Kano

Shadowman had his own ongoing series with a new take on magic and mysticism early in Valiant's relaunch back in 2012, but after that title ended, he's been conspicuous by his absence. Now, with Divinity III rewriting the Valiant universe with a new history where the Soviet Union took over the world, the stage is set for Shadowman's return and a supernatural battle for the fate of New Stalingrad --- or as we might know it in this timeline, New York City. Check out a first look below!

It seems that Bloodshot Reborn has one last gasp: A #0 issue by Jeff Lemire and Renato Guedes that will bridge USA with Salvation, and contains a reveal so shocking that one of the "cover" images Valiant sent us was literally just a red rectangle with the words "Top Secret! Major Spoilers!" written on it. Seriously.

With Bloodshot's relaunch in October as the four-issue Bloodshot USA looming large, that raises the question of just how Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite are going to top what they've already done. And now, with a preview of the first issue, we know exactly how. First, they're going to infect the entire population of Manhattan with Bloodshot nanites that'll turn them into mindless killing machines, and second --- oh hell yes --- Ninjak's getting involved.

If you've been keeping up with the events of Bloodshot Reborn, then you already know that Ray Garrison isn't the only person to ever be modified into the unstoppable soldier known as Bloodshot. In the current "Bloodshot Island" story arc, readers have seen prototypes that date back almost a hundred years --- including a dog named Bloodhound, which is a pretty solid contender for the Sensational Character Find of 2016. But in October, it seems that writer Jeff Lemire and artist Doug Braithwaite are taking that idea to the next level with Bloodshot USA, a four-issue miniseries that finds Project Rising Spirit releasing its nanites on New York City --- and turning the entire island of Manhattan into Bloodshots.

If you carry around a bag in your day-to-day life --- or heck, even a wallet --- then you already know how cluttered those things can get. You just dump things in there, and when it's time to clear it all out, you wind up buried under a torrent of movie tickets, dead pens and receipts. If, however, your bag was a magically expansive satchel that you'd been carrying around for about five thousand years, you'd probably have a whole lot more to deal with. For Archer & Armstrong, that is definitely the case --- and instead of half-punched loyalty cards for the local coffee shop, they're dealing with garbage monsters, giant robots, and fish men as they're dropped into the depths of Armstrong's bottomless bag. It's all happening in Rafer Roberts and David Lafuente's A&A #2, and you can read a preview below!

Bloodshot is a man who has problems. A lot of problems. In the past, those problems have involved the usual thing where his body is constantly being subjected to ridiculously over-the-top trauma and the nanites in his blood that rebuild him every time, and the fact that he occasionally hallucinates a cartoon child version of himself called Bloodsquirt. But in the upcoming Bloodshot Reborn Annual, there's a far more literal and pressing concern: A gigantic, indestructible slasher named "Jacob," who has been terrorizing a camp and needs to be taken down before he machetes any more unsuspecting teens. And yes: that's Jacob, and not... any other name you might be thinking of. Wink wink.

When Valiant relaunched a few years back, Archer & Armstrong was the breakout hit of the line. The blend of intense action, quirky comedy and over-the-top villains like the One Percent, and a cult that literally worshiped the concept of nothing, made it one of the most memorable comics of the past few years, and made Fred Van Lente and Clayton Henry a pretty hard act to follow. But as Valiant announced today at New York Comic Con, there's a team that's up to the task. Next March, the series will relaunch as A&A, with the new team of writer Rafer Roberts and artist David Lafuente, with a variant cover by Kano.

With a title like Book of Death, I don't think anyone really expected Valiant's big crossover to be a cheerful affair, but jeez, things are starting to get pretty grim for the future of the Valiant Universe. Like, really grim. Like everyone on Earth is going to die from the psychic impact of the most powerful superhuman who ever lived returning to the planet from a journey out into space where he transcended his physical form. But on the upside, there's a robot named for the legendary soul musician and composer of the Super Fly soundtrack Curtis Mayfield, so hey, at least we've got that going for us. For the rest of the bad news though, read on for a preview!

Comics carry a sense of physical prestige. When you pick one up from the shelf, it usually isn’t just lying there, blowing in the wind – it’s often wrapped up in a too-tight plastic bag, boarded with a thin piece of cardboard to ensure you don’t crease a single hair on Superman’s immaculate head. The experience is designed to make you consider each comic as a precious item, something best kept mint so you can sell it and get your grandkids through college in a few decades from now. The thing is, sometimes we need to be reminded that comics are not immaculate, and actually there’s no reason not to mess them up a little in the course of reading. Some of the most enjoyable moments in comics over the last few years have been those moment where the storytellers step back, wave an arm towards the story they’re telling, and say, “Hey, let’s take a pair of scissors to this, eh?”

As has become a tradition for Valiant over the last couple of years, the publisher's Free Comic Book Day offering closes with teasers for new books launching later in 2015. This year's comic teased returns for Archer & Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, and Harbinger; it looks as though Valiant is bringing it all back harder than an S Club 7 reunion tour.