Valiant Masters: Rai, Vol. 1
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15
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Average rating3
The legendary future of the Valiant Universe ? back in print after 20 years! 4001 A.D. ? Tohru Nakadai is the 42nd Rai, the spirit guardian of Japan. Infused with the energy of his ancestors and dedicated to the way of the samurai, Rai is sworn to the service of Grandmother ? the personified artificial intelligence that governs the island nation of Japan. For forty generations Grandmother?s benevolent dominion has endured, but in the wake of her sudden disappearance, Rai will become all that stands between his nation and all-out chaos. As humanist factions war with mechanist loyalists for control of the future, the masterless Tohru is about to become the first Rai that must choose for himself how best to defend his people, his family, and his honor. Collecting RAI (1992) #1-8 in a deluxe hardcover format for the first time anywhere, revisit the future of the original Valiant Universe with Rai?s critically acclaimed, highly sought-after adventures from legendary creators David Michelinie (Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man), Joe St. Pierre (Spider-Man 2099), Peter Grau (Titans) and Sal Velluto (Bloodshot)!
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This was an incredibly frustrating book to read. On one hand, there's a lot of great stuff here - the setting is fascinating, as is the idea of Rai, which lets David Micheline explore those themes of fatherhood, legacy, and the nature of heroism that he does so well. The art is lovely, as well - Valiant had this house style at the time that was crisp, and clean, and really lent itself to visual storytelling.
What was frustrating, though, was how much this book was constrained by the time it was published. Shooter's attitudes about serial storytelling can definitely be felt as an influence, and I couldn't help but wish that it was allowed to develop its story in the slower, deliberate way that a book like Saga gets to operate. Add to that a completely horrible ending - Rai getting jobbed out to a super villain as part of a mega crossover - that you could argue is “ironic”, but only in the sense of someone coming and stealing half of your meal while you're eating dinner.
