#battle picture weekly and valiant
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Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 118, dated 4 June 1977. El Mestizo cover by Carlos Ezquerra. Treasury of British Comics.
#04jun#1977#battle#treasury of british comics#battle picture weekly and valiant#el mestizo#carlos ezquerra
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A superb hardback collection of the early adventures of Sergeant Jim Masters from the pages of Battle Picture Weekly + Valiant and Battle Action.
These strips originally saw print from 25 June 1977 to 18 March 1978 with the majority drawn by Mike Western (Jim Watson contributed 8 pages while Mike Dorey inked 3 pages over Western's pencils).
Drawn in Mike Western's usual gritty style complimenting Gerry Finlay-Day's exciting scripts, these are excellent war comics and one of the very best produced for Battle in its heyday.
The Sarge Vol 1 - published by Rebellion through their Treasury of British Comics line in May 2022 with an introduction by Garth Ennis.
#comic books#british comics#hardback#the sarge#mike western#jim watson#mike dorey#garth ennis#war comics#battle picture weekly#battle action#battle and valiant#treasury of british comics#rebellion#gerry finlay day
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‘Used as dartboards’: rare British war comic art rescued from bins, skips and floods
When the war comic was at the height of its popularity, titles included Battle, Warlord, Valiant, the Hotspur and the pocket-sized Commando, which is still published today.
Many of the stories published in the 1950s and 1960s relayed the gung-ho heroics of plucky British troops, often up against the odds, fighting two-dimensional German foes who routinely barked phrases such as “Schnell!” or “Gott in Himmel!” from their limited vocabulary.
But most of the original artwork for those comics – now worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds – was seen as of little value at the time, and was binned, burned or used to mop up floods in the basement of the publisher. Now a dedicated platoon of comic collectors and researchers has tracked down the surviving pieces and the results are to be shown in an exhibition telling the story of the British war comic.
Predominantly featuring original pages from the likes of the War Picture Library or the Battle and Action comics of the 1960s and 1970s, the exhibition, at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock from next month, will showcase the gritty artwork that made war comics so popular.
But very few original pieces survive, and Oxford-based Rebellion – the comics company that publishes science fiction weekly 2000AD and which has collaborated with the museum on the show – has been on a mission to gather up those that have.
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Front cover of:
Battle Picture Weekly & Valiant #88 (6th Nov, 1976)
IPC Magazines Ltd
Art: Mike Western
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⧼ justice smith, male aligned non-binary, he/his & they/them / cough syrup by young the giant + an old leather schoolbag bursting at the seams stuffed full of parchment, a wardrobe full of mix-matched socks and cuffed pants covered in dirt, twenty seconds of insane courage. ⧽ ━━ hey, isn’t that NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY THREE year old pure blood WIZARD is a GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a AUROR. i’ve heard they can be quite HARD-WORKING & VALIANT, but i don’t know… they came off very FORGETFUL & WORRISOME in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it?
ABOUT:
stats: (x)
wikia page: (x) as my neville is entirely true to canon, this page works as a good refresher. but i’ve done my best to give a little summary below! it’s pretty messy so don’t hesitate to ask for any clarification.
BRIEF HISTORY:
life for neville longbottom has never been easy, his parents were tortured into insanity, leaving him to be raised by his paternal grandmother. a strong and formidable woman, augusta longbottom saw everything that neville was not. and the one glaring detail she noticed above all, was the lack of magic exhibited by her grandson. in fact, she and many of the members of his family came to believe that he was a squib.
it was this belief that led his great uncle algee to drop neville out of a window, an event which he survived much to everyone’s surprise, though it left him scared.
when his hogwarts letter came, things looked up, he was a wizard after all! his grandmother even gave him his father’s old wand, hoping that neville would follow in the footsteps of his father.
being sorted into gryffindor was perhaps one of the greatest and also most frightening things to ever happen to neville. while it proved that he wasn’t the coward everyone saw he was, it meant that eyes would be on him, that he’d be expected to prove his worth. and oh boy, he tried, and failed, a lot.
the next couple of years brought many different challenges for neville, from facing his biggest fear a bogart in the form of professor snape, to seeing the curse used to torture his parents performed before his very eyes, to being put under the imperious curse, an event that still gives him nightmares.
his fifth year is where he really began to shine, through dumbeldore’s army, to put it simply, he excelled, even successfully disarming harry. though it’s worth mentioning, he could never conjure a corporeal patronus (and he still cant), but he didn’t let that get him down, instead he persisted, even going as far as accompanying his friends to the department of ministries. he was cursed, his nose was broken, his father’s wand was broken, he came face to face with the woman who tortured his parents. she tortured him. and still, neville remained strong, telling harry not to turn over the prophecy.
sometime before his sixth year neville’s grandmother purchased a new wand for him and things started looking up. and although he was disappointed that harry wasn’t continuing the D.A. he had achieved four o.w.l.s, far more than anyone expected from him.
nevile longbottom’s life was never the same after his sixth year, he returned to school to find everything had been turned, well, upside down. between snape and the carrows hogwarts just wasn’t the same place. so he, along side ginny weasley and luna lovegood, decided to do something. they brought back dumbledore’s army, and he continued to lead it even after ginny and luna didn’t return to school. and when he was forced into hiding, he hid, and waited for the day he knew would be coming. the day they took on voldemort.
he charged into battle headfirst, he fought as hard as he could. and when the moment came, he pulled the sword of gryffindor from the hat and slew nagini. he stood up to the dark lord! and he wasn’t afraid.
and despite the tremendous losses suffered that day, neville grew as a person, he had shown everyone that he wasn’t the same boy as he was when he first started at hogwarts. in fact, his bravery led to a job offer as an auror. and he accepted it.
and while neville loves his job, he doesn’t see it as a life-long career. in fact, some day he hopes to apply for a position as a herbology professor at hogwarts. but for now, he’s pretty content.
but the rumors of bellatrix’s return have him on an edge, he’s doing his best to hide just how afraid he is but anyone who knows him well enough would know that he’s terrified.
CANON CHANGES:
the most important change between canon and my neville is that they identify as a male-aligned non-binary person, using both he/him & they/them in terms of pronouns!
although i have no recollection of neville’s sexuality ever being mentioned, knowing jkr i can only assume it was straight. this is simply not true, neville longbottom is bisexual.
right now neville is single, i’m not sure when his relationship with hannah started canon wise but yeah he’s single and not ready to mingle.
HEADCANONS/FUN FACTS:
trevor the toad is very much alive, despite being lost many times and being quite old. apparently some types of toads can live 15 years so go trevor! neville still loses him like all the time.
sometime after the battle of hogwarts neville picked up photography, realizing that some memories deserve to be remembered forever. he’s not really good at it, but he doesn’t care. he likes to frame pictures and send them to his friends.
he spent ages trying to collect a harry potter chocolate frog card and when he finally got it, he put it in his wallet where it’s been ever since. it serves as a reminder of the bravest person he ever knew and one of his closest friends.
i firmly believe that augusta longbottom is still alive, and neville meets with her for tea at least once a week where she asks him about his job, and still finds a way to critique him, though it’s purely out of love.
neville still visits his parents weekly as well, and he still keeps a hold of the gum wrappers his mom gives him. he’s become more relaxed around them, even beginning to tell them his story.
neville has a huge sweet tooth, he’s almost constantly seen eating some sort of sweets. his favorite being pumpkin pasties, though he’s fond of sugar quills. and despite never having a good experience with them, bertie botts.
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Photo Quest | On AO3
Word Count: ~7000
Warnings: None
Summary: A ficlet based on an old Imzy prompt. Steve loses a wallet, where he keeps a secret picture of Tony. His team of heroes is of no help, but hey, Thor's roommate Daryl has some strangely insightful advice about ham.
Also for STONY Bingo Square S4 - ‘Pining’
Captain America didn’t panic. Serum-enhanced national treasures usually didn’t, and good for them because Steve Rogers⸺soldier, punk, plucky kid from Brooklyn⸺definitely was. Panicking, that is.
