Comic Book Haul #19: Valiant Comics History: Rai, Harbinger, Solar, Ninjak [ASMR Math, Soft-Spoken]

[@Cross_Hat]

Yeesss so happy to have another comic book haul soft spokeness! Peace in my soul and a nice way to end the day. Thank you, chycho as always.

[@chycho]

My pleasure, and the live stream of the haul will be uploaded today as well, just in case you want to take a look at what happened Behind the Scene for this video ;)

[@Cross_Hat]

chycho excellent, most excellent, I cannot wait my friend.

[@nealblackerby4294]

Far and away, one of if not the most quality ASMR. It takes special talent to make literally anything relaxing. Even when I disagree on politics, I absolutely adore your work. You are so unbothered. It's magical. I'm not a huge comic book guy. But I could watch this all day.

[@alexd15680]

Great Haul. I just picked up some key issues from Valiant in the 90s last week. Harbinger # 1, Archer & Armstrong # 0 Gold, Solarman # 1, Solarman # 3, X-O manowar # 1, X-O manor # 4, and Rai # 0 (Glossy cover). I remembered seeing these issues as a kid, but I couldn't afford them. Now, I buy them all.

[@chycho]

Those are some of the major key issues from that period. Great buys :)

[@terrencecoccoli524]

I really appreciate your affection for Valiant because as I’ve read some of these books, I have developed an appreciation for them too. It’s a shame that they didn’t cement themselves up there with DC and Marvel. Although I know that’s a tough task

[@Leotheanimal87]

Alright yes! I’ve been waiting for one of your non live ASMR comic book videos for so long! Don’t get me wrong. I like your live videos, but prefer these since they help me relax and fall asleep at night. Keep up the good work Chycho!

[@chycho]

Awesome, Leonardo! :) ...I've been dying to get back into editing videos as well, just had to make sure I could get the live streaming to a level where it was close to this experience (we'll definitely improve on that front in the next upgrade, the next power up), and I did need to give the body a break from editing, it was way overdue... glad to be back at this though :)

[@MrRigamortis86]

Excellent video! Those Valiant Hard Covers are fantastic! There is a version on Harbinger that is recolored and looks very nice. It also includes the 0 issue and the Harada story off the coupons. I think you played a huge role in myself rediscovering these 90s Valiant BROTHER!

[@chycho]

Awesome! They are fun, as well as important comics to have, imho. As for these Masters HC, I'm loving the Ninjak one in this haul so I might try and get my hands on the others as well, would be great to have.

[@teacomics]

Hey Chycho! I'm finally getting to watch this haul. It was interesting to see the printing history of Valiant comics in the 90's. I would like to flip through those Solar books, they look interesting. Take care and happy reading :)

[@chycho]

Loved putting the data together as well and seeing it all in one place. Incredible that print runs right now are so small compared to the 90's, unfortunate for the industry but hopefully they will slowly start to increase readership.... and happy reading and collecting to you as well :)

[@teacomics]

Really cool to see the data. Would love to see more of that. I imagine that with the popularity of TPB and Hardcover collections (and digital) that single issue print runs will never be the same as they once were. But as long as people are still buying, reading and creating comics I'm happy. Peace

[@chycho]

True that, trades and collected works are definitely a huge part of that, which is a good thing. More readers is always awesome to have. Has for additional data, in the next haul we look at the print runs for DMZ and X-O Manowar, fun set of data as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2qxZpmbnLiipM0

[@northernboy7272]

Chycho amazing glad you made a non live stream. You are the best man.

[@chycho]

Me too, brother, long overdue... much love :)

[@tomholt1080]

Your videos make work fly by. Cheers chycho. Ill have to check out some valient comics too. I saw some last week at my local comic shop.

[@malachys052]

All of his comics must be worth so much. Takes dedication

[@pashatlum1687]

Spoken like a laymen. Valiant's are actually mostly worthless. Of course all it takes is some hit film to make even the crummiest comic spike in value, but these are not those comics at the moment.

[@tetrakings]

Chycho…..you put a stress mark on that Solar #1 30:09 top left(about 2 inches down)...perfect condition and after you showed pages at 32:06. You do your homework buddy but you have to handle these babies better.

