Unity

Coming off of a major publisher-wide event is enough for some publishers to justify the relaunch of a title, but Matt Kindt and CAFU take a more old-school approach with “Unity” #12. Despite being a young title, there have been plenty of issues that have served as a convenient access point to the Valiant Universe, but Kindt makes sure this one especially won’t leave brand new readers asking a lot of questions. There’s a lengthy recap leading off the issue, which not only brings newbies up to speed but is also a concisely told summary of the events of the past year. Cover artist Brian Level gives old and new audiences alike a symbolic taste of what’s inside, with homage to veteran artist George Perez. His cover is a classic-style composition showing the Unity team battling a new super-group that’s introduced in this issue, complete with inset headshots of the various characters involved. There’s no such battle within, but the cover’s image evokes a more general representation of the f

Building a new backstory into the “Unity” mythos, “Unity” #0 makes the most of its creative team’s talents, but it suffers from an inevitable lack of development. Though writer Matt Kindt does his best to inject gravity into the script, it can’t stand in for getting to know these characters and see their importance in action. It’s a well-executed issue, but it left me wanting a bit more. “Unity” #0 follows an elite, experimental task force called Unit Y in their climactic, tragic fight against the Germans in World War I. The team is composed of the Eternal Warrior, familiar to readers of “Unity,” and three new characters: Dell, Alpha and Breaker. Kindt does his best to establish these characters, but he comes up against the limitations of the page count, and they aren’t memorable. However, Kindt seems to recognize the inevitability of that limitation, and keeps the story focused on the Eternal Warrior. With him as narrator, the story has context outside of itself. Kindt makes a var

Firmly entrenched in its second story arc, “Unity” has shown itself to be a comic with some staying power, rather than a mere team-up gimmick that would struggle to make it past its initial premise. Writer Matt Kindt and artist Cafu prove that in “Unity” #6, as the quartet of Ninjak, X-O Manowar, Livewire and The Eternal Warrior face a clever and far-reaching threat from the villainous Doctor Silk. Silk’s creepy method of operations makes him a deadly enough menace, one that no single hero can withstand, as it were, and gives justification and motive for these disparate heroes to continue to hang around together. Kindt uses a similar charter to the one Stan Lee used to give The Avengers a reason to carry on a half-century ago, by making his villain a significant threat that requires more than just a one-on-one confrontation to neutralize. Doctor Silk is not only creepy, using his scientific skills in an obsessive and manipulative manner, but has also concocted a brilliant and litera

Five issues into the series, Valiant Entertainment provides readers with an all-new arc that serves as a jumping on point for new readers in “Unity” #5 written by Matt Kindt and drawn by CAFU with colors from Brian Reber and letters from Dave Sharpe. Set on a task by MI6, Livewire goes missing in Taiwan, which serves as the impetus for Ninjak reuniting with the Eternal Warrior and X-O Manowar. Kindt brings a credible, intriguing backstory to the Valiant Universe, including a collection of super-powered individuals from the 1930s, which — along with a four-page sequence that sells the book and elevates Ninjak to complete badass status — helps “Unity” #5 overcome lots of exposition and move forward in an interesting manner. There’s action other than the Ninjak battle, but truly the promise of action seems more heavily weighted towards “Unity” #6. Without a doubt, however, what comes next has a very solid foundation courtesy of Matt Kindt’s work in this comic as the writer has defined

Written by Matt Kindt with art by Doug Braithwaite, “Unity” #2 is just the latest in a string of solid, entertaining, unhampered reads from Valiant Entertainment. Combining Livewire from Harbinger, Eternal Warrior, Toyo Harada and Ninjak against the reign of Aric of Dacia, who wears the X-O Manowar battlesuit, this story is more than just a bunch of characters punching each other in the face. Technology controlling psiot Livewire and Harada, a sadistically masterfully telekinetic, team up, putting their shared past behind them and go about taking on Aric on multiple levels, even as the bearer of the X-O suit fights a physical battle against the Eternal Warrior. Aric, meanwhile, has baited a seemingly perfect trap, hurtling Harada’s team into space and turning their attack into a farce. Harada and crew put aside their differences and make the most of the fight as Kindt wonderfully elevates the concept of “the enemy of my enemy is my ally.” Kindt’s voice for each character is sharply