One Step ‘Beyond’: Matias Timarchi talks Valiant’s new heroes, future prospects

(Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated with art credits and a change to the All-New Harbinger art team)

Valiant sure is an apt name for this determined comics publisher. Since its earliest iteration in 1989 (co-founded by comics legend Jim Shooter), Valiant has maintained a strong presence despite several major changes in ownership (including the 1994 purchase by Acclaim that lasted roughly a decade.) So much of that stems from Valiant’s mighty roster of heroes, with names like X-O Manowar and Bloodshot helping the publisher standout and tell different kinds of superhero and action stories.

In 2023, another such shift for Valiant came when Alien Books took over the bulk of the line thanks to a new licensing partnership. Late, when we spoke with Alien’s Director Matias Timarchi in July 2024, that partnership had already paid off with several big developments, including the line-wide event Resurgence. More recently, Valiant has undergone yet another change, with IDW stepping up to help publish the line’s various books. And with that significant operational shift comes an especially promising development in Valiant Beyond.

The initiative (which was slated for March/April before delays pushed it back) is basically a reimagining of the core Valiant line, with comparisons already made to both DC’s Absolute and Marvel’s Ultimate line. As such, Valiant Beyond will feature four new books with four new creative teams:

• Valiant Beyond: Bloodshot (Writer Mauro Mantella and artist Fernando Heinz Furukawa, 3 issues)
• Valiant Beyond: Tales of the Shadowman (Writer AJ Ampadu and artist Sergio Monjes, 3 issues)
• Valiant Beyond: The X-O Manowar (Writer Steve Orlando and artist Guillermo Fajardo, 4 issues)
• Valiant Beyond: All-New Harbinger (Writer Fred Van Lente and artist Erik Tamayo, 3 issues)

Oh, but wait, there’s even more in the form of Valiant Zombies: Resurrection. Bumped from May to later this year (more on that in the actual Q&A), the title (either a one-shot or the start of a limited series) follows Valiant heroes after they’ve discovered the secrets of the “Undeadside” and how it will reshape and/or alter the very Valiant-verse. (Editor’s Note: We’ve been told Resurrection isn’t under the Valiant Beyond banner, but does add context to this overarching story.)

To get an even better idea into all things Valiant Beyond, we spoke once again with Alien’s own Timarchi. In the extended Q&A, we address Valiant’s changes over the last year leading into Beyond; the scope and end goals of the initiative; how the IDW partnership supports everything; balancing characters’ legacies and new stories; and even what might be next post-Valiant Beyond, among many other topics and tidbits. It’s an important new chat as staff/leadership plot another essential moment in the publisher’s long, brilliant history.

Valiant Beyond: Bloodshot #1 debuts August 13, and Valiant Beyond: Tales of the Shadowman #1 drops August 20. The X-O Manowar and All-New Harbinger titles are then slated for September. Solicitations for Valiant Beyond‘s books will be released later this week (via IDW). In the meantime, enjoy some exclusive pages below via covers and interiors for the #1 issues of both Bloodshot and Shadowman.

AIPT: We spoke last July about the state of Valiant. A year-ish later, how do things feel? How would you describe where Valiant is and where it’s headed?

Matias Timarchi: A lot has changed in a year! We spent most of 2024 finishing off previous Valiant storylines, releasing the Valiant Hero Origins collections, pushing towards the big Resurgence crossover, and introducing our first anthology series with Black, White & Bloodshot. We felt it was important when we first started working on Valiant, to respect the fans and deliver on previously promised storylines and bring them to suitable conclusions wherever possible.

We’re now fully focused on developing new projects set in the Valiant Beyond universe and supplementing with events and special releases targeting long-time and hardcore fans. Valiant has a great and loyal fanbase and we want to be able to continue to deliver to them while also expanding the audience for these characters with exciting new stories.

AIPT: The Valiant Beyond initiative was set to have launched in March/April. Delays can be hard, but did this added time offer any lessons or insights for the team?

MT: Delays are never ideal on any creative project, but in this case it allowed us time to get ahead on the scripting and art for Valiant Beyond while we searched for new distribution to comic shops. That extra time means that retailers will be able to read through the complete first issues before ordering and will see exactly how much effort the creative teams have put into these stories.

The gap in the schedule also gave us an opportunity to get new crowdfunding projects launched and reach out to additional readers that can get invested into everything Alien is working on, including Valiant Beyond.