[@chycho]

Oh no! ... guess that is the sacrifice that must be made to share these books, the price paid... that said, for sure, I do need to handle these comic haul with a finer touch... just get too damn excited ;)

[@Constantine-316]

I loved all the data

[@Mr_Rob_otto]

Just a couple comments: 1. You should be able to buy replacement blades for that box cutter, assuming it’s like most box cutters and is designed to allow for blade replacement. If not, sometimes a little creative engineering will take care of that. 2. Just because a book has a low print run doesn’t equate with value. Factors like first appearances of characters matter as does a character’s current popularity, or whether a movie or tv show is being made, etc. Lots of books have had low print runs for lots of reasons. Mostly because they weren’t popular and people weren’t buying them because they didn’t like the characters, storylines, writer or artist, etc. Most of those books are best lost to history. Enjoyed this nonetheless, Cycho.

[@chycho]

Thanks, Robert, once the time comes I'll see what I can do about the box cutter. As for #2, agree, print run is not the only factor, but for certain books/titles, it comes into play in a big way. The trend of collecting Variants is just a version of this, induced scarcity, for the most part anyway, we'll see about it's longevity.

[@Mr_Rob_otto]

Chycho, good point you raise regarding the industry’s use of and reliance on variant covers! I’m okay with it up to a point. I seek certain variants out because I love the beautiful artwork or because I like certain artists’ style. I look at them as mini art canvasses. I’m buying books on titles I normally wouldn’t buy solely because of the art. I sometimes don’t even read the stories inside. That’s okay, right? I’m not doing it as an investment necessarily, because it gets costly and exhausting tracking some of these variants down. Especially store variants that you can only get online from certain stores. I guess I’m good with it if it helps keep the industry afloat and the quality remains high. But it’s definitely a money suck on my wallet and there has to be a limit. 20 variant covers is way too many for a single issue and is clearly a cynical money grab (I’m referring to that recent Iron Man #1 release that had a slew of variant covers). Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences with variants. Whether you collect them and especially how you feel about them from an investment standpoint. Sometimes I feel like I’m throwing my money away, even though I’m only buying the variant covers I really like from an artistic standpoint. Thanks again, Chycho!

[@chycho]

For sure, that's okay, buying books and not reading them. I've probably only read 20-30% of my collection. Maybe in my old age I'll read the rest. In general, I just buy what I can afford and what interests me. As for the variants, I'm with you. I only buy very few, and I usually don't spend very much, at most $10 to $15, and pretty much the same reason as you. It's our hobby and we can enjoy it any way we want, that's the beauty of it :)

[@PieterKleij]

Yeah ! Comics ! And a long one too !

[@alexd15680]

I am curious what is the print run for Magnus # 1?

[@chycho]

Looks like it was around 80,000. The links in the description of this video have a lot of the print runs.

[@felixthecat1528]

HELL YEAH CHYCHO U ROCK MAN🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👌

[@fortknobberdale]

Hey, Chycho! It's me again! Just wondering, when you say you "made an offer" do you mean specifically the option a seller can make available to "Make offer"? I rarely see that option on an ebay listing, and would like to maybe make some offers anyway. I'm new on ebay, and unsure on the etiquette.. is it frowned upon to message a seller to make an offer even though the seller only has "Buy Now" as an option available? Would appreciate any thoughts on this. Hope you're doing good, my friend!

[@chycho]

Yup, mainly I mean when they have "Buy it Now" and then "Make an Offer", but I've also contacted sellers directly and asked them what they would charge for a bunch of books. Basically the name of the game is that sellers want to sell their books, as long as you are reasonable and nice there is nothing wrong with contacting them.

[@fortknobberdale]

@@chycho Alright, I'll go for it! Thanks, Chycho!

[@fortknobberdale]

@@chycho I got yet another question. I'm considering a purchase and there are a few books with story-value for me but the seller also has some of those "rare ones", you speak of, from Valiant. As I am new to comics, grading, and values it is difficult to say what a premium price book would see in value as the grading goes down. Comparing, for instance, a raw comic worth 25 US dollars graded 9.2, against the same book but graded 6.5. Sorry to keep bugging you but I'm having a hard time finding sources online that would help. If you have any good sources that describes what I'm asking then feel free to share! As always, thank you, and Godspeed.

[@chycho]

you can try a few different things:.... 1) try the evay search, but do it for completed/sold listings. Here is X-O #1: www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=x-o+manowar+%231+1992&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Sold=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=V8R4E6&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=2&_sop=1&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&LH_Complete=1 .... 2) try mucomicshop: www.mycomicshop.com/search?q=xo+manowar+%231&pubid=&PubRng= ...also a price guide: comicspriceguide.com ...slowly you'll get a feel for what the going price is. Let me know if that helps.

[@snarferyasmr3739]

Have you picked up any of the cat cosplay covers?