He thumbed tensely through the video feed on his Starkpad. A panoramic view of every common area in the Tower was right there at his fingertips, and some not-so-common areas were just a passcode away. In addition, he had access to satellite feeds and other methods of surveillance that walked a thin line Constitution-wise, but none of them really solved his problem.
“Anything?” he asked FRIDAY.
'Negative,’ replied the AI.
“Oh jeez, still?” Steve asked in a voice that might have been called a whine if someone who was not him were describing it.
“Captain, I’m doing my best,” FRIDAY protested. “A full building scan takes time, y’know?"
“Limit it to my recorded locations.” he commanded brusquely. “Last 48 hours."
“You didn’t authorize me to record your movements within the Tower,” said FRIDAY, and Steve figured he probably deserved the smug undertone behind her serene professionalism.
He closed his eyes and slumped back in his seat anyway. “Goddamn it."
“Woah, language.”
Steve snapped his eyes open at the wry tenor, instantaneously flipping the Starkpad over. He found himself face to face with Tony, much like a deer in headlights. It was not a good look on him, and Tony’s brow rose in predictable confusion.
“What are you doing?” Tony asked, and lightweight that he was, Steve could already feel his face grow warm.
He made a valiant effort nonetheless. “Nothing.”
“Oh, because it totally sounded like you were arguing with my AI,” Tony folded his arms now. He loomed, and Steve really had no other choice but to notice how he was dressed to spar— cutoff shirt, hand wraps, trunks that hugged his waist just right... “And losing."
While Steve battled his sudden case of dry mouth, Tony continued. “Come on, what’s making America’s golden boy swear in the presence of a disembodied lady?”
“I lost my wallet,” Steve admitted.
Tony looked skeptical, but didn’t actually say anything about it. He rattled commands off to his AI instead, “FRIDAY, order replacements for Cap’s charge cards and report his IDs as lost.”
“Already done, boss,” FRIDAY replied, more pleasantly than she’d done for Steve.
“Done,” Tony echoed. He flashed Steve a thumbs up. “Mission accomplished?”
Steve tapped his fingers on the Starkpad. “My wallet is still missing, so no.”
“Then, let’s order a wallet. You ok with leather?”
“Tony, no.” Steve shook his head. “I don’t want a new wallet, I’m going to find my old one.”
“Why?”
And that’s the thing about Steve: he may be a terrible casual liar, but he was made to get out of potentially ruinous situations that might threaten the very structure of the team.
He stood and clasped Tony’s shoulder. “Because I’m a weird old man, remember? Let me live.”
Steve managed to pull off a mostly casual stroll to the elevator to head up to his suite. He smiled genially at Tony through the doors while pressing the button to his floor, and Tony stared back at him with undisguised suspicion.
Steve held his smile for the eternity it took for the elevator doors to close, and slumped back against the wall as soon as they did. Why was he like this?
The next morning, when his wallet was officially missing for 12 hours, Steve commandeered the Avengers weekly standup to enlist some help. It was perfect cover since Hawkeye and Bruce weren’t phoning in; there was no weird raven reporting on Thor’s behalf, and most importantly, no indication that Iron Man was going to break his perfect record of never attending a single one of these. Hiding in plain sight⸺this is why Steve was a master tactician.
Also, since he would be asking them to cancel whatever plans they had at eight o’clock in the morning, Steve let Natasha pick refreshments and agreed to meet in a place of Sam’s choice. Naturally, he found himself wedged between the two in Stark Tower’s rooftop jacuzzi, sharing a box of donuts and drinking sangria before noon.
Sam wiggled his toes and squinted at the sun from behind his sunglasses. “More missing persons?” he asked. “This guy got a metal arm and an attitude, too?”
“Not a person,” Steve corrected. “My wallet.”
“Your wallet,” Sam echoed. “Slow crime day, if the Avengers are assembling for a wallet.”
“No,” Steve replied abruptly, then more calmly. “No assembling; we keep this between us. Need-to-know only.”
“Ok…” Sam grabbed the last Boston creme from the box and licked it to protect it from Natasha. “Hey, do you still carry that picture of Stark around with you?”
Steve sunk a fraction deeper into the jacuzzi so the warm, foaming water lapped at his throat. “Kind of.”
Natasha laughed. “That’s cute. So last century, but cute.”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “You don’t even have a copy saved on your phone?”
“I do,” Steve grumbled back. “But the one in my wallet is still out there somewhere, where anyone can find it. Look, I’m not forcing you guys to help⸺”
“Come on, man, don’t mope,” Sam nudged at Steve’s calf with his foot underwater. “We’re just wondering, as friends do, why you haven’t told Stark how you feel. He’s single, you’re single; and now that you guys aren’t measuring dicks anymore, it can’t hurt to go out on a date or two.”
Steve stalled behind a long sip of his sangria. It was a good drink even if it wouldn’t get him buzzed, but it didn’t have a magic answer to Sam’s question, either.
“We’re not fighting,” Steve agreed slowly. “But it’s touch and go, y’know? Last thing I want to do is throw off the team...balance.”
Sam didn’t look convinced. “You know it’s creepier to carry a picture around like that, right?”
“Only if Tony finds out,” Natasha said, which Steve gratefully followed up with, “Which is why I need to find my wallet before someone else does!”
They didn’t need to see behind the shades to know Sam was rolling his eyes.
“You two are...so well-adjusted,” he sighed, diving back into the safety of booze and donuts. “Seriously, if I ever call you guys for advice, assume I’m a Skrull.”
“Good morning, kids!”
Everyone startled at the voice coming from the far side of the jacuzzi. Iron Man hovered into view and the faceplate flipped up, so Tony stared back at them in open curiosity. He eyed the nearly empty box of donuts on the hot tub rim, the pitcher of sangria tucked into an insulated floating drinks holder, and finally at the three Avengers. Steve suddenly became hyper-aware of his splayed posture, but naked except for swimshorts and his favorite neck floatie didn’t exactly lend an air of professionalism.
“Tony!” he greeted instead. “What are you doing here?”
“I showed up for the weekly,” Tony replied. “but the conference room was empty and FRIDAY mentioned you all were here.” He smirked at Steve. “Forget how to update the calendar, Captain, or is this not that meeting?”
“Oh no, we’re still meeting,” Sam replied quickly before Steve could make up something painfully unconvincing. Then, traitorously, he moved away from Steve and nodded at the newly cleared space. “Take a seat.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Natasha confirmed smoothly. “We were just going over cyber security protocols.”
Tony grinned. “Oh, just my thing,”
The armor touched down on just beyond the hot tub, and the shining carapace unfurled. Tony stepped out of it with the usual seamless grace that only came from supreme confidence in his own creation. Not for the first time, Steve found himself marveling at the sheer genius, but then to his aroused consternation, Tony began to strip.
His shirt came off first, revealing a tanned torso, one definitely more cut and powerful than it looked under his clothes. Steve understood this because he was an artist, of course, with an eye for form and mass, although that didn’t explain his sudden, perverse curiosity as to whether Tony would be wearing underwear once he shuffled out of his yoga pants.
As it turned out, he needn’t have worried on that end. Tony was wearing briefs. Tight black ones, certainly, but they were there, thank god, because master tactician or not, Steve didn’t have a plan for dealing with a naked Tony lounging beside him in a hot tub.
As it is, he was fighting a blush and the butterflies in his stomach when their team genius stepped in next to Steve with an ironic little greeting of, ‘Capsicle’.
Completely to oblivious to the effect he was having, Tony made himself at home in his own jacuzzi, curling his arms over the rim so his right extended behind Steve’s back and his left behind Sam’s. If Tony didn’t stop squirming so blissfully under the warm water, Steve thought frantically, he was going to have a hard time in more than one sense of the phrase.
Luckily in the meantime, Nat had actually launched into a spiel about secure comms and text messages, which kept everyone’s libido pretty well in check. The problem only arose when she brought up the topic of government email servers and Tony got all up in her face for daring to compare their shoddy security to his.
