Valiant; $9.95

The original Valiant had taken a second- or maybe third-tier character (albeit one with incredible Russ Manning artwork) and surprisingly made him the backbone of their then-new universe. And startlingly enough, it worked.

That’s probably because no other writer has understood Magnus Robot Fighter the way that Valiant founder Jim Shooter did. In the pages of the “Steel Nation” arc that originally ran in Magnus Robot Fighter #1-4, Shooter and artist Art Nichols introduced Magnus to a whole new audience and reintroduced him to older fans.

In a matter of pages, they spotlighted the luxurious lives led by the residents of North-Am in the year 4000, as well as the threats posed by that lifestyle and by their millions of robot servants. The story also quickly highlighted the impossible athletic prowess and fighting skill of Magnus, who could take on rogue robots bare-handed.

Shooter and Nichols presented readers with an immense, complicated world to which they added equal layers of action and moral conflict. It’s probably that moral conflict – the age-old science fiction quandary of what constitutes life – that makes this material stand out. It’s genuinely thought-provoking as well as entertaining. A lot of very good – and even some great – other writers have tried to tackle Magnus, but it’s hard to think of any who have succeeded with the character the way Shooter did.

The trade paperback isn’t incredibly hard to find, and it is without a doubt worth seeking out.

– J.C. Vaughn