atom and Turok the Dinosaur Hunter in more down-to-Earth stories that followed a more tightly knit continuity. In 1993 and 1994, these two worlds collided in Deathmate, an infamous event that heralded the end of the collecting boom of the early '90s.

Deathmate occurred due to the chance interdimensional encounter between Valiant's Solar, Man of the Atom and Void of the WildC.A.T.s from Image Comics. From this, the two would fall in love, but their being together threatened to destroy the fabric of space and time in both of comic book universes. The chaotic collision of properties would include several other characters and series' from both publishers, such as Turok, Cyberforce, Bloodshot, Harbinger and Youngblood.

Instead of being published as a traditional linear narrative, the issues of Deathmate were coded by colors, and they could theoretically be read in any order and still be understood as long as readers read the Prologue and Epilogue issues before and after.

Featuring work from an all-star roster of creators including Jim Lee, Barry Windsor-Smith, Rob Liefeld, Bob Layton, Marc Silvestri and many more, the storyline meshed the universes together as if they had always been one, with Bloodshot fittingly being a member of Youngblood. Likewise, Valiant's H.A.R.D. Corps and Image's WildC.A.T.s were combined into H.A.R.D.C.A.T.s. The issues themselves constantly focus on this admittedly interesting element, with more of a focus on the novelty of these combinations than a central narrative,

The main connective tissue throughout all of this miasma of action is Geoff, the young Geomancer from Valiant, being found by Image's Prophet. Prophet remembers the universes being separate, and he works with the Geomancer to find Solar and restore things to the way that they were. The ultimate catalyst behind this is revealed to Valiant's Master Darque, who wanted the universes to merge to turn himself into a supremely powerful being. When the future Solar realizes this, he quickly undoes it all in a rather rushed wrap-up.

Despite having the hype of two popular comic book companies behind it, Deathmate was not a resounding success, to say the least. As was common in that era of Image Comics, some individual issues of the series were released long after they were originally solicited. and Deathmate Red wasn't released until months after Deathmate: Epilogue. With fan and consumer interest quickly dwindling, stores were left with large amounts of unsold copies at a time when casual collectors were drifting away from comics.

Production delays weren't the only thing that the title had in common with Image's books at the time. Despite essentially being the Image/Valiant equivalent to DC vs. Marvel, the differences between Image's flashy action and Valiant's tight continuity became abundantly clear as characters were cast in roles they weren't usually cast in. The crossover also lacked some of Image's most famous heroes, including Spawn and Savage Dragon.

Though both publishers are clearly seeing better days, perhaps neither will ever live down one of the most infamous events of the '90s. Eventually, Image would largely abandon its attempt at a shared superhero universe, and it's currently much more of a haven for indie books of all genres. After being purchased by the video game publisher Acclaim, Valiant ceased publication around the turn of the millennium, but the new Valiant Entertainment gave the Valiant heroes a second life in 2012 with a well-received reboot of its classic characters.

Source: Comic Book Resources

(image via Comic Art Fans)

[thisdayincomics]

April 10

After discovering his evangelist preacher parents molesting children from their congregation, Obadiah Archer is captured by his parents, who attempt to murder him and destroy evidence of their crimes by tying him up in their house and setting fire to it. Archer does his best to call upon his faith in God to give him the power to save himself, promising God to bring his parents to justice should God give him the power to get free. He manages to escape, but blacks out from the smoke, and has a near-death experience. Archer sneaks out of the hospital and eventually stows away on a freighter, eventually making his way to a Buddhist monastery in Ladakh, high in the Himalayas. The monks observe that he has extraordinary control over his body, able to perform difficult martial arts moves with ease. He also displays flawless skill with a bow and arrow, which Archer says is an after-effect of his near-death experience. Now a young man, he returns to the United States to bring his parents to justice, as well as any other evildoers he meets. After arriving in California, Archer learns that his parents were arrested and imprisoned a few weeks after he left the States. His purpose lost, he wanders the streets, uncertain of what to do. Eventually, he encounters a scruffy-looking vagrant sitting on the sidewalk who calls himself simply "Armstrong", and asks for spare change. Because no one raised in a Buddhist monastery can refuse to give alms, Archer hands over his last five dollars. Impressed with Archer's generosity, Armstrong takes him for a beer, and regales him with his past exploits, which span thousands of years. Armstrong is a 10,000-year-old immortal who possesses superhuman strength, near-invulnerability, and the ability to heal quickly from injuries. They debut in Archer & Armstrong #0 (April 10, 1992).

[travisellisor]

variant cover to Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps #22 by Riley Rossmo

[graphicpolicy]

Review: Bloodshot Rising Spirit #5

Bloodshot Rising Spirit #5 is a drawn out conversation that has some cool moments but not enough to make it worth it #comics #comicbooks #ncbd

How do you stop an unstoppable weapon?