He did this by leaning over Steve to gesticulate wildly, flinging water everywhere and letting his bare body bump up against Steve’s equally bare flank in the throes of passionate argument. Natasha argued back, but given the lack of conviction in her tone, Steve suspected she wasn’t trying to win more than she was trying to get a rise out of Tony.
Ok, maybe that wasn’t the best phrase to use, but it wasn’t inaccurate as Steve helplessly stared at the side of Tony’s head, where small droplets clung to the dark hairs at the nape of his neck and occasionally slipped down his shoulder and heaving pecs…
“Calm down,” Steve interrupted, hysterically unsure whether he was telling Tony or his own dick. “I think you’ve made your point. Government routers don’t make downloading any safer.”
“Finally!” Tony said. He didn’t sound pleased, but at least he wasn’t practically draped over Steve’s lap anymore, so the chances of a real boner were—
“But what about VPN?” Sam piped up innocently.
Steve stared at his friend in disbelief as Tony swallowed the bait and whirled the other way with an indignant, “Wilson, you know that’s not how it works!”
Another farcical debate began and this time, Steve felt his breath hitch as Tony’s ass directly wedged against this bare thigh and, wow, those were some really form-fitting underwear...
While he suffered in silence, Natasha reached around Steve’s elbow and took the last donut. Behind her, the Iron Man stared back in impassive judgement.
On Tuesday evening, Steve signed into his weekly conference call with Thor and Bruce. There was an interesting friendship. Nobody had been surprised when Tony whisked Bruce away to bond over science, but it quickly became apparent that Thor not only had better insight into the kind of science that Bruce liked, but also lent a broad and supportive shoulder when it came to the whole uncontrolled rage monster aspect. A couple stories about berserkers casually slipped in at the right time, and Bruce discovered the one Avenger he didn’t have to worry about Hulk-ing out and hurting.
As he listened to Bruce talk, Steve thought about how, for all that he knew about the longevities and loyalties of friendship, he’d underestimated the virtues of plain old peace of mind.
Behind Bruce, Thor rolled into the frame on a razor scooter, followed by a doughy, defeated-looking man holding a small golden urn. Thor beamed when he caught sight of Steve.
“Aha!” he declared, and pulled a 180 on the scooter so fast that the man trailing him nearly smacked into Thor’s broad chest. “You say I do not have a job? Explain that!”
“My friend from work, whom you know as the Incredible Hulk,” Thor pointed at Bruce first, then he jabbed his finger at the screen. “and that is our fearless leader, Captain America. Steve Rogers, meet my roommate, Daryl. D, Steve Rogers.”
Steve raised a brow, and mimicked Bruce’s tentative wave. So this was Daryl. When Thor first mentioned a flat and roommate in Australia, of all places, Steve admittedly hadn’t given it much more thought than he did stories about wild bilgesnipes or the Ginnungagap, but now, well, it was nice to put a face to the email address from which he’d been receiving irregular and rambling updates about Thor’s life down under.
He should go to Australia, Steve mused, travel for something other than work. He felt himself smile as he pictured leaving the shield to Sam, and foisting Wanda and Vision on Natasha, while Fury and Hill howled in protest at Captain America trading in his uniform for board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He’d book a flight with a decent civilian airline and dream about crystal clear waters and beachy sunsets while his Avengelings’ waved their handkerchiefs in farewell.
Of course, the only problem was that he’d be leaving Tony behind, too. Steve’s brow wrinkled at the thought of Tony rattling around in Stark Tower by himself. Who’d bring him snacks in the lab and treats for his bots? Butterfingers especially was growing fond of getting bits of arcane, analog tech whenever Steve visited...
“You took troubled, my friend,” Thor stated. “Your lips are drawn, and your face, pinched like a squalling babe. Is there something amiss in New York?”
Steve watched Thor’s imitation of his face in mild alarm, and considered denying that anything was wrong, but then, Bruce also chimed in. “Not the way I’d have put it, but he’s not wrong, Cap. You’d call us if we need to assemble, right?”
“Of course, I would,” Steve assured them quickly. “And no need to assemble, I just lost my wallet the other day and I’ve had a hell of a time looking for it.”
“That sucks,” Bruce sympathized. “FRIDAY can replace your cards and IDs, right?”
Steve nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not the point, really.”
“It is your cash, then,” Thor guessed. “Worry not, if you require rent money, I shall send you some.” He upended Daryl’s urn so bright golden coins spilled across the desk. “Asgardian gold; each of these is worth a gazillion of your human dollars.”
Daryl looked pained. “I told you, nobody will exchange that.”
Steve made a frustrated noise of his own, not because he was particularly invested in the exchange rate between US Dollars and Asgardian space gold, but because his woes had nothing to do with money.
He said as much, and Bruce put on his thinking face. “I mean, what else is in a wallet?”
“Condoms!” suggested Thor. The coins jumped when he smacked his fist on the table. “A loyalty card for the bar of blow drys? Or a snack of cheese and savory ham!”
“Let’s go with that,” Steve quickly agreed before the suggestions became any more outlandish. Truth be told, he could use a fresh perspective on his missing item, but he knew better than to ask outright. Daryl was listening, and while it was one thing for their close-knit team to know he carried a torch for Tony Stark, but he wasn’t about to spill his business to a stranger and make work for SI’s PR team.
“So, let’s say this ham...has sentimental value.”
At that, Bruce and Thor exchanged a knowing look. Daryl’s expression compounded to pained and baffled.
“You’re gaga over a ham?” he asked in a tone which made Steve suspect he was quite over the myth of superheroes.
“Have a care how you speak to our friend, Daryl,” Thor warned mildly. “Captain America carries a ham in his wallet, true, but he does not eat it because he is afraid that though the ham is delectable and a very fine cut indeed, it still might disagree with him.”
“How…” Daryl wet his lips. “How does he know that?”
Steve watched Bruce scratch his head. “Well, he and the ham kinda disagreed before.”
“So, you’re just going to leave it there?” Daryl frowned. “Won’t it go bad?”
Steve figured the metaphor had gone too far at this point. Thor just shrugged. “We are immortal,” he said. “The pain of…disagreeable ham smarts a long time. Perhaps, it is best to wait for it to cure some more.”
Ok, the metaphor had definitely gone too far. Even Bruce was making his experiment-failed face, but before Steve could change the subject to something less stressful, Daryl stared fiercely into the webcam.
“Actually, even if I were an immortal, I reckon I wouldn’t wait,” he said, then steamrolled on because yeah, fuck superheroes. “Look, it sounds like you’re pretty attached to this...ham, and yeah, you might find another ham at the market tomorrow, but it won’t be the same as this one, will it? I guess what ‘m sayin’ is: life goes on, but you don’t find a good ham everyday. So, best get your act together before someone else takes this one; isn’t Captain America s’posed to be brave and what not?”
“Um.” Steve stared back speechlessly. Bruce took his glasses off to clean them, which he often did when he witnessed something impressive. Thor beamed proudly, but he still took pity and offered, “And if that fails, friend Bruce has been working on a way to travel back in time.”
Steve must have looked pretty eager, because Bruce was quick to deny it. “Theoretically,” he said. “There is currently no feasible way to actually time travel.”
Bummer.
A notification at the edge of his computer caught Steve’s attention. Someone was requesting access to his office and FRIDAY helpfully tilted the entryway camera to reveal Tony. Steve smiled while granting access, feeling a usual surge of glee at the prospect of spending time with Tony, even if he’d spent the last few minutes referring to the man as a ham.
“Guys, good talking to you, but I have to go,” he told the webcam. Then, Steve smiled kindly at Daryl, “And about the Asgardian gold...contact your local SHIELD office, son.”
The Avengers had been a team for the better part of two years, yet Steve could only count a handful of times he’d seen Tony completely relaxed. The man had a sixth sense for being observed, and he could go from zero to PR masterpiece in no time at all, so it was a rare thing to catch him in ‘off-mode’.
Steve spared one eye to the latest proposal to upgrade his shield, and kept the other on Tony. He was laid out over the length of Steve’s couch--one of those microfiber numbers that didn’t look comfortable to sit on, but was good for a power nap or two. His dark tanktop was wrinkled and his hands were grease-stained as he scratched thoughtfully at his beard.
