The title is misleading as I don’t think these are great spec books. I am writing this as I have recently fallen in love with VEI’s new series and am now in a mad phase of trying to buy every book I can that has a first appearance. I don’t think they will do well in the secondary market although there is always a chance. An example is Divinity #1, which shows Valiant might once again be on the radar for collectors or speculators. Anyway, since I am already doing the research, I might as well put the information here in case there are Valiant speculators out there who wants to know which new VEI characters to invest in for 2016.

Pros and cons of speculating in VEI first appearances

Any investment has its pros and cons so you need to understand what are the risks before you put in even $1.

Pros

• Low print run: As you can see from the numbers, even the regular issues do not have much copies in circulation. If there is a spike in demand, the supply will probably not be able to cope with it and prices can easily appreciate as a result. I can’t stress how important this factor will be in driving up prices if ever there is any investment or speculation interest in Valiant comics.
• Cheap: Most of the issues can still be bought at cover prices or even lower. With a low entry, it is easy to make money as any slight increase in prices means profits for you.

Cons

• Lack of interest: This is the biggest investment killer and risk. The print run numbers already tell you what is the comic market’s attitude towards Valiant in general i.e. they don’t care. Unfortunately, this has carried forward to the collector’s market as well. The only way this may change is when one issue sky rockets due to the movie doing well and the speculators who missed it rush for the rest of the keys to avoid missing a second boom. This scenario can happen although it requires a perfect storm.
• Movie didn’t happen: Related to the first risk is the fact that the announced Valiant movies might not happen at all. Currently, the lack of news is worrying. We see GOTG #2, which is also happening in 2017 (similar to Bloodshot), generating news about casting, storylines et al. Bloodshot? Nothing. No concrete date, actors, script etc al.

Top 5 new female valiant characters to invest in

Given the above pros and cons, below is what I personally find to be the Top 5 most interesting and investment worthy new Valiant female characters.

• Livewire: The current version of Livewire is different enough from the 1990s to be considered a new character. She is heavily involved in the VEI universe and seems to be one of Valiant’s strongest female characters. One to watch.

• Roku: Ninjas are always cool and a female ninja is even cooler.  Roku has an interesting powerset and her recent origin, revealed in Ninja #4, seems to be indicative that Valiant has something interesting cooking for her.

• Shan Fong: The new Doctor Mirage has a more interesting human side of her compared to the original. She is strong, relateable and makes for a great character. With two mini series already under her belt, I don’t see her going anyway fast.

• Punk Mambo: One of the most visually interesting female characters in the VEI universe. Her loud mouth attitude and voodoo background makes her an very unique character that Valiant seems to be developing. Her addition to the Shadowman universe will definitely enrich the storylines.

• Kay McHenry: Spoiler Alert! (……………….Technically she is dead). However, she is one of the more interesting Geomancer to come out with all her vulnerabilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes back with (Spoiler alert…………………………….) Bloodshot technology. How cool is that!

Conclusion

The VEI series are really a nice deviation from the type of superhero comics that the Big 2 are creating. They are very character driven and make for a satisfying read. The only thing missing from a secondary market point of view is a spark i.e. something that makes the whole collecting community sit up and take notice. In the 90s, Wizard magazine was the spark. In today’s climate, it will probably be a successfully movie.