Welcome to the Austin Books & Comics New Reader Guide! We’re here to introduce some of our favorite books that you may not already know about, and maybe even help you find your next favorite comic series!
Since their relaunch in 2012, Valiant (give ‘em a follow on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr!) has been putting out top-quality comics in a tight, shared universe that has garnered consistent critical acclaim. Some books regularly cross over or feature characters from other books, while others are pretty much entirely independent. They have a wide variety of genres, from political action-thrillers, high-concept sci-fi, supernatural romance, and buddy action-comedies, so there’s something for everyone!
All titles are available at the store, and if not we will be happy to special order them for you!
Ongoing/Collected Titles
Archer & Armstrong
Obadiah Archer is a naive assassin raised in an fundamentalist cult called the Dominion, part of a larger conspiracy of groups called The Sect who aim to take over the world. Aram Anni-Padda, aka Armstrong, is a 6,000 year old immortal warrior who is more content drinking, reading poetry, and palling around with artists. Archer is sent out by his parents to kill Armstrong and gather the parts of the Boon, which granted Armstrong and his brothers immortality, only to learn the truth about his parents’ evil plans. Together they travel the world fighting the various arms of the Sect, including a Wall Street death cult called the 1% and psychic Nazi Tibetan Monks.
Genres: Action, adventure, comedy
For fans of: Globetrotting adventure, social/pop culture satire, mismatched buddy action-comedies, Marvel’s The Incredible Hercules
Number of volumes: 7
A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong
The continuing adventures of Valiant’s mismatched pairing of a drunken immortal warrior and his super-polite assassin best friend. The new series finds Armstrong reminiscing about an old friend, so he dives deep into his magic bag to retrieve an old bottle of whiskey (Lagavulin 1907, to be precise). Along the way he gets captured by the mad party god Bacchus, who has been trapped in the bag for millennia and now commands armies of goblins and monsters. Archer discovers his friend is missing and dives straight into the weirdness contained within Armstrong’s bag.
Genres: Action, adventure, comedy, fantasy
For fans of: Cartoony action, buddy action-comedies, bizarre adventures with goofy new characters
Number of issues (to date): 5
Bloodshot
Bloodshot is an amnesiac soldier, enhanced with nanomachines that give him a variety of abilities including enhanced strength, speed, and the capability to withstand and recover from an ungodly amount of damage. For years he was used by the private military corporation Project Rising Spirit as the perfect weapon for a variety of black operations. On one mission he was captured by a rogue PRS scientist who revealed the truth to him. Now, Bloodshot seeks revenge on the people who manipulated him for years, as well as redemption for all of the atrocities committed while under PRS’ control.
Genres: Action, political thriller, military sci-fi
For fans of: smart, exciting action movies, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Comic and film), the Bourne films
Number of volumes: 6
Bloodshot Reborn
Following the events of The Valiant, Bloodshot is a shadow of his former self. Eager to escape the violence and chaos of his past life but still plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he has committed, he works as a handyman in a small-town motel. He is reluctantly pulled back into action when a rash of mass shootings occurs committed by people with white skin and red circles on their chests.
Genres: Action, thriller
For fans of: smart, exciting action movies, psychological thrillers, redemption stories, Old Man Logan, The Punisher
Number of volumes (to date): 3
Eternal Warrior
For 6,000 years Gilad Anni-Padda, the youngest and bravest of the three immortal Anni-Padda brothers, has fought at the behest of the Geomancer, who can speak with the spirit of the Earth itself. After millenia of constant warfare, he has grown weary and simply wants to live a quiet life in peace. However, for the Eternal Warrior, the battle is never far behind.
Genres: Action, adventure, fantasy
For fans of: 300, historical action/drama
Number of volumes: 3
Wrath of the Eternal Warrior
Following the events of Book of Death, Eternal Warrior Gilad Anni-Padda finds himself in a foreign yet familiar place far beyond the reaches of life and time itself. Surrounded by strange, evil forces and an overwhelming sense of dread, he sets out to return to the world of the living.
Genres: Action, supernatural
For fans of: action, horror
Number of volumes (to date): 1
Faith
Spinning out of the pages of Harbinger and Unity, fan favorite Faith Herbert aka Zephyr is setting out on her own to discover what it means to be a solo superhero. Hiding her identity as mild-mannered blogger Summer Smith, the high-flying fangirl heads out to Los Angeles where in between stopping muggers and puppy-nappers she uncovers a deep-rooted alien conspiracy.