When he sensed Steve watching, he turned and asked, “Really, a roommate? What, did Thor take an ad out on Craigslist or something? Why didn’t he just ask me to arrange a place?”
“He wants to experience Earth,” Steve replied, swiveling back and forth on his office chair because Tony’s mood was catching. “What so bad about that? He’s not living in the trenches.”
Tony rubbed his eyes momentarily. “It’s bad PR,” he complained. “Thor’s an Avenger, not a broke grad student. And what kind of a name is Daryl? Anyone do a background check on the guy?”
“I did,” Steve answered immediately, unable to help the proud uptilt in his voice. “Daryl buys a few more lottery tickets than he really should, but no signs that he’s a HYDRA sleeper.”
Tony looked skeptical. “Trust no one without a dark side, remember?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “I forwarded it to Nat for a double check,” he said, and wondered if he should be insulted at how quickly Tony brightened again.
“That’s a relief,” Tony said, then shrugged. “No offense, Cap, but FRIDAY tells me you rage quit the CyberSec module I prepared for you.”
“I didn’t rage quit,” Steve countered. “I just...we had emergencies.”
Tony smirked. “You know, there’s no shame in asking for help, Capsicle. There’s a trick to these newfangled encryptions.”
Steve fiddled with a nearby pen and pretended to consider, even if he welcomed the chance to spend more time with Tony in close quarters. “You’d do that?”
“Of course, I would,” Tony replied. “Tell you what, I have a few hours open tonight, so if you wanna come by at 8…”
Steve winced. “I’ve plans tonight. Dinner with Sharon.”
“Oh,” Tony nodded and sat up on the couch. He scratched at an oily smear on his wrist. “Another time then, just have your people talk to my AI.”
He was smiley enough, but seemed more subdued than before. Steve nearly offered to cancel his plans when Tony looked up again.
“Hey, you find your wallet?”
Steve resisted the urge to fidget nervously. “No, I’m still looking.”
“Ok, why?” Tony demanded, pitching forward curiously. “What’s so special about a wallet? Brooklyn diner won’t give you the early bird special without your AARP card?”
“Hilarious,” Steve deadpanned. “I have other important things in there.”
“Like what?”
“Analog stuff; not quite up your alley,” Steve gave what he hoped was an easy grin, and stretched in his chair to relieve the jitters. God help his team if their lives ever depended on him keeping a secret under direct pressure from Tony.
For his part, Tony was staring back at him, expression strange. If Steve didn’t know better, he might have called it appreciative, but he did know better, so he braced instead for a retort from a man offended.
But Tony just exhaled through his nose and ventured to ask, “Is it, uh, anything to do with Peggy?”
Steve raised his brow, taken mildly aback. “No,” he replied softly. “It’s nothing like that, Tony, I meant it’s sentimental.”
“So, you can replace it,” Tony prodded.
“I guess,” Steve allowed, biting his lip. “But this is something I got right the first time I went for it-- that makes it rare. Um, for me.”
“Wow, I’ve got shivers,” Tony heaved himself off the couch and ran a hand through his hair. “Literally zero clues, but shivers.”
Steve bowed his head in a laugh, then looked up fondly. “I know, but I do appreciate that you care, Tony.”
“Yeah yeah,” Tony muttered, albeit indulgently, and tapped Steve’s shoulder on his way out. “Stay weird, old man.”
-
Later that night, Steve met Sharon in a modern speakeasy that was somewhat busy for a week night. Still, they’d managed to find a quiet spot in the corner and were hunched over a couple of beers, a basket of fries, and the ugliest mugshot ever taken. Seriously, how was HYDRA still claiming to be a master race when their latest lieutenant looked like a syphilitic thumb with tiny eyes?
Steve dutifully glanced at the entrance, nevertheless, because they were here on good intel and taking this asshole down would make his otherwise shitty week.
“I’m impressed,” Sharon was saying as she munched on a fry. “I mean, yeah, it’s “wrong", but someone successfully pickpocketed Captain America⸺I should be offering them a job.”
“You don’t have proof that I was pickpocketed,” Steve told her sullenly, chasing a bit of sriracha mayo on his fingers. “I probably just misplaced it while distracted.”
“Distracted,” Sharon snickered. “Was a certain billionaire philanthropist flexing in the vicinity?”
“Genius billionai⸺,” Steve started to correct her without thinking, then closed his mouth in panic. Quickly, he inventoried people entering the bar: two guys in sports jerseys, a goth kid, and three women wearing identical red saris and flowers in their hair. Not a thumb among them, thankfully. But still!
“Sharon, you can’t just say that here!”
She shrugged. “And you can’t commandeer SHIELD resources for stuff you just misplaced.”
That...was a fair point, but nobody ever said Captain America never came prepared. “What if the situation compromises the Avengers?”
“How does a crush on your teammate compromise the Avengers?”
“It was one thing when I had Peg’s picture inside my compass; a soldier keeping his best girl close was normal, not a thing wrong with it,” Steve mopped up the last of the sauce with his fries and thought while he chewed all six of them at once. “But with Tony, there’s PR to think about, and you know how little information it takes to ruin someone these days.”
He shook his head as images of lurid web articles and plummeting stocks charts did a macabre sort of conga through his brain. “Tony’ll hate me. The team splits, taking sides, and it’ll be too weird to work together anymore and poof⸺ no more Avengers.”
Steve raised his brow pointedly, only to catch Sharon staring back at him baffled. “What the actual hell, Rogers?”
Before Steve could respond, however, the door to the speakeasy slammed open and The Thumb walked in, flanked by two henchmen.
“Confirming by facial recognition,” Sharon said crisply. “But this is not over, Steve. Wherever you’re getting these batshit ideas⸺ “
“Batshit?!” Steve protested, surreptitiously reaching under the table for his shield.
Sharon readied her gun. “You know what, Aunt Peg always told me two things: don’t put things off, and don’t think for others.”
Steve watched as the Thumb seated himself at a barstool in front of the TV, and sighed fondly to himself, because yeah, Peggy believed in giving people a choice, even if she ended up with the short straw sometimes.
Still, he glanced dryly at Sharon and asked, “Is this where you encourage me to confess my feelings?”
Sharon smirked, hand on her gun and eyes on the Thumb, who was now snarling at the news. “Actually, I can appreciate you being cautious,” she said. “But, Steve. Neighborino. You’d better not be holding back because you already made Stark’s decision for him.”
As if on cue, the TV switched to an image of Tony speaking into a mic. The Thumb shouted something obscene and threw his beer bottle at the screen, which resulted in surprisingly less chaos than Steve anticipated. Mostly because almost all the other patrons had also drawn weapons.
“Stand back!” Sharon barked first. “I’m Agent 13, with SHIELD!”
“You stand back!” the goth kid from earlier countered over his Sig 226. “CIA!”
“Homeland Security,” announced one of the three sari ladies, flowers tumbling over her shoulder. “Sorry, kid, this one’s ours.”
“Like hell,” Sports Jersey man snapped. “FBI’s been on this for months!”
Steve wearily turned to the bartender, “And you?”
The bartender steadied his own pistol and shrugged. “Sir, I am a private, tax-paying business owner with second amendment rights…”
Of course. Steve closed his eyes and cursed inwardly. So much for a satisfying night.
Even after pulling rank, affiliation, and feigning hanger to slip out of the ensuing battle over jurisdiction of the Thumb, Steve still only managed to get home at around three in the morning. The fact that he was already in civvies saved him a trip to the armory, but he did run into Tony as he made his way to the suite elevators.
They stared at each other for a bit, obviously trying to extrapolate where the evening might have taken them. Tony was dressed in expensive business casual⸺ dark jacket and slacks accented with certain pastels he seemed to favor these days. Steve, on the other hand, felt self-conscious in sweat-stained sports bar get-up and messy hair. The skirmish with the Thumb had also left him with bruises, which were still healing in pink splotches across his jaw and neck.
Tony gave him a once over and commented, “I take it dinner was good?”
