Alien Books to take over publishing for Valiant Comics

Valiant Comics – whose output has been slowed to a bare one title a month, if that, over the last year – has announced a new partnership with Alien Books that will see Alien take over publishing Valiant’s characters. It’s not clear if it’s a licensing deal or not, but we’re told that Alien will take over publishing Valiant comics, graphic novels, trades, omnibuses and potentially even more formats in the coming months. Popverse reports, and the Beat has confirmed, that some remaining Valiant staffers will stay on to work on the transition.

Called the “birth of a new Valiant era!”, the move is aimed at growing Valiant’s output and is one of a number of licensing deals the company had made of late to keep its library of characters in the public eye while publishing has slowed down.

Alien Books is run by director Matias Timachi, and claims a 25-year publishing history. It bills itself as a “cutting-edge New York-based comic book publisher” with a line up of foreign licenses, and recent books by Howard Chaykin and more. It also has a bumper.

In a statement, Timarchi wrote: “Being able to collaborate on the creation of new stories with Valiant, the third largest connected superhero universe, is truly a dream come true. As a lifelong superhero fan and self-professed geek, the opportunity to work with these incredible characters fills me with boundless enthusiasm. Our goal is to expand the entire Valiant universe by crafting new books that will delight longtime fans while also innovating to engage a new generation of readers interested in webtoons, manga, and digital storytelling experiences. We are immensely proud that Valiant has selected us as their new partners for this thrilling venture, and we are excited to embark on a new chapter in Valiant’s illustrious history.”

Valiant’s President of Consumer Products, Promotions & Ad Sales, Russ Brown, said “We remain fiercely committed to publishing Valiant comics and expanding our publishing line in ways we’ve never seen before. In partnership with Alien Books, we see an opportunity to push the boundaries of comic book publishing to help develop our incredible IP in exciting new ways for a rapidly expanding global audience.”

Details in the PR suggest that Alien Books has stealth launched with a robust publishing plan in the comics space. Alien’s other publishing ventures include Sunshine Patriots! by Chaykin,  Blood, Love, Ghosts and a Deadly Spell by bestselling author Damian Connelly, Far South by Rodolfo Santullo and superstar artist Leandro Fernandez, The Art of Ariel Olivetti, and Immortal Ascension by David Chisa and Kristian Rossi. They also promise projects from Juan Gimenez, Renato Guedes, Lord of the Dragons: Ciruelo, Eduardo Risso, Japanese manga, and much more.