AIPT: There’s also a sense that comics at-large are perhaps in flux in some ways (especially with tariffs looming). What’s it like to launch this campaign given that uncertainty?

MT: I feel like you could say this about the comics industry at any point over the last 70 years. (Haha.) The only way to get ahead of these challenges is by doing things together, which is why we’re so glad to be working with our friends at IDW Publishing on distributing our titles to shops.

Also, as tariffs are not applying to printed books, I think the impact will be minimal for our crowdfunding campaigns. We’ve been able to connect directly with our fans through these projects and their support has been invaluable to us.

AIPT: There’s also a new deal/partnership with IDW. How did that help make Beyond a feasible direction? IDW obviously offers a lot, but how does Valiant/Alien support IDW?

MT: IDW has been very supportive of all of our publishing initiatives, especially with Valiant Beyond. While Alien focuses fully on the creative elements, IDW is able to supercharge the rest of the process by including Valiant titles in their retailer exclusives program, advertising them in their catalog and via house ads, and opening up new doors for us in the world of conventions and e-commerce.

Together, we’ll be reaching new groups of readers and retailers that we may have missed out on as individual entities. And for IDW, we believe that having a line of new and accessible superhero titles with name-value launch in the direct market. Plus, adding a back catalog of incredible graphic novels and manga for the book market will help bolster their already impressive roster of licensed and original material.

AIPT: Beyond comes after the Resurgence event. How do you think that endeavor fared, and how did it influence or inform what you’re doing with the Beyond titles?

MT: Resurgence was one of the biggest tests for us as a publisher as it had a lot of ground to cover and it really pushed the entire creative team to our limits as we aimed to deliver something big and meaningful for Valiant fans. I believe we delivered on those goals and the big finale issue showed that there’s a wider Valiant multiverse out there and that the doors are wide open for us to play in almost every aspect of Valiant’s history.

We looked at Resurgence as a way to add new toys to the Valiant playground, like the Beyond universe, while also dusting off some older ones that hadn’t been seen in many years, including the Acclaim version of Shadowman and some others that you may have caught a glimpse of on that splash page…

AIPT: Many of these heroes (like X-O Manowar) have a rather long publishing history. How do you balance that legacy while still being welcoming to newer/younger readers?

MT: We’ve spoken on this before but we want to be able to welcome in new readers and not bog them down with continuity, while also remaining respectful to the previous stories that long time fans have invested in. We believe that if you keep the essence of the characters intact, if you can land on an identifiable version of Aric that rings true to his history, you can put him in a new setting or story that doesn’t require years of previous knowledge to enjoy.

Valiant Beyond will be a fresh start for these characters but we include elements from previous storylines and iterations that long-time readers can recognize and appreciate. Nothing is being erased or eliminated; it is our hope that someone trying out The X-O Manowar #1 will be inspired to seek out older X-O stories and enjoy those as well.

With that said, we are always looking at other ways to re-release previously published material in new formats, like with artist’s editions, facsimiles, and omnibuses, as X-O has a particularly rich history all on his own and it deserves to be appreciated and showcased. I’m sure there’s enough writers and artists out there that if we were to do an X-O Manowar anthology, they’d all have something special they could contribute to it. Oh no, was I not supposed to say that yet?

AIPT: Speaking of legacies, Beyond really kicked off with Valiant Zombies: Resurrection, where we saw the characters as we knew them through Resurgence. Why is it important to have that connection back to the “old” Valiant, and do you think there’s more to explore with this “Zombies line”?

MT: When we ended the Resurgence event, we knew we wanted to open up a pathway for the birth of a new universe, but we also didn’t want to “throw away” everything that led to that moment. How can we clear the deck for Valiant Beyond while also providing a path to follow for the previous characters that everyone has been following for years? Well, what if we had them survive Resurgence only to wind up stranded in a universe full of flesh eating zombies with superpowers?

That’s where the idea for Valiant Zombies: Resurrection came about, and we’re looking forward to publishing the story, originally set for Free Comic Book Day, later this year a bit closer to Halloween. It’ll stand alone from Valiant Beyond but will still be a fun story for all readers to get invested in. Plus, it’s got zombies! Everybody loves zombies still, right? HAHA.

