2. Unity #1 by Matt Kindt and Doug Braithwaite (Valiant)
Valiant's big superhero Event kicks off with Unity #1: XO Manowar/Aric has annexed a part of modern-day Romania for his Visigoth people, landing outside Bucharest in an alien spacecraft, and upsetting the rest of the world who see this as an alien invasion. In the XO Manowar series, Aric and his people have defeated a Russian strike force and things are now more fraught with tension than ever. The head of the Harbinger Foundation, Toyo Harada, takes it upon himself to meet this threat by assembling a team of superheroes to take Aric out once and for all: Ninjak, Eternal Warrior and Livewire. The fight of the Valiant Universe is on! While Valiant aren't as big a comics publisher as Marvel or DC, their Event takes its cue from similar style story arcs from those universes, where superheroes battle superheroes, the kind of story I could usually care less about. Even though superheroes vs superheroes isn't my favourite storyline, Unity #1 is a really solid comic that I actually enjoyed. And while that fighting is where the series is headed, the first issue focuses more on the characters' motivations to give the reader a reason for caring about their conflict, something that's obvious in storytelling but often glossed over or inadequately explained in other superhero Events. If you're a regular reader of XO Manowar, you'll be aware of how things came to this point though even if you're not you can still pick this up and enjoy it for what it is one superpowered force imaginatively pitted against another. While it might seem like Aric hasn't got much of a threat with Ninjak and Eternal Warrior (he's defeated both individually in his own series) the two together with Livewire and Toyo Harada should be formidable enough to take down XO Manowar. Harada alone seems powerful enough to do the deed himself but recent issues of Harbinger suggest the master is slowly becoming weaker so it's anyone's guess how this Event will play out. There is a scene towards the end I didn't see coming I thought I knew what Unity was and then we get this?! but it's a momentary curveball designed to showcase XO Manowar's sheer power. Ninjak does some cool Ninjak-stuff and he and XO Manowar get into it, Toyo gathers his team, and Doug Braithwaite kills it with the art Unity #1 is a thoroughly entertaining first issue and a great start to this Event.