Valiant comics, to me, are like penny stocks. They are cheap to buy (the non variants) but are risky investments.

Below is a list that I have created for my personal reference but I thought it will be useful for anymore who wants to do a little Valiant hunting. I only focus on new characters with super powers created after the VEI universe was born. I don’t buy the whole first VEI appearance of an established character as I believe collectors tend go back to their original first appearance in the 90s, rather than their VEI first appearances.

I have also marked out the importance of the character to the Valiant universe. This is of course very subjective but below is how I classify them

• High: Appears in books regularly as main character
• Med+: Either has multiple mini series or is a strong recurring villain for characters in the High group
• Med: Has his or her one shot/mini series or is a regular supporting character
• Low: Appears a couple of times either as supporting characters or recurring minor villains
• Cameo: Cameo appearances of heroes (One off villains are not included)

Note: Price refers to regular cover in raw Near Mint while those in brackets refer to prices of the rarest variant in raw Near Mint.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Valiant

I always say that readership is important for a comic book’s long term value retention. Just ask yourself: have you ever bought an expensive book on characters you have never read before? I don’t think so.

The problem with Valiant is that while their quality is good, their readership is not climbing in any significant way. Most Valiant fans are betting that a movie might break this trend but I highly doubt it. There is no evidence that a successful movie can lead to a jump in readership or the Avengers title will be selling in 6 figures by now.

My hope is that a successful movie can increase Valiant pockets such that they can increase their monthly titles from less than 10 currently to over 20 or even 30 in the future. Increasing titles is the only way to grab market share and increase readership numbers.

Despite these disadvantages, I still like to pick up their books. The main reason is due to their quality. I believe this strong focus on quality story telling with strong characterization lays the foundation to any great comic series.

Another reason is the consistent universe compared to the likes of Image Comics. There are some great Image titles out there but the continuity is suspected. If a series stops publication, it usually has a strong impact on secondary market prices. Valiant comics don’t suffer from this problem.

Finally, their small market share means that their supply is very small compared to what is usually out there. For example, a regular Ninjak issue sells for only 6k-7k. For the 2 Big, this might be the number for their variants only but for Valiant, this is their regular issue sales. If demand ever picks up, the small supply will not be able to copy with this. The result will be a sharp increase in secondary prices.

To summarize:

Pros of investing in Valiant

• Quality books
• Continuity
• Small supply for even regular issues

Cons of investing in Valiant

• Small readership
• Movies might not turn the fortune of the company around

Current Valiant investment climate

Currently, I would say most speculators or investors are not eyeing Valiant comics as strongly as Image or the Big Two. The only books picking up steam are the Pre Unity series like Harbinger #1 or Solar #10. This is in line with the “what was once hot will be hot again” theory of comic book investment.

Harbinger #1 in 9.8 has risen to almost 1k level after staying at the $600-700 level for a long time (after the DMG movie deal news). This is the simmering effect at work. Going forward, this book will continue to pick up steam. If there are further news on Eternal Warrior, Solar #10 will be another book that will break the 1k mark. If you have missed the 9.8 copies, the 9.6 are still within budget and have some room to grow.

However, the new VEI line is where fortunes might be make if Valiant ever strikes it out of the park. I would portion my investment funds such that a small part is allocated to the VEI series. Since most of these books are at cover price or below, it wouldn’t take much to hoard a few good books.

What Valiant comics to Invest

With so much choice as seen above, I would focus on the most important characters. You can use the “High” or “Medium+” category in my table above as a guide. In particular, I would focus on Bloodshot and Harbinger books as these are the first movie related properties that are coming out.

Harbinger Wars #1

One of the most undervalued books in the Valiant line. Not only will a movie be based on this event, but the book itself contains the first appearances of several important Generation Zero characters. Chronus, Animalia and Telic are now part of the Generation Zero series and they are poised to grow in importance over the next few years. Getting this book is a no brainer especially when they are selling at cover price.  There is 1:50 variant that is super hard to get. I have been trying for the past 2 years with no luck. Get it if you see it!

Ninjak #1

Female ninja kick asses and Roku is one such character. She is fast becoming one of my favourite characters in Valiant and it is not hard to see why. With an outstanding visual design and playing a strong role in the Ninjak universe, I only see her getting more and more popular. She makes her first appearance in this issue, which has a gold as well 1:60 variant worth chasing down.

Imperium Series

Imperium is GOTG mixed with Suicide Squad and raised to a level 10 times more serious than either 2 series. The comparison with GOTG is due to their quirky characters while the SS remark is because they are basically villains trying to take over the world. What you get is a fast paced series that never lets down in terms of plot twists, actions and character development. #1 to #3 contains first appearances of various team members.