After a search-and-rescue mission gone awry, Project Rising Spirit’s most powerful supersoldier is alone and AWOL – and only the H.A.R.D. Corps can recover their missing asset! But the team’s abilities might not be up to the task…not when they’re facing off against the untested might of the living weapon of mass destruction codenamed Bl

Thanos snap had…

[tomatotv1]

DEAL OF THE DAY Bloodshot Rising Spirit #5 (Cover C - Stroman) - $3.19 Retail Price: $3.99 You Save: $0.80 After a search-and-rescue mission gone awry, Project Rising Spirit's most powerful supersoldier is alone and AWOL - and only the H.A.R.D. Corps can recover their missing asset! But the team's abilities might not be up to the task...not when they're facing off against the untested might of the living weapon of mass destruction codenamed Bloodshot! For more Valiant comics and graphic novels visit our Indie Comics World Today!! TO BUY CLICK ON LINK BELOW http://tomatovisiontv.wix.com/tomatovision2#!comics/cfvg

[lobocomicsandtoys]

HARBINGER WARS 2 #4 (OF 4) 

THE FINAL BATTLE! LIVEWIRE VS. THE VALIANT UNIVERSE!

We called it the biggest, most impactful, most ambitious Valiant event ever attempted - and we meant it! From across the Valiant Universe, the paths of all of the world's most formidable heroes - X-O Manowar, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, Ninjak, the Secret Weapons, H.A.R.D. Corps, and dozens of newly activated psiots - have finally converged, drawn together by their old ally Livewire's last-ditch effort to protect the powerless. Now, the long-brewing battle between Valiant's greatest icons will finally reach the stratosphere - literally - and, out of the ashes, a new order for the Valiant Universe will be hewn as New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, DIVINITY, Mind MGMT) and comics juggernaut Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR) present the MUST-READ comics showdown of 2018...and no one gets out unscathed!

Available at Lobo Comics & Toys this coming Wednesday, 08/29/2018

visit us on facebook, google+, blogspot, our eBay store, and our website

[radroller]

Stephen Reads Valiant: Part 4

Today we tackle the first crossover event on my long journey through the Valiant Universe: the Harbinger Wars! Valiant has certainly shown they’re capable of quality superhero content, but how will they fare with one of the stinkiest parts of the modern comic industry?

Accessibility: A pet peeve of mine with modern event comics is that they usually involve a lot of required reading from whatever ongoing series lead into them. And as the crux of Harbinger Wars’ plot is a crossover between the characters of Bloodshot and Harbinger, it is advisable that you have been reading those series going into it. However, they give you plenty of info pages that get you up to speed on the involved parties, and for reasons i’m going to go into later it isn’t absolutely necessary to know those facts going into the event miniseries.

The Event: While the plot boils down to a crossover between two books, each of those books has a few factions in play: Peter Stanchek’s Renegades, Toyo Harada’s Harbinger Foundation, Project Rising Spirit, Bloodshot and his troupe of escaped psiot children. When you throw in a few classic superhero comic misunderstandings and a Las Vegas hotel setting we’ve got ourselves an event! If you like either Harbinger or Bloodshot you’re sure to get something outve the event, but if you read both then you’re in for some incredibly fun moments and setpieces. Bloodshot vs Toyo Harada, the Renegades’ first mission together, the fate of the escaped psiots, all these and more unfold in an action packed conflict. Even beyond that, new plotlines begin to develop with the introduction of rogue PRS psiot unit Generation Zero and the wetwork super mercenary unit the H.A.R.D. Corps (God bless 90s comics) adding even more characters to the fray. It’s a fun time, but it also feels like a natural progression of things that were already happening. The event exists for all this cool crossover shit to happen, not the other way around.

The Tie-Ins: One massive compliment i can give this event is how it approaches tie-ins. For one it only affects the involved series, so no other Valiant comic is affected by a crossover that has little to do with them. Second, and this is critical, whether the tie-ins are required reading or not is completely up to the reader. See the way it’s structured is the event covers the general plot, with slight focus on Generation Zero and the H.A.R.D. Corps. Then Bloodshot tells the exact same events told from the perspective of the Bloodshot cast, and same for Harbinger. This means that, in theory, you could be an avid reader of either Bloodshot or Harbinger and be totally satisfied with its tie-in issues without having to worry about the other comics in the event. You’d be missing out on some good stuff mind you, but the beauty of events like this is you get introduced to a greater universe of characters you could potentially be interested in! And the fact that Harbinger Wars doesn’t FORCE you to do that is very refreshing!

Overall: Harbinger Wars was a great time. If this is how Valiant handles a small event like this i’m very excited to see how they do with something bigger. But i am NOT in a rush for another event, some normal comics will do me just fine. Next i’ll be going into more Bloodshot with some H.A.R.D. Corps thrown in, a much appreciared return to some laughs in Archer & Armstrong, and an introduction to a character ive been looking forward to: The Eternal Warrior!!!!