Genres: Action, superhero
For fans of: Ms. Marvel, bright, fun, and positive superheroics, stories with a strong female lead
Number of volumes (to date): 1
Harbinger
Peter Stanchek is a psiot, an individual with incredible psychic powers. He is recruited into the Harbinger Foundation by Toyo Harada, a rich philanthropist and easily the most powerful psiot ever. Peter is horrified to learn of Harada’s methods and intentions of global domination. He escapes and recruits a team to fight against Harada: Kris, a brilliant childhood friend with no powers; Torque, a disabled young man whose psychic powers make him appear as a big, strong, superhero; Flamingo, a woman who can create and manipulate fire; and Faith, a full-figured, confident, geeky young woman who can fly.
Genres: Action, teen drama, sci-fi
For fans of: Runaways, a darker, more grounded take on the X-Men
Number of volumes: 6
Imperium
Following the events of Harbinger, all-powerful psiot Toyo Harada decides to take a more active role in the shaping his vision of humanity’s future. Gathering an incredible force including a genetically engineered Vine assassin, a former terrorist-turned-super-soldier, a pacifist killer robot, and an amoral interdimensional scientist, Harada begins his “battle for Utopia,” which he is determined to win at any cost.
Genres: Action, sci-fi, political thriller
For fans of: Warren Ellis’ Thunderbolts, villains who believe that they’re the hero
Number of volumes: 3
Ivar, Timewalker
Ivar, the oldest and wisest of the three immortal Anni-Padda brothers, can track small holes in space-time that he uses to travel through time. Dr. Neela Sethi is a brilliant young physicist working at CERN who discovers time travel. Their paths cross immediately before she makes this discovery, and they end up teaming with Ivar’s brothers Armstrong and Gilad, traveling across space and time, including (not) killing Hitler, the end of all time, alternate timelines, and the 41st century. Did I mention clown vikings? Because clown vikings.
Genres: Adventure, comedy, sci-fi
For fans of: Doctor Who, exciting adventures with a lot of humor
Number of volumes: 3
Ninjak
Colin King aka Ninjak is a British aristocrat and one of MI-6’s top intelligence agents. His solo book follows his hunt for the Shadow Seven, an international criminal cabal connected the people who trained him to be the world-class operative/assassin that he is today, as well as his formative years as a child and later as a new recruit with MI-6.
Genres: Action, adventure, spy thriller
For fans of: the James Bond films, Batman, high-tech spy action
Number of volumes (to date): 3
Quantum and Woody
Straight-laced Eric and sleazy con man Woody are estranged foster brothers, brought back together by the murder of their father. During their investigation they end up accidentally gaining amazing powers, but have to KLANG their wristbands together every 24 hours or they will de-atomize completely. Eric, calling himself Quantum, is determined to be a superhero, while Woody is more focused on using his powers for fame and fortune. Throughout their misadventures they run afoul of everyone from separatist militias and a Thomas Edison-founded super science terrorist organization.
Genres: Action, comedy, satire
For fans of: Psych, buddy action comedies, political/social satire, equally crass and heartfelt characterization
Number of volumes: 4
Rai
Witness the future of the Valiant Universe in the 41st century. Japan was built up and developed into a massive pillar, which detached from Earth and is now an orbiting station home to billions of people. New Japan is run by a benevolent artificial intelligence called Father, and the nation itself has divided into sectors based on social hierarchy. Enforcing Father’s justice is the near-mythic figure Rai, the spirit guardian of New Japan, who is called to investigate the first murder in centuries.
Genres: Action, sci-fi
For fans of: futuristic/cyberpunk sci-fi, Japanese culture, Akira, The Matrix
Number of volumes (to date): 3
Shadowman
Jack Boniface has inherited his late father’s role as the Shadowman, a supernatural guardian against the forces of Master Darque and the Deadside. The gritty underworld of New Orleans will become a supernatural battleground as Jack struggles to live up to his father’s legacy and preventing the forces of darkness from running rampant on the world of the living.
Genres: Horror, action
For fans of: horror with a voodoo/Cajun bent, Supernatural (TV series)
Number of volumes: 5
Unity
The team of machine-talking psiot Livewire, Gilad Anni-Padda the Eternal Warrior, MI-6 operative Colin King aka Ninjak, and Aric of Dacia aka X-O Manowar unite to use their unique skills to counter global threats to humanity, including psychic terrorist sleeper cells, intergalactic alien hunters, and Toyo Harada himself.
Genres: Action, sci-fi
For fans of: The Avengers, Justice League, team books, non-stop action
Number of volumes: 7
X-O Manowar
Aric of Dacia is a 5th century Visigoth warrior. Brave, noble, but brash to a fault, he was on the verge of leading his people to sack Rome. Immediately before the final push, he was kidnapped by a scout team of aliens known as the Vine. Along with several of his fellow Visigoths as well as other humans from around the world, he was enslaved and tortured for years until he stole the Vine’s sacred X-O Manowar armor and returned to Earth. However, due to time dilation from lightspeed travel, 1600 years had passed and he was now in the present. A man out of time and equipped with invincible power armor, Aric declares himself protector of Earth against all threats.