Was it? Steve thought about his evening, and bristled at the implication of four intelligence agencies blindly converging on one throwaway henchman and tipping off actual high profile targets in a hundred mile radius.
“It was certainly something,” he said with a rueful smile. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the action. And Sharon, she’s...well, she and I happen to be very good at action.
Tony raised a brow just as the elevator slid open. “Uh-huh...”
“But call me old fashioned, and you know, you do,” Steve playfully bumped Tony’s shoulder with his own. “but I wish we’d all sit down and talk about what this means in the long-term.”
Tony raised his brow as the elevator doors slid open. “I...that’s,” he took a deep breath while they stepped inside and punched the buttons to their respective floors. “So, it’s really serious?”
Steve snorted, because after his disaster of an evening? Yeah. “I’d say it’s pretty damn serious, Tony. We can’t live divided like this.”
Tony immediately folded his arms across his chest, looking troubled. “Wh...um, what about the Avengers?”
Steve considered. Outwardly, it did look like the Avengers tagged along with SHIELD. Their status was pretty ambiguous internally as well, which meant SHIELD would try to make decisions on their behalf and Tony was right to be concerned about that.
“Absolutely, I’ll have to think about it,” he agreed. “We all know SHIELD’s definition of liaisoning is a bit skewed.”
At the moment, the elevator opened to Steve’s suite. He gave Tony a quick salute as he stepped out, but Tony still held the doors open. “Listen, Steve,” he called, and Steve turned back. “Not saying it won’t be hard, but nobody’ll stand in the way of a good thing. We trust you and, y’know...we’ll be there for you. And all that jazz.”
He couldn’t help it, Steve positively beamed at the thought of seeing to his team’s best interests with Tony at his side. Now more than ever, he was determined to do what it took to clear their path, so Tony’s sharp wit and genius could build great things on it.
“Thank you, Tony,” he said breathlessly. “Have a good night.”
Tony stepped back into the elevator. His smile was lopsided and jerky when he whispered back, “Night, Steve.”
When Wednesday morning rolled around, Steve didn’t see hair nor hide of Tony. He ate breakfast alone and went to debrief with Phil only to find out that Tony had emailed his update instead of attending. Three texts went unanswered, and when he asked FRIDAY to make a call, the AI informed him that her boss was on lockdown in his lab and that a huge chunk of Steve’s own day was blocked off for an outreach engagement.
At 11 o’clock, Steve found himself struggling into his old uniform, which he he was sad to discover had not been mercilessly burnt months ago. It made him look like a cartoon, but the production team deemed it ‘child-and-adolescent-friendly’; not like his current uniform, which was just proficiently hostile, Captain Rogers, we’re talking to kids, not terrorists.
Fine. He’ll wear it, Steve decided, but he wasn’t going to like it, even if nobody seemed particularly concerned about his opinion anyway. As Steve fumbled with his zipper behind the scant privacy screen, producers, technicians, and PA’s scurried about the studio in a chaotically organized
swarm that made the air thick with tension.
On a nearby folding chair with his codename emblazoned on it, Hawkeye lay back, sipping cucumber water through a crazy straw. He turned and peeked over his shades when Steve came out.
“How do I look?”
“You’re asking me?” Clint feigned shock and awe. “Captain America wants my opinion? Gol-ly!”
“Clint.” Steve rolled his eyes and plopped into his own chair. The uniform fabric squeaked and strained, but valiantly held together. “I said I was sorry.”
“Still hurts, Cap,” Clint replied and sipped more cucumber water. “How do you get advice from Thor’s weird roommate before you come to me? I’m an actual retrieval specialist!”
“To be fair, I didn’t ask for Daryl’s advice,” Steve pointed out. “But I am asking you: Hawkeye, can you please get my wallet back?”
Clint made a face. “I didn’t say that.”
Steve sighed and took a sip from his own water bottle, carefully so he didn’t ruin his makeup. “Great, back to Plan A, then.”
“What’s plan A?”
“Praying for it to turn up?” Steve sniffled lightly, and wiggled his fingers inside stiff, scarlet gloves.
Clint aimed a kick at his calf. “Ah, don’t mope, Rogers,” he said. “You asked if I was going to get your wallet back, and the answer to that is no. But I’ll tell you where it is.”
Steve cast a suspicious glance to the side. “How do you know where it is?”
Clint whistled. “So many questions, and all of them wrong. Listen, just promise you’ll go in and get it yourself. No hiding behind ‘Tash or Sam, none of that sneaky-sneaky.”
“I’m not negotiating till I know the intel’s good, Clinton.”
“You had twenty dollars and fifty-nine cents, a visa credit card, a picture of Stark from the Expo last year, and about ten receipts from Fro-Yo Mama,” Clint smugly rattled off the contents of Steve’s wallet, then leered knowingly. “That’s interesting; wouldn’t have pegged you for such a fan of frozen yogurt.”
Steve pursed his lips. “Where is it?”
Surprisingly, Clint replied without extra commentary. “It’s in the Tower, Cap. Go home after this and find today’s copy of the Times. In it, there’s an article by a Ms. Huggenkiss. Read every third word and follow the clues.”
“Seriously?” Steve groaned. “Why do this?”
Clint shrugged. “You’d be disappointed if I didn’t.”
Before Steve could rattle off all his disappointments, however, somebody called out from the middle of the set. “We’re ready for you, Mr. America.”
Steve leveled a last, displeased look at Clint and took up his cowl. God, he looked even stupider with his glorified stocking pulled over his head. Still, he quickly managed to school his features, paste on a winsome smile and straddle the chair provided because he’d been assured this was how the kids did it these days.
“So,” he compassionately said to the camera. “Your bodies are changing...”
It took a special kind of writer to create a teleprompter spread equating the super soldier experiment to puberty. Steve was impressed, learned a few new things, and yet he still left the studio in polite haste because there were whispers about USCIS wanting in on the PSA action, and he was in no mood to stand before a backdrop of the Statue of Liberty and talk about being an ‘immigrant of time’.
Steve went straight back to the Tower and parked his motorbike in the expansive garage. “Is Tony out yet?” he asked hopefully.
“Sorry, Captain, but no,” FRIDAY replied.
Steve mumbled a disappointed thanks and took the elevator up to the communal floor. As he zoomed up to the topmost floors of the Tower, he wondered if he’d missed something during their conversation last night. Steve had never asked Tony about his evening; he’d been too caught up in the idea of them settling the future of the Avengers together. The thought made him smile even now, but he couldn’t imagine why Tony would go into lockdown all of a sudden.
For a brief, wild moment, Steve wondered if it was because of the wallet situation; if Tony was insulted at Steve keeping petty secrets from him all while proposing that they co-lead the team. His gut clenched uncomfortably, because Tony Stark wasn’t stupid, and he would have noticed Steve whispering with the rest of the team. Somehow, he managed to alienate Tony with the very strategy he was following to not alienate Tony.
Stepping out of the elevator, Steve scratched nervously at the back of his neck. The living room was empty, but bright with natural light, and immaculate from a recent visit by the maintenance staff. Couch cushions were rearranged tastefully, coasters replaced in their holder, and on the coffee table was a neatly folded copy of the Times.
Steve flipped through it skeptically, but lo and behold, there was indeed an article by the person Clint mentioned. Amanda Huggenkiss, hilarious. And to top it all off, it was a critic’s review for a movie about⸺ Steve checked the title twice⸺ mobile phone emojis. Incredible.
Following Clint’s increasingly ridiculous clues led Steve to Tony’s lab, right after a useless tour through the helipad, a server closet, and a trophy room he hadn’t even known existed. Once down there, he stood desperately at the entrance, pawing and waving until Tony himself told him to piss off over the intercom.
“I’m really busy, Steve.”
“That’s ok,” Steve replied quickly. “I’m here to see Butterfingers. Won’t bother you at all.”
Tony didn’t reply, but a good 15 seconds later, the doors whooshed open and Steve hurried in. He spared a smile for Tony, who was watching him curiously, but true to his word, he made a beeline for the bot in question. Butterfingers greeted him with happy, inquisitive chirping. Its arm swiveled enthusiastically in Steve’s direction, clearly hoping for a treat.