[comiccrusaders]

All hands on deck!

Divided but not yet conquered, Livewire and the Harbinger Renegades are making their last stand for the fate of their fellow psiots! Targeted by X-O Manowar and the governmental forces of the H.A.R.D. Corps, the most powerful players behind the cataclysmic conflict that has torn America asunder are about to converge in a violent conflict where the ultimate fate of the Valiant Universe will be decided… And Ninjak and Bloodshot are about to get a crucial new role in the heart of it all!

From coast to coast, New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, DIVINITY) and superstar artist Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR, NINJA-K) are about to unleash a sonic boom of seismic consequences as Valiant’s spectacular summer event rages forward!

HARBINGER WARS 2 #3 (of 4) Written by MATT KINDT Art by TOMÁS GIORELLO with RENATO GUEDES Colors by DIEGO RODRIGUEZ Letters by DAVE SHARPE Cover A by J.G. JONES (MAY182076) Cover B by MICO SUAYAN (MAY182077) Interlocking Variant by JUAN JOSÉ RYP(MAY182078) HW2 Icon Variant by FELIPE MASSAFERA (MAY182079) Pre-Order Edition by TOMÁS GIORELLO

$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On Sale JULY 25th

PREVIEW: HARBINGER WARS 2 #3 (of 4) All hands on deck! Divided but not yet conquered, Livewire and the Harbinger Renegades are making their last stand for the fate of their fellow psiots!

[ventureonward]

Who is Bloodshot?

Bloodshot is the one-person wrecking machine for Project Rising Spirit contractor agency that uses experimental and often unethical weapons. One day Bloodshot was on a mission when he was captured by a former scientist named Kuretich.  He reprogrammed Bloodshot’s nanites to reveal his fake memories. Kuretich offered to help Bloodshot find his identity if they work together.

Bloodshot is the one-person wrecking machine for Project Rising Spirit contractor agency that uses experimental and often unethical weapons. One day Bloodshot was on a mission when he was captured by a former scientist named Kuretich. He reprogrammed Bloodshot’s nanites to reveal his fake memories. Kuretich offered to help Bloodshot find his identity if they work together.

Learning Bloodshot was in the hands of the Harbinger Foundation, P.R.S. arranged a raid on the Harbinger Foundation, thus reinstated the H.A.R.D. Corps team to retrieve Bloodshot. In return for their assistance, Bloodshot agreed to work for P.R.S. again as H.A.R.D. Corps field leader if they give him his files. However, the files only draw more questions than answers .

After escaping the facility, he went into hiding until Livewire found him and work with Unity against a group of aliens called the Armor Hunters. After their defeat, he worked with MI6 on routine missions to uncover a strange box that stood a chance against an enemy known as the Immortal Enemy.

As the Valiant heroes contended with the Immortal Enemy, Bloodshot was relayed to protect the personification of Earth, Kay McHenry, with whom they grew close. However, despite his best efforts, Bloodshot lost Kay, but she removes the nanites inside him before she went. 

Going by Ray Garrison, Bloodshot lived in Colorado, where he learned that P.R.S. was seemingly changing ordinary people into killers. As he reclaims his nanites, he met a woman name Magic. Sometime after the Bloodshot copies, Bloodshot was taken and marooned on a peculiar island. There he was attacked by a cyborg named Deathmate. He soon learns of past men, Bloodshot’s. Bloodshot then knows the identity of Deathmate of whom was the revived, Kay McHenry. Bloodshot and his predecessors left the island while P.R.S. moved to the next stage of their mission. Enter: The Bloodshot Virus.

Dispersing the Bloodshot virus to New York City, Bloodshot and its predecessors were brought to N.Y.C. by Ninjak. Bloodshot realized that he could absorb the nanites but soon came to conflict with Deathmate. However, Bloodshot freed Kay from her brainwashing. Kay used her abilities to absorb the entire virus into her body. After the ordeal, Ray tracked Magic in which they begin a relationship.

 Some time had passed, and Magic gave birth to Bloodshot’s daughter Jessie. Learning of Magic’s abusive father, Ray went on a mission to kill him when he tried to get her back to his cult. He soon knows that his daughter was ill due to having his nanites.

 With science failing Jessie, Bloodshot took her to be healed by Baron Samedi. Samedi agreed to heal Jessie if he would kill a man in the 41st century, which he does. When Bloodshot returned, he learned Jessie was taken by the Scarred Man and Project Omen. Along with Magic, Punk Mambo, and the Bloodshot Squad, the group rescued Jessie.

