Valiant goes 8bit

If you've read any of these Fresh Ink posts, you may already know that I've been absolutely floored by how great every single book Valiant has published since the company's rebirth last year. I read every single title they make, X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Archer and Armstrong, and Shadowman. Currently Valiant is preparing for it's first big "event" story, Harbinger Wars. Looks like Bloodshot and the kids in Harbinger are gonna be taking it to Project Rising Spirit.

In what has to be the freakin coolest promo in comic book history, Valiant has teamed with Storm City Entertainment to release a free 8bit side scrolling game for mobile devices to coincide with the release of the first issue of Harbinger Wars! BAD.ASS. Check out this story for the details.

That's not all though! Also in June, Valiant is gonna keep the 8bit love going with special variant covers for all their books, done in the style of 8bit art. These are so awesome I can hardly stand it. I especially love the Contra influenced Bloodshot, and Double Dragon influenced Harbinger covers. I'm of course going to be buying them all though...

Marvel and DC may dominate the sales charts every month, but folks, believe me when I tell you that nobody is consistently putting out quality like Valiant. Dark Horse comes the closest, and Valiant's looking at the in the rear view mirror too. Things like this make me love the company even more. I've been a fan of these characters since their original introduction way back in the mid 90's, and while they eventually went astray and Valiant folded, I have every confidence that with the new management in place, we're going to be enjoying our Valiant comics for years to come, and I, for one, can't wait to see what they do next.