Comic publisher’s ‘Resurgence’ set for September

Word Balloons #1230: Alien Books has set Valiant crossover event series to shine light on characters

The heroes of Valiant Comics must take sides as a scientist with dark designs lures followers with promises of utopia and immortality. 

The four-issue “Resurgence of the Valiant Universe” starts with a $4.99 issue #1 in stores on Sept. 18. 

Alien Books, the current publishers of the Valiant Comics heroes, isn’t positioning this series as a reboot but rather a return to form. 

Alien Books and Valiant Comics Editor-in-Chief Lysa Hawkins told Gizmodo the series is designed to appeal to newcomers and longtime Valiant fans. 

“The Valiant characters deserve a greater spotlight and to be enjoyed by as many fans as possible,” Hawkins said. “Resurgence is how we begin to shine a light on the gold within our books.”

The heroes of Valiant include X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Ivar, Rai, Livewire, Faith, and more. 

In this crossover event series, according to a release from Alien Books, the villainous Dr. Silk amasses a huge following after promising to put an end to death, disease, and war. Lines are drawn, and the balance of power in the world shifts as Silk's promises start to prove true!

The series is written by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Fred Van Lente and AJ Ampadu, with art by Guillermo Fajardo and Julio Azamore. 

While Valiant has been known for being very reticent to revive characters killed on the page, in “Resurgence,” a fan-favorite character who’s been out of sight for a while returns in dynamic fashion. 

Van Lente answered a fan question on Reddit about why this was the right time to revive this character. 

“So, I understand that ‘dead is dead’ is a mantra I've heard bandied about vis-a-vis Valiant a lot, but let us not forget the Geomancer Kay McHenry died in ‘The Valiant’ and then got brought back some time ago as Deathmate in ‘Bloodshot,’ so it's not like it's never happened before,” he said. “The person you are referring to (you are being cagey as to their identity so so will I) has a very crucial role to play in the ‘Resurgence’ storyline that will become more and more obvious as the series goes along. So we HAD to bring them back!”

Ampadu, discussing the series in the Reddit AMA, said he’s already received support from fans. 

“Valiant was my favorite comic universe when I was a teenager. Writing for them as an adult has been a dream come true!” Ampadu said. “I'm only responsible for a small part of the Resurgence storyline, but I really enjoyed my contribution. It's a large, world-building event, so it's all hands on deck at Valiant/Alien as we try to pull together all of the pieces.” 

“Resurgence of the Valiant Universe” #1 carries a Mature (16+) rating due to a page containing nudity.

Valiant Comics was founded by former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter with businessman Steven Massarsky in 1989. The Valiant comics universe created by Shooter and others became extremely popular in the 1990s, introducing characters including Bloodshot, Shadowman and the Harbinger teens.

After peaking during the comic book boom of the early 1990s, Valiant was later sold to video game maker Acclaim, who rebooted the company’s titles. The Valiant properties were auctioned off after Acclaim’s bankruptcy. Valiant Comics returned in 2012 under new ownership; after successfully relaunching the comics characters, the company was sold to DMG Entertainment in 2018. Alien Books became the publisher of Valiant Comics under a licensing agreement announced in 2023. 

Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma.