Dark Horse Comics has announced that Jim Shooter, formerly of Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics, has joined their company to relaunch a batch of new monthly titles based on the disused Gold Key characters made famous most recently by 1990s relaunches at Valiant. Dark Horse have recently collected a number of Gold Key and Valiant stories featuring the characters in hardcover archive editions.
Turok, Doctor Solar (Man of the Atom), Magnus Robot Fighter and Mighty Samson will see new comics with creative teams to be announced soon from Dark Horse. In their press release, Dark Horse quotes Shooter as saying, “It’s great to be reunited with Magnus, Solar, Turok, Samson and the other wonderful Gold Key properties. The opportunity is tremendous and the time is ripe. Let’s do it.”
Certainly this move should bolster Dark Horse’s anemic superhero output and, given the nature of the business, might make them more of an economic factor. Certainly introducing a superhero universe complete with backstory and a built-in (if small) fan base should provide some opportunities for Dark Horse, who have never really had a universe outside of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy tales.
Given the time lapse between the most recent publications of the titles, I have to wonder whether some of the younger audience, or those who came aboard during the comics boom of the ’90s, will respond more to this announcement than they did to convention-shaking news of the Marvelman acquisition by Marvel. While Marvelman is undoubtedly a more historically-relevant character, the Gold Key characters are a little fresher in the minds of casual fans, I should think; I remember being 13 and Valiant’s Turok: Dinosaur Hunter #1 being the most sought-after book at my first-ever convention. What do you think, ‘Rama readers? Will these books excite more twenty-somethings than Marvel’s Marvelman reissues? Will they outsell DC’s recent Red Circle acquisitions from Archie Comics? Or will they simply fizzle and cease to be for the second time in the last decade and a half?
August 5th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I think this is great news. I think Dark Horse will do right by these characters.
August 5th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Dark Horse has always had a pretty diverse output and I think that’s a good thing. They don’t fall into any one particular genre or audience. I’m personally not interested in these properties, but I think Dark Horse is a good home for them. I think they’ll sell well enough.
August 5th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I’m curious what this’ll mean for reprints of the Valiant era stuff…
August 5th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
While im glad to se these truly great characters get a chance to shine once more ide like to know if anyones going to bring back the characters of ATLAS comics you know the tarantula tigerman the destroyer ironjaw to name a few!
August 5th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I’m certainly interested in these “properties”.
However, it will be hard to find an artist that will wow me like those early Magnus, Robot Fighter-Russ Manning books and it will be hard to beat seeing Dr. Solar put on his costume for the first time…. but Dark Horse just might bring enough quality to the books to make them successful.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:43 am
some of the valiant titles were the the books people were telling me about while i was stuck buying image variants and spiderclones and xmen revamps… Gold Key hits a totally different nostalgic note for me with old Star Trek, Doctor Spektor and all kinds of awesome “not so mainstream” books of its time that i tried to collect and loved when i first started reading.
not to be too punntaccular but these books, to me, in the best way the dark horse comics of their day.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:45 am
sorry, in the best way *were* the “dark horse” comics of their respective days. =beer
August 6th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Dark Horse has already made the “right” move for the Gold Key heroes: Jim Shooter. I will try every title he puts out with these characters just as I’ve bought the reprints (with new Jim Shooter tales) of all the non-Gold Key Valiant characters. This to me was the announcement of the con.
Egg Embry
http://www.ComicsByEgg.com
August 6th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Last year wasn’t there a preview with some artist with in my opinon a very Jae Lee style to his art with some of the Valiant characters?? What happened to that?
August 6th, 2009 at 6:08 am
The Valiant universe was a favorite of mine, so this is a welcome return. Dark Horse is the absolute best home for these characters. I can see these properties flourishing there creatively (hopefully financially) due to the care the editorial staff will lend to Jim Shooter. Having Shooter return to oversee the titles is the smart thing to do and the right thing to do.
August 6th, 2009 at 6:18 am
I’m curious if this in any way affects the books Acclaim was publishing. Do I recall correctly a legal battle over those properties at one time? Are these properties a separate issue?
Where’s Jeff Trexler?
Cheers,
B
August 6th, 2009 at 6:21 am
1st Miracleman, then T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents & now this? A good 2 weeks for comics news.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Fantastic news….and I also second the Atlas Revival idea. I would love to know how Planet of the Vampires would finish/continue…
August 6th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Certainly introducing a superhero universe complete with backstory and a built-in (if small) fan base should provide some opportunities for Dark Horse, who have never really had a universe outside of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy tales.
Not to nitpick, but Dark Horse did have a shared superhero universe back in the 90′s. It was home to characters like Ghost, X, Barb Wire, etc. Some good stuff to it, actually.
Has almost zip to do with this article though.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Mike Richardson was one of the people after the Gold Key characters back when Valiant was getting put together, but the guy in charge of Western at the time made a gentleman’s agreement with Jim that he could have the characters when he was ready, and he kept to it. The results were some of the best books to come out in the 90′s.
One wonders if they’ll try to go back to some of the concepts he did at Valiant or try something new? Is there the danger that, like Marvelman, the best new ideas have already been used? Likely not; they certainly got the right guy to try it.
I’m hoping they try to fold in a few more of the character that never got a shot – I think Captain Johner and the Aliens could be a strong book.
I’m willing to bet that this will go better than his abortive return to the Legion of Super-Heroes. I look forward to more details.
An Atlas revival could be interesting, at least in one or two cases. The Scorpion became Dominic Fortune already. I don’t there was ever a comics line with a higher concentration of cannibals. It’s as if someone took every character proposal and wrote “AND HE EATS PEOPLE” in black crayon at the bottom.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:36 am
“‘Certainly introducing a superhero universe complete with backstory and a built-in (if small) fan base should provide some opportunities for Dark Horse, who have never really had a universe outside of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy tales.’
“Not to nitpick, but Dark Horse did have a shared superhero universe back in the 90’s. It was home to characters like Ghost, X, Barb Wire, etc. Some good stuff to it, actually.”
Yep. I personally kinda liked Ghost and X. But “Comics Greatest World” even did well enough to garner one theatrical film, the Pamela Anderson BARB WIRE.
What I want to know is what about the Valiant characters that weren’t from Gold Key? You know, Ninjak, Rai, X-O Manowar? Will they ever see print again?
Eh, who’m I kidding? I wouldn’t buy them anyway… Unless they also brought back VALIANT VISION!!! Then I’m sold!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Mine was Valiant back in the day. It’s too bad the new (2 years now) Valiant Entertainment can’t get their shiz together. But with solid creative teams, I will be all over these books.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Odds are that Valiant entertainment was hoping to work out some kind of way to use those characters again, but couldn’t. They have some great books they can reprint, but could only do new stories for a portion of them.
Magnus is pretty much a great character as is, the only decision to make is will he be the pro-human robot fighter he was in the Gold Key books, or will they play with the idea that the robots are, like people, some guilty and some good? And again, how close can they get to the ideas from Valiant without Valiant Entertainment making cartoon noises to attract their attention?
August 6th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Does anyone know if Shooter is planning anything for Space Family Robinson? I used to lover reading that book and would be interested in a “relaunch”.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:43 am
While I would be happier if they had the Valient lineup including X-O Manowar and Shadowman, this is great news. Dark Horse has done well in attracting talented artists and writers the last few years and when you throw Shooter into the mix I have high hopes for this line of books.
Ron
Rons Comic World
Armory Plaza – Rt 38
Mount Holly, NJ
August 6th, 2009 at 11:27 am
All this is great news! My wish is to see M.A.R.S. Patrol: Total War revisited. Beau Smith has expressed his love for this title and a desire to write it. IMO that would be great. Also IMO the best thing Shooter could do is go back to square one with all these characters and give us new but true to the original concept. Especially with Magnus.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Absolutely. If Shooter gets decent talent on these books, I’m there. I enjoyed his Valiant work before things went awry and hope that he can recapture the fire.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
If Shooter is involved, I’m there.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I am seriously looking into getting the rights of the Atlas/Seaboard characters, if it is at all possible. I don’t think they’re in the Public Domain yet, but you know who is? Fatman the Human Flying Saucer. That’s right.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
You bring up a very interesting question Mr. Burlingame. As a twenty-something avid comic reader I will be quite honest in saying that, yes, the prospects of a new Magnus or Dr. Solar book entices me more than the prospects of a new Marvel Man book. Now that is not to say that I don’t know or appreciate Marvel Man’s cultural and historical significance, I do! It’s just that with the exception of Moore’s run of the book (namely the Kid Miracleman stories) I have no significant attachment to the character. Whereas with the Gold Key characters there are a significant attachment to my generation, whether it is through the 90′s comics or the various Video Game tie-ins.
I am really rooting for this one, I would love to see an amazingly produced (and consistent) Gold Key line of books from Dark Horse.
I can’t wait for this.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Great news. I love these characters. I would have loved to write Turok back in his Valiant days.
Bobby
August 6th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
With Shooter there, I’ll see what comes out of it. I would have like XO-manowar and Shadowman, Archer and Armstrong to return too, but than again, that was al thing of the past. A beautiful thing, before it fell to its doom. Shooter has the vision for it, and I hope thsi time, the properties get a chance to grow yet again. But please, no nogtalgic stories, sure they were great, but I don;t want a reboot, a rehash of old material, I want growth, new ideas, new stories with a familiar character and supporting cast. Wishing Dark Horse and Shooter all the best from Holland. And thanks Newsarama for all the hard work.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
And can anybody learn me how to type?! Sorry…
August 6th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Big fan of Shooter’s. Glad to see he’s back in the comic biz.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Silver Key Comics?
August 6th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I love that these old characters are coming back. I’m hoping with the success of the Gold Key line that we can see the return of the Dark Horse heroes and the two franchises merged.
It’ll be weird not having the rest of the Valiant universe characters, but it was weird but good what Acclaim did too.
Atlas ? Wow, we’re really reaching now. Are we trying to get anything at all ? The next thing I’ll be hearing about Continuity.
Bring the Shooter Gold Key !
Note : I’ve noticed Mighty Samson mentioned. That was an original Silver Age Gold Key title, but never a Valiant title. Never read the character but am eager to see what Shooter does with it. I’d never ever read any of the Gold Key previous to Valiant but fell in love with them, hard.
August 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Atlas comics are not only not yet in the public domain, presuming they properly gave notice and registered when first published (and were Work For Hire), they will not be in the public domain until the 2060. As for the claim that Fatman is public domain, I’d be curious to see the basis for the claim… again, if the copyright was properly marked and registered at the time (and assuming it was a US publication, which I think it was), it should be decades away from public domain status.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
wow! 2060 i’m going be old man then, well anyway the Gold Key revival is awesome!!
August 7th, 2009 at 12:30 am
you seem much more educated in your response than I was Nat, so perhaps Fatman is *not*, but I was told at the NY Comic Con this past Feb. that he was indeed, and apparently, 2 or 3 comic pros would like to do him, one assumes, in a humorous tone. so that was the basis of my statement; i didn’t mean to imply i had some “insider info” about the coveted Fatman, The Human Flying Saucer copyright.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Public domain is often used very loosely. It usually means “No one is using this so odds are I won’t get in trouble if I do”. It’s how a lot of those mad crazy cheap movies on tape and now DVD get done – person finds a print of an old film, assumes that nobody is watching over it, releases it on video and if nobody grouses, he gets away with it.
If there’s a company still holding the rights to Fatman, then he’s protected. If there isn’t, somebody might be willing to take a chance.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I think this is great news for fans of both the Valiant and original Gold Key comics. Having Jim Shooter involved in the process is definitely a step in the right direction.
I will also add my vote to an Atlas/Seaboard revival. There were definitely a few gems (or, at least, diamonds in the rough) among their titles, and certainly many interesting ideas.
They were also the first company to return artwork to their artists and laid much of the groundwork for some of the benefits that comic book professionals are enjoying today.
There is a complete comic book universe with a history (albeit brief) dating back to the 70s just waiting to be acquired by some smart businessman/company. I would love to see what Jim Shooter could do with their characters.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
The best part of this news other than having the right person (Shooter) at the helm is that he’s stated that he is starting from scratch with the characters and that everything that has come before is being “wiped clean.” Bye Bye VEI!
August 7th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I was too young to read the original Gold Key books, and was too set in my ways to try the Valiant versions. But I started reading comics on Jim Shooter’s watch at Marvel, and loved what he did with Marvel’s books in the ’80s, so I’m definitely curious.