[@chycho]

haha... yup! I did.... not all of them though, whatever that came through the store I have my pull box at. Fun :)

[@VexingLive]

NinjaK 1 came out the month I was born! XD

[@chycho]

haha... happy Ninja B-day, Vex :))

[@culturefan]

One of the things you did not mention in your charts and graphs, when referring to comics as an investment is: demand. Comics are not much of an investment--if at all. Even if a comic like those Valiant comics you purchased have a small print run, they they still won't be worth much in the future unless there is demand for them, which I suspect there won't be or at least not much to speak of. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you are going to buy comics as an investment then you should at least buy comics that have a high demand, but I think you'll find those comics are very rare and pricey already.

[@chycho]

I disagree with you regarding investing in comics, art and human artifacts are and have been an amazing sector to invest in. I agree with you regarding liquidity though, and we have talked about this a lot in other hauls, one of them being this video about my cgc buy and collection: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqeygaKHZsioZ5I ... and of course in the videos from the Personal Finance playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL9sfzC9bUPxlEbr7eqP8H8rqGSXono-9W

[@chycho]

Awesome! Love Ninjak, and Quesada is definitely legend status :)

[@sfazeekcyrall133]

Drug guide

[@eddya.3776]

Chycho thanks for the Valiant video that's my favorite. Just wondering what your take is on Vin Diesel being cast as Bloodshot? I personally hate it, the guy is a horrible actor and I was truly hoping for something special. I have a feeling that Sony is going to butcher the Valiant Universe especially now that I read that they are making a Faith movie just to have the first plus size super hero. UGH!

[@chycho]

I actually love the idea of Diesel being Bloodshot. The first movie that I saw him in was Pitch Black, and I thought he did a fantastic job, I even liked the next movie in the series... I'm a sucker for sci-fi though so I tend to love a lot of movies that people don't rate highly. As for Faith, she use to be one of my favorite character in the Valiant U, but I dropped her after Valiant did a Hillary Clinton special, and that was way before the buyout, It became sort of clear then that they were going to use her as a marketing tool... it's the times... so as long as it brings in new readers to the Valiant U, I'm okay with it, I had already dropped her.... and who knows, maybe they will do a good job.... even if they don't, the comic book industry is all about "firsts", why not let Valiant have the "first plus size super hero"... I still have my fingers crossed though that they do a good job ;)

[@eddya.3776]

I loved Pitch Black but since then I haven't enjoyed anything he's done. He is such a one dimensional actor but I guess maybe the role might suit him but I just don't know. As far as Faith I don't think any movie should be made mainly for the reason that Faith is. I don't see it working out especially in foreign markets. In the US we have all the crazy body positive people that seem to praise poor health so you know they'll get that group to the theaters.

[@chycho]

Faith is just a marketing tool, for sure. We'll see how it goes. As for Diesel, maybe a one dimensional actor to play a nanite filled soldier that has no personal memories is the perfect roll. The plus side is that he has a huge following and name recognition, I'll take that as a positive, for now anyway.

[@pashatlum1687]

Lol You continue to promote Valiant. I'm genuinely happy you get so much enjoyment out of them but in all honesty these comics are mediocre at best. I'm anything but a Marvel/DC zombie but once before you stated that 80% of what Valiant publishes is great while only 20% of what Marvel/DC pubs is any good. That's just ridiculous purely if you look at the fact that the latter two employ the best mainstream creators in the medium. Valiant typically gets the also-rans (and the occasional big name who is slumming). Additionally you seem to think that Valiant creates comics for "adults"...actually ALL of these companies technically create comics for adults (you see very few kids in comic stores). But actually Valiant only exists because they are desperately trying to create movie properties and hope and pray they get some film (any film!) made and it becomes a huge success. They are not a company devoted to the medium of comics other than as an outlet to film options. I know you like some actual alternative publishers (and noooo I don't mean Dark Horse, Image, or amateurish stuff like AlternaComics or whatever). But it's publishers like Fantagraphics and (Quebec's own) Drawn and Quarterly who produce comics for adults (not just emotionally stunted adolescents who are chronologically adults). Valiant is just a bottom of the barrel superhero publisher owned by venture capitalists.

[@chycho]

Oh, I disagree with so much you said here, but I'll just pick one. Here is a list of some of the writers that have worked for Valiant, you can called them hacks if you like, but I think almost everyone would disagree. Ready? Here you go: Robert Vendetti, Joshua Dysart, Matt Kindt, Fred Van Lente (have you read any of his work? WOW!), Jeff Lemire, and a lot more... just saying :)