[comicnate]

Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps 14 cover by Rafael Grampa

[comicweek]

Harbinger War 2 Info

In advance of New York Comic Con 2017, Valiant is proud to announce the full scope and scale of 2018’s must-read crossover event, HARBINGER WARS 2 – beginning on May 2nd, 2018 from two of the most powerful creative minds in comics today, New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (X-O MANOWAR, DIVINITY) and Academy Award nominee Eric Heisserer (SECRET WEAPONS), alongside the powerhouse artistic team of Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR, NINJA-K) and Raúl Allen (SECRET WEAPONS)!

Utilizing an expansive, new and never-before-attempted comics format, each issue of the HARBINGER WARS 2 event will come fully loaded with 48 pages of content and two complete, full-length 22-page stories chronicling dueling fronts in the nationwide battle that will soon consume the Valiant Universe’s most powerful forces. The first, by writer Matt Kindt and artist Tomás Giorello – the blockbuster creative team that launched X-O MANOWAR, the most successful independent series of 2017 – will feature the head-on collision of the Harbinger Renegades and the newly returned X-O Manowar. The second, by writer Eric Heisserer and artist Raúl Allen with Patricia Martín – reuniting the all-star creators behind SECRET WEAPONS, 2017’s most successful independent limited series – will thrust Livewire and her new team of recruits into the center of a power struggle with the potential to tear America apart…

“The team at Valiant has set out to make HARBINGER WARS 2 the biggest and most impactful comic book event in a generation,” said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. “Never before has a publisher attempted to accomplish this much within the confines of the monthly ‘event comic’ format. For one single admission price, we’re going to be giving readers twice the page count, twice the creative firepower, and twice the scale of a standard comics crossover – all while hopefully redefining expectations of what these kinds of stories can accomplish. For fans new and old, HARBINGER WARS 2 will the ultimate introduction to the Valiant Universe and its greatest characters from a truly all-star group of some of the most talented creators – Matt Kindt, Eric Heisserer, Tomás Giorello, and Raúl Allen – working anywhere in the medium today.”

For the rare and immensely powerful subset of humanity known as psiots, their unique abilities have come with an enormous cost. Once, their existence was known only to a select few. Now, the revelation that thousands of these latent telekinetic “harbingers” secretly live among us… with the potential to become active any moment… has led the American government to a dramatic tipping point…

Armed with new extra-governmental authority, the deep-black military contractor known as OMEN as been authorized to identify, evaluate, and, if need be, eliminate all super-normal threats to the homeland. H.A.R.D. Corps units have been deployed into cities and towns across the United States to enforce their orders.

In the east, one of the most powerful minds on Earth, Peter Stanchek, is leading his band of Renegades across the country, activating any potential psiots willing to join them, and building an insurrection force of ultra-powerful and unwieldy new powers that will soon bring war to OMEN’s doorstep… and the unstoppable force known as X-O Manowar raging back to Earth…

In the west, Livewire – the telekinetic technopath with the ability to bend machines and computers to her will – will be forced to choose between her former allies… or her newfound team of Secret Weapons. As the situation escalates beyond human control, the United States will be plunged into darkness from coast and coast, launching Bloodshot and Ninjak into a dangerous mission to neutralize their one-time teammate – and setting the stage for the most shocking, most violent, and most consequential clash of powers ever witnessed in the history of the Valiant Universe!

“Only Valiant would dare to tell a story as big, as demanding, and, frankly, as bold, as what Matt, Eric, Tomas, and Raúl have in store,” added Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons. “For the past year, we’ve seen the dominoes behind HARBINGER WARS 2 line up across the Valiant Universe in series like X-O MANOWAR, SECRET WEAPONS, HARBINGER RENEGADE, and more. Now, all of those pieces – including Valiant’s most central heroes and villains – will be drawn into the eye of a conflagration that might just be the single most ambitious piece of comic book storytelling released in 2018. This is a world war for the Valiant Universe – a conflict so big that it engulfs multiple armies on multiple fronts on an unthinkable scale. By the time it’s all over, the axis of our universe will have fundamentally shifted once and for all time…and there will never, ever be any normal status quo to return to.”

Next summer, the seismic comics event of 2018 erupts in full force as X-O Manowar, Livewire, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, the Secret Weapons, Ninjak, and a cast of thousands draw their battle lines in HARBINGER WAR 2 #1 (of 4) –  featuring covers by superstar artist J.G. Jones (Final Crisis) and more top talents soon to be revealed!

Scheduled to detonate in comic shops everywhere on May 2nd, 2018 – just days before Free Comic Book Day

[graphicpolicy]

Review: Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4

Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4 is a good place to start the series if you haven't been reading it so far #comics

Hard to kill!

When a walking weapon of war like Bloodshot goes completely missing, you need the toughest of the tough to do the dirty work of bringing him back. Luckily, Project Rising Spirit has just such a team at their disposal – a black budget strike force with capabilities no ordinary soldier could ever conceive. Enter…the H.A.R.D. Corps!

In the interest of full disclosure, I read…