“Not today, fella,” Steve told it. “I have it on good authority that you took something of mine the other day.”
Butterfingers actually jerked like it was taken aback at the accusation. Then, Tony chimed in to ask, “You accusing my robot of theft, Rogers? Do I need to get his lawyer on the phone?”
“No, I’m sure it was an accident,” said Steve. He turned back to Butterfingers and looked into the blinking panel that he thought of as its eye. “I didn’t bring you anything when I was here to discuss upgrades last week, so you thought my wallet was a treat, right?”
A moment passed in which nothing happened. In the corner of his eye, Steve saw Tony push his goggles up onto his head to observe, and he really hoped he didn’t look like a complete tool, bantering with a robot.
Luckily, Butterfingers retreated to a corner of the lab and extricated something from a pile of other textile scraps. It came back with Steve’s wallet clutched carefully in its arm, and dropped it in his hands with a series of sad beeps.
“Sorry,” Steve said soothingly. “but stuff in my pocket’s off limits, ok? Promise, and I’ll bring you some nice original transistors next time.”
Butterfingers chirped excitedly at that, and Tony snorted. “You’re a sucker for nostalgia, you know that?” he told the bot.
Steve laughed softly and triumphantly waved his wallet. Tony made an ironic gesture of applause. “Great job, detective Capslock. Guess life goes back to normal now.”
Steve caught sight of his forced smile and deflated. “About that,” he ventured. “Tony, can we talk? I’ve been an ass this week, and I’m sorry, but believe it or not, I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Tony frowned. “What?”
Taking the question as an invitation, Steve wandered closer and lay his wallet on the table between him and Tony. He flipped it open and slowly slid out the polaroid nestled in an inner pocket. It was slightly faded, but it was unmistakably a picture of Tony in a bespoke suit, leaning over to watch something obviously fascinating because his eyes were wide with wonder, and his expression almost loving.
“Is that me?” Tony asked, voice nearly a whisper.
Steve swallowed. “Yeah, um, Stark Expo 2016. You were watching a demo and it was the first time I’d seen you look so..I don’t know, open. I mean, you’re usually watching out for cameras or the paparazzi, but not here and I couldn’t help it, I…um.”
Tony dropped his face into his hands and Steve trailed off. Perfect. He was a creep and Tony was embarrassed. Steve just began to contemplate finding the nearest block of ice to crawl back into when Tony looked up, eyes wide and mildly haunted.
“I thought you were leaving the Avengers to be with Sharon.”
Steve startled. “What? Why would I⸺” he began, then remembered the night in the elevator. Ok, yes, he could see how that might have been misconstrued. He hurriedly shook his head and said, “No, Tony, that was something else. Something we need to talk about, sure, but it has nothing to do with me leaving the Avengers for Agent 13.”
Tony took a deep breath, like a drowning man taking his first gulp of air. He scrubbed his face again and said, “Good. Good, ‘cause I was...not taking that well.”
For the first time, Steve looked out over the workbench where Tony gestured. It looked like a tornado had gone through the place; fragments of tech strewn everywhere, prototypes lay buried under their own electric viscera like someone messily gutted them to painstakingly rebuild again. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “Turns out it hurt more than I thought. I mean, do you ever feel something, but you let it lie because why not, you have time. But then, life moves on, and next thing you know, you’re in the fucking elevator at 3AM and the guy you want to build a team with is giving you his 2-week notice, and⸺”
“Tony,” Steve breathed in to steady his own breath, because his brain was having trouble reconciling what Tony said to what he’d convinced himself Tony would say. Nevertheless, he placed his hand over their engineer’s on the table, and felt it shake under his palm. “It’s ok. Really. I understand.”
Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What, you have a weird obsession with this group of misfits too?”
“Do I⸺ you have no idea!” Steve exclaimed, unable to stop the sheer happiness inside him bubble up as delirious laughter. “The Avengers are my home, Tony, all I want is to make this team the best it can be. With you. God, especially with you.”
Tony stared back at him, possibly for the first time, speechless. “Well, shit,” he managed to sigh. “How did we miss that?”
“Because I’m an idiot!” Steve declared, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been mooning over a picture when I should have been listening to the real deal.”
“And I hid in here to lick my wounds instead of fighting for you,” Tony mumbled. He slid his hand out from under Steve’s and intertwined their fingers together instead. “We’re both hopeless, but we got this far, somehow.”
Steve looked up and met warm, brown eyes that shone just as hopefully as his own. “We did,” he agreed. “We did, and I can’t wait to see how much further we can go, but…well, you should also know that I don’t carry your photo ‘round cause I admire you.”
Tony made a strange noise. “Admire me?”
“I like you too,” Steve admitted. “Very much. I know it’s a lot, even in this day and age, and you’re a public figure, too.”
“Uh-huh,” Tony said. “But let’s get back to the part where you like me...and want to raise the Avengers with me?”
Steve felt his lips pull into a stupid grin again, like this thought would forever fill him with joy. ‘Raise the Avengers’, god, did Tony have a way with words.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “That about sums it up.”
Tony held his gaze and leaned forward just imperceptibly. “And you’re willing to kiss on it?”
Steve immediately felt his cheeks heat. Barely hearing himself over the sound of his own pounding heartbeat, he said, “Yes, Tony, I will kiss on⸺”
Ah. Steve’s breath caught when Tony’s lips touched him, and he closed his eyes, savoring their proximity, the stubble scratching his mouth. Instinctively, he bought one hand up to caress the side of Tony’s cheek. It was a chaste kiss by any standards, but it was happening. At long last, it was happening.
Steve leaned his forehead against Tony’s when they parted, unwilling to give up the touch he’d spent so long pining after. He thumbed at the hairs at the nape of Tony’s neck, then leaned up to kiss the crown of his head.
Tony drew his fingertip down the photo of himself, which had started this whole thing in the first place. “What was I even looking at?”
Steve examined the lines of fascination and reverence etched into the picture. “The future, if I had to guess.”
“Well, wouldn’t that be something,” Tony replied casually.
When he met Steve’s eyes again, however, his skepticism had already melted into something softer, more wondrous and promising.
Whatever it was, Steve was charmed to note that it matched the photo.
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Discover 2017’s Most Anticipated New Series with Seven-Page Sneak Peek from Academy Award Nominee Eric Heisserer & Visionary Artist Raul Allen
Valiant is proud to announce that it will include an extended seven-page sequence from June’s SECRET WEAPONS #1 – the FIRST ISSUE of the hotly anticipated limited series putting Livewire in command of an extraordinary new team of heroes – in all of its May 2017 titles!
On June 28th, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer – writer of the internationally acclaimed, smash-hit motion picture ARRIVAL, as well as Valiant’s upcoming HARBINGER and BLOODSHOT feature films from Sony Pictures – joins forces with Harvey Award-nominated artists Raul Allen (WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR) and Patricia Martin (BLOODSHOT REBORN) to bring Livewire and her squad of superhuman outcasts out of hiding…and onto the frontline of the Valiant Universe’s coming battle against the cybernetic hunter called Rex-O!