Genres: Action, sci-fi
For fans of: “Man out of time” tropes, fast-paced storytelling, the idea of how a superpowered person would shift global politics
Number of volumes: 11
Event/Limited Series
4001 AD
After a failed attempt to overthrow Father and free New Japan from his despotic rule, Rai finds himself exiled to a barren and desolate Earth. However, he won’t be alone, with allies including a much older and wiser Eternal Warrior and a gigantic power armor derived from the original X-O Manowar. The fight for the future begins in 4001 AD.
Genres: Action, sci-fi
For fans of: futuristic sci-fi, cyberpunk, revolution stories
Armor Hunters
The Armor Hunters are a corps of elite soldiers, gathered to stop the growing spread of unstoppable power armors across the universe. Their hunt leads them to Earth and puts not only X-O Manowar, but all of humanity in the crosshairs.
Genres: Action, sci-fi, crossovers
For fans of: Sci-fi action on an epic scale
Book of Death
Following the events of The Valiant, the Earth seems to be rebelling against humanity, with bizarre natural disasters killing hundreds of people. Having brought a young Geomancer named Tama from the distant future to the present day, Gilad Anni-Padda consults her knowledge of future events in order to stop the death and destruction caused by the Earth itself.
Genres: Action, fantasy
For fans of: crossovers, fast-paced event books with major consequences
Dead Drop
Four interconnected stories follow the unlikely grouping of X-O Manowar, Archer, Detective Cejudo, Beta-Max, and MI-6 operative Neville Alcott as they desperately pursue a courier carrying a deadly alien virus across New York City. If they don’t catch the virus before it’s released, it’s the end of all life on Earth as we know it.
Genres: Action
For fans of: fast-paced non-stop action
The Delinquents
Conspiracy-busting best pals Archer & Armstrong team up with the World’s Worst Superhero Team of Quantum & Woody in a cross-crountry adventure to find a massive hoard of hobo treasure while preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. Using an ass-map. Yes, really.
Genres: Adventure, comedy
For fans of: crossovers, road trip comedies, team-up stories
Divinity
Decades ago, Abram Adams was the USSR’s top candidate selected for a top-secret program that would not only beat the Americans into space, but to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. He was lost, presumed dead, and erased from the history books. Now he has returned in the present with the powers of a god.
Genres: Sci-fi
For fans of: smart sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey
Divinity II
In the first Divinity miniseries, a trio of cosmonauts were sent to the furthest depths of space. One of them returned with godlike powers, threatening to shift the balance of world affairs. Now another has returned, and is setting her sights on using her immense powers to restore Mother Russia to her former Soviet glory.
Genres: Sci-fi, political thriller
For fans of: classic sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Cold War thrillers
The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage
Shan Fong, better known as Doctor Mirage, has the ability to talk to the dead, a gift she uses to help solve murders and bring peace to the grieving. Sadly, the only one she can’t communicate with is her recently-deceased husband Hwen. Shan embarks on a journey into the world of the dead in the hopes of finding her lost love, before he is truly lost forever.
Genres: Supernatural, horror, romance, drama
For fans of: supernatural romance, strong female leads, varying ways people deal with grief
The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Lives
Following the events of the first miniseries, Shan and Hwen Fong are searching for some way to restore Hwen to his physical form. They discover an ancient, obscure spell that can do exactly that, only to find that it accompanied by an unspeakable evil that threatens to destroy both the living and the dead.
Genres: Supernatural, horror, romance, action, drama
For fans of: romance, strong female leads, Supernatural (TV series)
Harbinger Wars
Bloodshot and the psiot children rescued from Project Rising Spirit, Toyo Harada and the Harbinger Foundation, the group of psiots known as Generation Zero, Peter Stanchek and his Renegades, and the advanced paramilitary force of Project Rising Spirit all come crashing together on the Las Vegas Strip in the first Valiant crossover, featuring the casts of Bloodshot and Harbinger.
Genres: Action, sci-fi, crossovers
For fans of: Large scale action
The Valiant
For 6,000 years during his time as the Eternal Warrior, Gilad Anni-Padda has faced the Immortal Enemy three times. Three times he has failed, which led to the Geomancer dying and Earth being plunged into a new dark age. This time, he won’t be fighting alone. Valiant’s major event of 2014 brings together every major hero of the Valiant Universe, with a main focus on Bloodshot and the Eternal Warrior.
Genres: Action, adventure, horror
For fans of: fast-paced event books with lasting consequences