Valiant Entertainment has named 2022 'The Year of Valiant,' a year-long celebration of the publisher on the 10th anniversary of its relaunch in 2012 and expansion of its comic book universe.
According to Valiant, 2022 will feature new launches with new creative blood, the return of fan-favorite Valiant characters, the formation of new superhero teams, and its characters being explored "beyond traditional publishing methods."
The event of 2022 is being teased in a new promotional image from artists Tyler Kirkham and Arif Prianto (seen above and fully below).
"So much is happening in Valiant's 2022 to bring our Universe forward with the return of characters that fans continue to anticipate and love," says Valiant Entertainment publisher Fred Pierce, who promises titles in the genres of sci-fi, horror, comedy, and action.
In addition to comic book publishing, Pierce also promises games based on Valiant characters, like Shadowman Remastered, original graphic novels, prose novels, and "perhaps items of a more cinematic nature from our great parent company DMG Entertainment."
Bloodshot, a feature film adaptation of the Valiant character starring Vin Diesel, was released in 2020.
'The Year of Valiant' will kick off January 19, 2022 with the return of the Shadowman series. Shadowman #5 by Cullen Bunn, artist Pedro Andreo, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles will feature the first chapter of 'Deadside War,' which Valiant describes as an "epic horror storyline" that will feature the return of Punk Mambo and other Valiant Universe familiar faces from the Valiant Universe.
"We're seeing Blights — tears in the fabric of reality between our world and the Deadside — opening with increased frequency and increased supernatural mayhem," Bunn says of the 'Deadside War' story arc in the announcement. "Shadowman is tasked with protecting our world, but he's no longer sure that throwing punches and swinging scythes is the way to combat the Deadside's ultimate plans."
If you're asking how a place - Deadside - can have "plans", Bunn says that answer to that question will lead Shadowman to gather allies such as Punk Mambo and awaken some old adversaries "who might be too much even for the combined might of our heroes."
"All this brings us to the titular war, which could rip the entirety of the Valiant Universe apart," the writer concludes.
The publisher promises more announcements about the 'The Year of Valiant' in the coming months, with senior editor Lysa Hawkins teasing the return of a redacted, "classified" character to the Valiant Universe along with Faith in The Harbinger series and the aforementioned Punk Mambo in Shadowman.
"2022 marks the start of Valiant Entertainment's second decade since publishing resumed in 2012, and one of the reasons I joined the company this past summer is because I think we're only just getting started," says executive director Rob Levin.
"We're building on the incredible legacy of both the original '90s comics and the 2012 reboot, stellar characters who encompass so many different types of stories, and the tightest and most accessible shared universe in comics, and we're bringing in new creators, characters, concepts, and titles — and of course the return of fan-favorites who have been out of the spotlight lately. This year is really the start of everything we want to do with the universe in comics and beyond, and we’ve only scratched the surface of what's possible."
The Valiant Universe is on Newsarama's list of the greatest non-DC/Marvel superhero universes.