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Now, before the first issue hits stands on June 28th, find out why SECRET WEAPONS #1 is one of the year’s most anticipated new series with an extended sneak preview in all of Valiant’s standard and Premium format series, including:
FAITH #11 (on sale May 3rd)
ETERNAL WARRIOR: AWAKENING #1 (on sale May 10th)
NINJAK #27 (on sale May 17th)
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #3 (on sale May 24th)
RAPTURE #1 (on sale May 24th)
The government has dispatched Amanda McKee – the technopath codenamed Livewire – to investigate the ruins of a secret facility formerly run by Toyo Harada, the most powerful telepath on Earth and her former mentor. In his quest for world betterment at any cost, Harada sought out and activated many potential psiots like himself. Those who survived, but whose powers he deemed to have no value to his cause, were hidden away at this installation. But Livewire, having studied Harada’s greatest strengths and learned his deepest weaknesses, senses opportunity where he once saw failure. A young girl who can talk to birds… A boy who can make inanimate objects gently glow… To others, these are expensive disappointments. But, to Livewire, they are secret weapons…in need of a leader. Now, as a mechanized killer called Rex-O seeks to draw them out, Livewire and her new team of cadets will be forced to put their powers into action…in ways they never could have imagined…
Jump on board here to find out why SECRET WEAPONS #1 – the first game-changing comics collaboration from the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of ARRIVAL and the visionary art team behind WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR – is already being heralded as one of the year’s most stunning new series:
“[SECRET WEAPONS] could shake up comics… [Livewire] is the ideal character for [Heisserer] to focus on after his Academy Award-nominated ARRIVAL screenplay.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“[SECRET WEAPONS] looks amazing.” – Entertainment Weekly
“Some of [Heisserer’s] most ambitious work.” – MTV
“[Heisserer] is set to make a splash in the comic book world.” – Blastr
“We’re stoked on [SECRET WEAPONS] and can’t wait to see what Eric Heisserer, Raul Allen, and colorist Patricia Martin are cooking up… This is a match made in heaven.” – Nerdist
Featuring covers from Raul Allen (NINJAK), Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic (Thor), Roberto De La Torre (Daredevil), and Bryan Hitch (The Authority), master storytellers Eric Heisserer and Raul Allen begin the summer’s most talked-about adventure on June 28th, only in SECRET WEAPONS #1 – presented in the deluxe VALIANT PRESTIGE format! Then, look for a special extended preview, included at no extra cost in all of Valiant’s May 2017 titles!
Plus: Reserve your copies of Livewire’s much-anticipated solo debut in advance with the SECRET WEAPONS #1–4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE – spanning the complete, VALIANT PRESTIGE-format limited series! Released monthly from June through September, each PRE-ORDER EDITION comes packed with trade paperback-style extras and bonus content, including creator commentary, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the comics, process character designs and artwork, and first looks at upcoming issues! Available only as a pre-order set, the SECRET WEAPONS #1-4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE can only be ordered as a set and must be ordered with your local comic shop by the initial order date of April 27th, 2017!
For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and ValiantUniverse.com.
For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com
SECRET WEAPONS #1 (of 4)
Written by ERIC HEISSERER
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN with PATRICIA MARTIN
Cover A by RAÚL ALLÉN
Cover B by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Variant Cover by ROBERTO DE LA TORRE
Variant Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Signed Virgin Art Variant by RAÚL ALLÉN (INDIVIDUALLY SIGNED BY ERIC HEISSERER)
Blank Cover Also Available
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | VALIANT PRESTIGE | T+ | On Sale JUNE 28th
SECRET WEAPONS #1-4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE
Written by ERIC HEISSERER
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN with PATRICIA MARTIN
Covers by CLAYTON HENRY
$15.96 US [four issues] | 40 pgs. each | VALIANT PRESTIGE | T+
SECRET WEAPONS #1 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale JUNE 28th
SECRET WEAPONS #2 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale JULY 19th
SECRET WEAPONS #3 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale AUGUST 16th
SECRET WEAPONS #4 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale SEPTEMBER 20th
Valiant Spotlights SECRET WEAPONS #1 with Extended Preview in All May 2017 Titles Discover 2017’s Most Anticipated New Series with Seven-Page Sneak Peek from Academy Award Nominee Eric Heisserer & Visionary Artist Raul Allen…
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Valiant is proud to announce that it will include an extended seven-page sequence from June’s SECRET WEAPONS #1 – the FIRST ISSUE of the hotly anticipated limited series putting Livewire in command of an extraordinary new team of heroes – in all of its May 2017 titles!
On June 28th, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer – writer of the internationally acclaimed, smash-hit motion picture ARRIVAL, as well as Valiant’s upcoming HARBINGER and BLOODSHOT feature films from Sony Pictures – joins forces with Harvey Award-nominated artists Raul Allen (WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR) and Patricia Martin (BLOODSHOT REBORN) to bring Livewire and her squad of superhuman outcasts out of hiding…and onto the frontline of the Valiant Universe’s coming battle against the cybernetic hunter called Rex-O!
Now, before the first issue hits stands on June 28th, find out why SECRET WEAPONS #1 is one of the year’s most anticipated new series with an extended sneak preview in all of Valiant’s standard and Premium format series, including:
FAITH #11 (on sale May 3rd)
ETERNAL WARRIOR: AWAKENING #1 (on sale May 10th)
NINJAK #27 (on sale May 17th)
X-O MANOWAR (2017) #3 (on sale May 24th)
RAPTURE #1 (on sale May 24th)
The government has dispatched Amanda McKee – the technopath codenamed Livewire – to investigate the ruins of a secret facility formerly run by Toyo Harada, the most powerful telepath on Earth and her former mentor. In his quest for world betterment at any cost, Harada sought out and activated many potential psiots like himself. Those who survived, but whose powers he deemed to have no value to his cause, were hidden away at this installation. But Livewire, having studied Harada’s greatest strengths and learned his deepest weaknesses, senses opportunity where he once saw failure. A young girl who can talk to birds… A boy who can make inanimate objects gently glow… To others, these are expensive disappointments. But, to Livewire, they are secret weapons…in need of a leader. Now, as a mechanized killer called Rex-O seeks to draw them out, Livewire and her new team of cadets will be forced to put their powers into action…in ways they never could have imagined…
Jump on board here to find out why SECRET WEAPONS #1 – the first game-changing comics collaboration from the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of ARRIVAL and the visionary art team behind WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR – is already being heralded as one of the year’s most stunning new series:
“[SECRET WEAPONS] could shake up comics… [Livewire] is the ideal character for [Heisserer] to focus on after his Academy Award-nominated ARRIVAL screenplay.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“[SECRET WEAPONS] looks amazing.” – Entertainment Weekly
“Some of [Heisserer’s] most ambitious work.” – MTV
“[Heisserer] is set to make a splash in the comic book world.” – Blastr
“We’re stoked on [SECRET WEAPONS] and can’t wait to see what Eric Heisserer, Raul Allen, and colorist Patricia Martin are cooking up… This is a match made in heaven.” – Nerdist
Featuring covers from Raul Allen (NINJAK), Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic (Thor), Roberto De La Torre (Daredevil), and Bryan Hitch (The Authority), master storytellers Eric Heisserer and Raul Allen begin the summer’s most talked-about adventure on June 28th, only in SECRET WEAPONS #1 – presented in the deluxe VALIANT PRESTIGE format! Then, look for a special extended preview, included at no extra cost in all of Valiant’s May 2017 titles!
Plus: Reserve your copies of Livewire’s much-anticipated solo debut in advance with the SECRET WEAPONS #1–4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE – spanning the complete, VALIANT PRESTIGE-format limited series! Released monthly from June through September, each PRE-ORDER EDITION comes packed with trade paperback-style extras and bonus content, including creator commentary, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the comics, process character designs and artwork, and first looks at upcoming issues! Available only as a pre-order set, the SECRET WEAPONS #1-4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE can only be ordered as a set and must be ordered with your local comic shop by the initial order date of April 27th, 2017!
For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and ValiantUniverse.com.
For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com
SECRET WEAPONS #1 (of 4)
Written by ERIC HEISSERER
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN with PATRICIA MARTIN
Cover A by RAÚL ALLÉN
Cover B by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Variant Cover by ROBERTO DE LA TORRE
Variant Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Signed Virgin Art Variant by RAÚL ALLÉN (INDIVIDUALLY SIGNED BY ERIC HEISSERER)
Blank Cover Also Available
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | VALIANT PRESTIGE | T+ | On Sale JUNE 28th
SECRET WEAPONS #1-4 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE
Written by ERIC HEISSERER
Art by RAÚL ALLÉN with PATRICIA MARTIN
Covers by CLAYTON HENRY
$15.96 US [four issues] | 40 pgs. each | VALIANT PRESTIGE | T+
SECRET WEAPONS #1 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale JUNE 28th
SECRET WEAPONS #2 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale JULY 19th
SECRET WEAPONS #3 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale AUGUST 16th
SECRET WEAPONS #4 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale SEPTEMBER 20th
Valiant Spotlights SECRET WEAPONS #1 with Extended Preview in All May 2017 Titles Valiant is proud to announce that it will include an extended seven-page sequence from June’s SECRET WEAPONS #1…
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I am a HUGE fan of anything ancient Rome. Add in a fierce female protagonist, a swoony love interest, and a heart-pounding plot line, well, you’ve got the combination for one PHENOMENAL book!
