The Destroyer (Valiant)

    (Valiant, 1995)
™ and ©1995 Voyager Communications, Inc.

The Destroyer, a high-concept space opera with the makings of a thick plot and lots of cool fights, presents an interesting insight into the economics of the comic industry in the mid-1990s. Whereas previous publishers brought out titles with the hopes of winning readers, Valiant adopted a strategy of publishing books designed to convince speculators that someone might buy them, thereby encouraging the hoarding of multiple copies that no one need ever actually read. Destroyer’s art (by Mike Manley) and story (by Kevin Vanhook), for example, seem calculated to remind comic fans of the classic mid-70s Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin, right down to Destroyer’s red, blue, and gold costume. There’s more going on in Destroyer than that, but packaging triumphs over substance and the title never got beyond issue #0 (how humiliating is that, to not even make it to #1?!).
Jump to issue:
  • 0
    #0
    Cover says #0
    Apr 1995
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Kevin Van Hook  ·  A: Mike Manley
    2 copies from $3.50
  • 1
    #1
    Cover shows No. 0
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Kevin Van Hook  ·  A: Mike Manley
    Indicia states Vol. 1 No. 1
    10 copies from $0.99