AIPT: In some press, you also mentioned the rise of the Absolute, Ultimate, and Energon universes. What do these properties offer in terms of inspiration (if any), and how do you plan to “compete” with them (if that is the case)?

MT: We definitely looked at those lines for some inspiration but not in the way you might think. It’s not just making a new #1 and putting a new costume on a character; publishers have been trying that for decades and it only works for the short-term before everything resets and starts all over again.

What’s resonating with these lines is that they’re being very deliberate with their decisions and conscious of what readers and retailers want: easy-to-follow stories that get you invested in the characters. If you can’t make us care about these characters and their world, it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to keep people on board for long.

Each of the Valiant Beyond #1s invites you to get to know these characters, [and] it welcomes you into their world before everything in their life goes completely off-the-wall. They’re not origin stories but they are starting points for you to care about this new world that we’re building.

We also want readers to know that we’re invested in these new series for at least a full year’s worth of stories, offering extra story pages in each issue, and return-ability for retailers on all #1 issues so that they can feel comfortable stocking up. We want these issues to be the ones on the top of your reading pile each time they come out. That’s the goal.

AIPT: Where do you ultimately see Valiant’s place in the scheme of modern comics— spirited underdog, up-and-comer, something in between? Is there an idea that Beyond might help the line move up and down, or is that inconsequential?

MT: Valiant Comics has superheroes but it’s not a superhero line, necessarily. It’s a line of action-adventure, mystery, comedy, supernatural, espionage, horror, and romance titles featuring characters with superpowers. If you want to call it the underdog line, you can do that, but I would prefer to be seen as approachable, both in terms of the stories fans can read and the people who work on these titles. We welcome fan feedback and love engaging with our community of readers whether it’s in-person at conventions or on Facebook, Reddit, Discord, or elsewhere.

AIPT: I’m sure you like/respect every book launching as part of Beyond, but is there one that stands out? One that’s especially indicative of what you’re trying to do here?

MT: Ah, you can not make me pick a favorite, I’m going to get in trouble! HAHA! I think people will be very surprised by what writer Fred Van Lente and artist Erik Tamayo have in store for All-New Harbinger. It’s going to be a standout favorite for sure.

But first, we have Bloodshot turned into a vampire and fighting the Japanese Yakuza! The violence in this book is sure to blow away some wigs!

The new X-O Manowar is plain f***ing amazing! It’s Aric of Dacia at his very best! The Visigoth warrior is stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth and encounters some familiar faces that will please OG Valiant fans.

And, last but not least, we have Tales of the Shadowman. In a nutshell, this is our “Vertigo-style” horror book. I see it as a bit of a mash-up of Hellblazer, Sandman, and Late Night with the Devil, with the Shadowrealm and the Deadside added in for good measure.

But, really, they’re all fantastic, and I can’t say enough good things about the creative teams who have been excellent in working together and building up a fun new world for readers to discover. We’re very lucky to be working with all of them.

AIPT: What comes after Beyond, and what do you think is the long-term future for Valiant if you had your way? More events, new titles, other line-spanning initiatives?

MT: You already want to know what’s coming beyond Valiant Beyond? Can we get the first issues out before we do that?

HAHA.

You’ll get a clearer picture of what’s coming next as we get closer to revealing our Fall titles, which will include the Valiant Zombies storyline, a new anthology series, and new collected editions. We might even be working on a crossover with…oops, I’ve said too much!

AIPT: Is there anything else you’d like to add about Valiant, Beyond, comics in 2025, etc.?

MT: We know it hasn’t been easy for fans to wait this long for new stories — it certainly hasn’t been easy for us! We are grateful for everyone’s continued support and we’ll continue to do our very best in delivering on our promises for Valiant, our crowdfunding campaigns, and everything else we have planned.

We have big plans for other titles too, including two new Zorro comics and another license that we haven’t announced just yet.

But most important of all is that we’re making comics that are meant to be read. We are not making books just for people collecting variant covers… And, yes, we are doing variant covers, but that is because we want to showcase the hard work and talent of artists we admire.

The commitment we see in artists and writers with us is heart-touching and we believe that readers will notice that everyone at Alien Books is putting a lot of love into what we publish. Not only love, but good stories that everyone will enjoy and have fun reading! So, please, don’t be shy, give us a try…think of us like the A24 of comic books.

Read our comics, you won’t regret it! :)