Wine Pairing
The Valiant by Lesley Livingston
How could I possibly pair this Roman-inspired novel with anything other than an Italian wine. This Bartenura Moscato happens to be one of my FAVORITE wines and it also happens to look awesome with this book cover!
*All wine recommendations are for strictly for those of legal drinking age only.*
The Nitty Gritty
Title: The Valiant
Author: Lesley Livingston
Publisher: Razorbill
Pub Date: February 14, 2017
Pages: 372
GoodReads Description:
Princess. Captive. Gladiator.
Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar.
When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle.
Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance.
Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.
Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.
My Review
I fell in love with this book the moment I heard about it, and Lesley Livingston’s delivery of the story more than lived up to my expectations. This was such a fun read, absolutely brimming with historical facts and theories. And one of the coolest things about this book, gladiatrices might actually have been a real thing!
I adored Fallon as a main character. She is fierce, smart, and also incredibly loyal. Her love for her family definitely makes her a character that you’ll relate to. Basically, you’ll just want to be her.
The world building is expertly done. Livingston has taken the facts that we know about ancient Rome and combined them with fiction in a way that feels so authentic and brings the whole world to life. She also included some major historical figures in the story, and it was so much fun to see them there, including Ceasar and Cleopatra. It’s fascinating to imagine what their personalities would have actually been like, and I adored Livingston’s take on them, Cleopatra in particular.
There is a truly phenomenal cast of characters in this book. The love interest, the friends, the enemies, the complex familial relationships. I just ate it all up and was so thrilled when I checked Goodreads and found out that this is book 1 in a series! Wahoo!
This book is like the movie Gladiator meets Graceling, and it is FIRE!
Cover Rating
This cover is perfect. It highlights the sheer awesomeness of Fallon’s character perfectly. The color scheme is perfect, and the arena is exactly what I imagine the Colosseum in Rome would have looked like during Caesar’s time.
Swoon Worthiness
The romance between Fallon and Cai is SUPER swoony. There’s so much romantic tension between them, and Livingston delivers it in the slow-burn style that I love so much. Cai has a character arc that makes him just the PERFECT guy for Fallon, and I can’t wait to check out their relationship status in book 2.
Were There Really Gladiatrices?
So, I adore reading historical fiction and historical fantasy, because I love to be able to Google locations, characters, and facts while I read. I love to have that added depth to my reading experience. So I did a little bit of research on gladiatrices while I was reading and was astounded to find out that they probably were an actual thing.
In the back of the book, Livingston also acknowledges the fact that there were most likely female gladiatrices, and she also discusses some of the research she did while writing the book. Be sure to check that out after you read The Valiant.
Here’s a few fun facts I found by the power of the internets while reading:
There is some physical evidence that suggests the existence of the gladiatrix, including graves and the relief of two gladiatrcies pictured below.
There are also a very few written accounts documented of gladiatrices by Rome’s ancient elite.
It is believed that a female gladiatrix would have fought each other, or wild animals, to entertain audiences, just as the gladiators did.
Many have speculated that emperor Septimus Severus may have been the driving force behind the gladiatrices, bringing them into the arena in an attempt to create a dignified display of female athletics.
While male gladiators are widely celebrated and acknowledged, the relief below is the only near-certain depiction of the female gladiatrices existence.
A Photo Tour of the Colosseum
I visited Rome and the Colosseum last year with my family. Here are a few pictures of what is left of the ancient arena that Fallon may have fought in today.
About Lesley Livingston
LESLEY LIVINGSTON is a writer living in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of twelve books to date. Her first novel, WONDROUS STRANGE, was winner of the CLA Young Adult Book of the Year 2010, a White Pine Honour Book, shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Speculative Fiction, and in 2015 was named one of CBC’s “100 YA Books That Make You Proud To Be Canadian”. DARKLIGHT, the second book in this series was a finalist for the Indigo Teen Read Awards. The concluding volume in the trilogy, TEMPESTUOUS, was a finalist for the Monica Hughes Award. These books have sold to more than ten countries to date, and WONDROUS STRANGE has been optioned for film/TV by Shaftesbury Films. Her other trilogies have both won the Copper Cylinder award for Young Adult fiction.
In addition to her books for teen readers, Lesley is also co-author of a Middle Grade series with Jonathan Llyr called THE WIGGINS WEIRD. The first book, HOW TO CURSE IN HIEROGLYPHICS was shortlisted for the CLA Book of the Year for Children Award and was longlisted for the Canadian Booksellers Association’s Young Readers Book of the Year award. It was also chosen as one of the selections for the 2016 First Book Canada All-Star Reading Challenge.
Lesley’s newest novel is a YA historical epic, THE VALIANT, which will be published in February 2017 by Penguin Razorbill (US) and HarperCollins (CAN) and tells the story of a 17-year-old girl’s journey from fierce Celtic princess to female gladiator and the darling of the Roman Empire.
For almost three years, Lesley hosted weekly late-night movie marathons on the nationally broadcast television show, SPACEBAR, as the Waitron-9000, a sparkly holographic waitress with an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure B-movie trivia. For almost two decades, she was a principal performer with Tempest Theatre Group, a Toronto-based Shakespearean theatre company.
Have you read The Valiant yet? How fascinating do you find the idea of the gladiatrices? Have you, or will you, get to meet Lesley during the Penguin Teen Tour?
The Valiant Five Star Review + Were There Really Gladiatrices?! I am a HUGE fan of anything ancient Rome. Add in a fierce female protagonist, a swoony love interest, and a heart-pounding plot line, well, you've got the combination for one PHENOMENAL book!
#2017 ya books#bartenura moscato#Book Blog#Book Blogger#Book Review#Books#lesley livingston#Read YA#the valiant#YA#ya book#ya book blog#ya book blogger#ya book review#YA Books#YA For Life#ya forever#ya lit#ya lovin
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More Great Men - Great Guns from Battle Picture Weekly No. 85 and Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 90 (cover dated 16 October and 20 November 1976). Treasury of British Comics.
#treasury of british comics#battle#battle picture weekly and valiant#battle picture weekly#20nov#16oct#thompson smg#tommy gun#m1 carbine#m1911#alvin york#audie murphy#m1917#moisin nagant#great men - great guns
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Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 126, dated 30 July 1977. The Sarge cover, artist unknown. Treasury of British Comics.
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Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 119, dated 11 June 1977. Panzer G-Man cover. Another great Battle cover to play "How many fonts can you spot?" with. Treasury of British Comics.
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Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 121, dated 25 June 1977. Montage cover. Treasury of British Comics.
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One-Eyed Jack makes the jump from Valiant to the merged Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 86, dated 23 October 1976 and finds a new line of work. This new direction for Jack was written by Gerry Finley-Day with art by John Cooper. Treasury of British Comics.
#23oct#1976#john cooper#battle#battle picture weekly and valiant#valiant#gerry finley day#one-eyed jack
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Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 120, dated 18 June 1977. Darkie's Mob cover by Mike Western. There's something just not right with the way Darkie is holding the gun but it still works as a cover. Treasury of British Comics.
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Panzer G-Man by Gerry Finley-Day and Geoff Campion makes his debut in Battle Picture Weekly and Valiant No. 86, dated 23 October 1976. It wasn't just trousers they tucked into their boots, some fitted their stick grenades in there as well. This was possible until leather became scarcer as the war progressed and boots had to be made shorter. Treasury of British Comics.
#23oct#1976#battle#battle picture weekly and valiant#treasury of british comics#gerry finley day#geoff campion#panzer g-man
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