“The Summer of 4001 A.D.” is Coming
John F. Trent
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Valiant has announced “The Summer of 4001 A.D.” which will be a new slate of series and one-shots expanding their crossover event 4001 A.D.
Not only will the “Summer of 4001 A.D.” include the 4001 A.D. event book, but it will also feature the return of the ongoing Rai series as well as four new one-shots revealing the future incarnations of X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Shadowman, and the debut of an all-new, top secret character with a crucial tie to the present and future of the Valiant Universe.
“From HARBINGER WARS to ARMOR HUNTERS and, most recently, BOOK OF DEATH, Valiant has quickly earned a reputation for producing some of the best and most accessible event comics anywhere in the industry. Now, with 4001 A.D., our writers, artists, and editors has made it their mission to not only match our previous successes in event-level storytelling, but surpass them entirely,” said Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons. “Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain have done a wondrous job of making 4001 A.D. a complete world unto itself – one that is packed with lost heroes, 100-foot-tall suits of sentient alien armor, and city-sized robots floating on the edge of space.”
The 4001 A.D. event book from Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain will lead the way debuting on May 4th detailing Rai’s story to assemble the 41st century’s most formidable heroes and leading them in the fight against New Japan.
This will be followed up by the return of the ongoing Rai series with Rai #13 from Matt Kindt and artist Cafu. Rai #13 will reveal the origin of New Japan and its very first guardian as wel as explore how New Japan came to orbit Earth, who created Father, and what happened to the nine previous Rai that swore allegiance to Father’s empire.
4001 A.D.: X-O Manowar #1 from Robert Venditti and Clayton Henry will debut later in May. In June, Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite will debut 4001 A.D.: Bloodshot #1. July sees Jody Houser, Rafer Roberts, and Robert Gill’s 4001 A.D.: Shadowman #1. Finally the secret-character makes their debut in August with 4001 A.D.: [Classified] #1. The writers and artist behind this last book are also classified. It does appear the character will be a Geomancer though.
Valiant emphasizes that “The Summer of 4001 A.D.” can be read in concert with the core 4001 A.D. series or it can be read on its own.
“The Valiant Universe has always spanned multiple time periods, not just the present. But perhaps more so than anywhere we’ve explored thus far, the future of 4001 A.D. is loaded with exciting developments for Valiant’s most beloved characters – many of which we’ve been planning for years,” said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. “Now, for the first time, ‘THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.’ is giving us the opportunity to build on the revelations at the heart of last summer’s BOOK OF DEATH event and reveal the true and lasting impact that our heroes’ modern-day exploits will have on the course of human history. From RAI to X-O MANOWAR to BLOODSHOT to SHADOWMAN, each of these new installments of 4001 A.D. will cover a sometimes shocking, sometimes poignant, but always vitally important milestone moment that informs the ongoing narrative behind Matt and Clayton’s epic series. Which is to say nothing of the top-secret new character that will appear in the fourth and final 4001 A.D. one-shot – they are truly something special and are going to leave our longtime fans speculating for a long, long time.”
The 4001 A.D. story will detail the rise of Father, a benevolent artificial intelligence that governs the nation of Japan. In order to defend his borders, he will launch Japan into space where inhabitants can thrive in isolation away from the overpopulated and resource-deprived planet below. New Japan will come to be a model society, one built on peace, prosperity, and Father’s control.
His control is exerted through Rai, a lineage of technologically enhanced heroes engineered to defend New Japan and protect it from all enemies. They enforce New Japan’s justice and serve Father without question.
With the dawn of 4001 A.D. the latest Rai will inherit the dark truth about the origin of his kind and discover the sinister secret at the heart of Father’s existence. In order for New Japan to live, Earth must die. Rai challenges his former master and is subsequently cast out of New Japan.
Rai must walk across the ravaged world of Earth in 4001 A.D. in search of forgotten heroes. He aims to unite the last surviving legends of a broken planet and forge a rebellion to bring the most advanced civilization in history crashing back down to Earth.
Earth must rise. Father must fall. Rai! Eternal Warrior! X-O Manowar! Bloodshot! Shadowman! Geomancer! And more! The war for the ultimate fate of humanity begins in 4001 A.D. #1 (of 4) by superstar creators Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain – and continues in May and beyond as “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” rages on…and changes the future of the Valiant Universe for all time!
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