When I think of Magnus, Solar and Turok, I think of those absolutely fantastic painted covers. I hope the new comics have a retro vibe that doesn’t “update” all of the cool out of them.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
While I was getting into comics way back when Gold Key was handling these properties, aside from the eye-catching covers they didn’t really appeal to me. Having them woven together into the Valiant Universe was a different matter, though, and I was 100% behind Shooter & co. in the early ’90s in feeling as if I was witnessing the birth of a new era evocative of dropping into the early 1960s and getting on board Marvel’s Silver Age rise. Given the drek Marvel was pushing at the same time (the “hot” artist speculation-driven market from the end of the eighties into the half of the nineties had all but buried actual storytelling at Marvel) it was a wonderful breath of air with the feel of instant nostalgia.
So, yes, I’m generally interested and will be watching for specifics. Until they kicked Shooter to the curb I was highly enthusiastic about the Valiant-era titles.
Given the cover prices these days, though, I’m not sure how inclined I’m going to be to just jump in on these as monthlies. Sure, I know that many will say that if we don’t buy the singles there may never be a trade edition, but at this stage in the business I’d have to declare that outdated thinking if a publisher is approaching it that way. I know I’ll enjoy them more in a collected form, and in most cases will be paying a more reasonable cost per page. I know that’s how I roll with many titles now, including Hellboy, Walking Dead, etc.
Still, that’s a set of decisions I’ll have to make as the solicitations hit.
August 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I think it’s cool, as long as it’s the same Jim Shooter who was associated with Valiant, and not Defiant. The same Shooter who was the head-honcho at Marvel and not the one who was behind Broadway…all kidding aside, I’m actually excited. I’ll give all the issues a shot when each #1 comes out, if for nothing but nostalgia’s sake. Good luck JS. AGAIN.
August 8th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Would of course be interested in anything Magnus related, though I would prefer it to be in the Valiant setting. With Shooter overseeing and writing, I am more than interested. I am looking forward to it.
I noticed some questions above that I have seen discussions about. There was indeed a legal battle over the Valiant characters which is said to be settled now. The preview mentioned above had nothing to do with the comics, it was just an attempt at getting unguarded trademarks.
August 8th, 2009 at 3:54 am
I loved Valiant back in the day, this could be good, but I’m on the fence until we see some previews.
August 9th, 2009 at 8:24 am
This is great news. I hope to see some classic styled painted covers!!
August 10th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Broadway … hmmm, now THAT was a great comics line. Why not try reviving those series? Star Seed, Fatale and more, these were some of the best comics of the late 90′s. Shame the company folded before it could set its legs.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I’m so very happy to hear this! I recently stopped buying comics-for various reasons-and will be happy to step back into my local shop and pick these up. Especially the Shooter written titles. Yay Dark Horse!
August 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
If it’s good it shouldn’t matter if new readers or younger readers remember Valiant. Do some advertising, have some good art and good stories. Plus, and I direct this to the author of the article Russell Burlingame, younger readers and new readers don’t remember Miracle Man either. If they do it wasn’t because they were reading the stories when Eclipse was publishing the title. It was because someone told them about Miracleman and they had the money to spend on the back issues, or they got daddy to pay for them. Either way when it was coming out they didn’t know anything about Miracleman. What Darkhorse has to do is come up with some hard hitters and a media campaign that will get people to buy their new titles instead of another X book or another event title that DC is pushing every month.
August 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Fletcher, I think you read my entry completely bass-ackwards. My point wasn’t that “Marvelman is so great, who’s going to remember these guys?” It was that these guys have been in circulation much more recently than Marvelman/Miracleman and so I was wondering if despite all Marvel’s promotion these might outsell a Marvelman relaunch.
August 23rd, 2009 at 9:51 am
Glad to see this going forward. Since I have not been collecting many Dark Horse Comics, it would be nice for Dark Horse to give this relaunch it’s own imprint. I think it would be cool to revive the Gold Key logo also.
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I probably was a bigger fan of the original GOLD KEY titles than I was of DC at the time except for Silver Age Flash and Green Lantern.It was the sci-fi component and launched me as a long time sci-fi fan and lead me to abandon comics for many years.However, I hope Turok returns to the Lost World setting it was started in.If any title deserves a relaunch it is the extremely short lived Brain Boy.That title would benefit from any reworking without ruining the original concept.Please keep these titles DC and Marvel universe free please!
January 25th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Great post buddy, for me dark horse will fit on this one.
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