As 2021 begins to gain momentum, Valiant Entertainment is poised to make a statement across multiple mediums. Alongside high-profile relaunches of some of its biggest fan-favorite comic book titles, Valiant is set to expand into film, television and video games, buoyed by the success of last year's Bloodshot film. Joining the company as senior editor is prolific comic book creator and producer David Wohl, who began with Valiant during the summer of 2020.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Wohl compared his experiences at Valiant with other major comic book publishers, teases what fans can expect for Valiant's upcoming multimedia slate and hints at a big announcement for a brand-new Valiant title coming soon.
CBR: David, you've been working for Valiant Entertainment ever since this past summer. How did your role as Senior Editor at the company come about?
David Wohl: Well, I’ve known Valiant's Publisher Fred Pierce for a REALLY long time, since he was at Wizard Magazine and I was at Top Cow. Over that time, I like to think we developed a friendship, and we’ve continued to stay in touch over the years. I’d admired Valiant from afar for quite a while, and would periodically contact Fred to see if there were any editorial opportunities there. To be honest, I thought he was only humoring me when he said they’d keep me in mind if something came up — but lo and behold, in early July, he called me out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested in discussing a position here. When he told me what the job entailed, it really seemed like a perfect fit and I pretty much said yes immediately.
As someone that's worked at Marvel, Top Cow, and DC, what do you find different and refreshing about working at Valiant?
Wohl: Over my career, I’ve worked on very different ends of the publishing spectrum. When I arrived at Top Cow, the whole company was made up of four people, and over time we expanded to probably around 50-60 staffers and freelancers. But throughout it all, we had a feeling like we were the Wild West. Especially at the beginning. At that point, Marc Silvestri and I would sit around and come up with completely new ideas, bring in new creators to develop them, and launch them as comics. It was exhilarating and fun, but we had the benefit of the comic boom of the mid-90s to bolster us. As that died down, so did the freedom we had, but it was always a special place for me.
Marvel and DC are like the other side of the spectrum: they both have vast arrays of characters and lore, and it’s editorial’s job to work with talent to tell great stories with their existing characters (for the most part.) Obviously, they are incredible sandboxes to play within, but editors can be beholden to many different masters between publishing and the other departments that make up those two media empires.
I feel like Valiant is the best of both worlds: Like Marvel and DC, we have a shared universe that features many different characters, all with their own backstories and lore within a world that encompasses all of them. But I feel like our process for creating new concepts is closer to Top Cow in the freedom that it lends the creators and editors. Sure, we have an approval process, but the criteria for success aren’t based on merchandising opportunities or what’s going on in other media — we’re just looking to tell the best, most compelling stories based on characters that have real-world issues and relatable concerns. So, we’re just striving to tell good stories, and the rest will just work itself out...
You come from a background working in video games, television, and film, as well as comics. With DMG's Dan Mintz teasing Valiant expanding to other multimedia after the success of Bloodshot, is there anything you can speak to or tease about Valiant venturing beyond comics?
Wohl: Yeah, I must say it’s definitely an exciting time to be here! One of the reasons that I was brought in was because, while I’ve primarily been an editor and creator in comic publishing (and that is what I always consider home), I’ve also had the opportunity to be a producer on a tv series based on one of my co-creations (Witchblade for TNT), as well as a creative producer on John Woo’s Stranglehold video game for Midway and Sony Playstation’s Ratchet and Clank animated film. And I’m happy to contribute in any way to the development of Valiant’s incredible properties, whether they be in comics or elsewhere.
The release of the Bloodshot film, as well as Dan’s prior work on Iron Man 3 and the Transformers film franchise, and his other films, has really opened the door for Valiant in new and exciting ways. It’s allowed us to be in a situation where creators, production companies, and even networks have been coming to us to pitch us what they’d like to do with our properties on their various platforms. At the forefront of that is the Harbinger film, which we’re working on with Paramount and Original Film. There’s also the remastered classic Shadow Man game, coming from Nightdive Studios in the very near future while Blowfish Studios works on brand-new console games!
Valiant Entertainment is in the middle of relaunching many fan-favorite titles, including Savage and Shadowman. What is something important and unifying for you and the company in repositioning these characters?
Wohl: I think telling great stories is our number one priority, and I can’t wait to hear what people think of Savage (launching in February) and Shadowman (launching in April.) They’re both such unique titles that continue to grow the characters in very cool ways. And I can’t say enough about my fellow editors, Heather Antos and Lysa Hawkins, who have done such a great job in bringing our titles to life, and continue to do so. A really cool element of Valiant is that we’re truly a team. Not just the three of us in editorial, but everyone else as well.
When we’re developing a new concept, we consistently run it by the whole Valiant team: sales, marketing, production, film/TV, all the way to the publisher and chief creative officer. Everyone has a chance to give their thoughts and concerns, and we have the ability to take advantage of everyone’s shared knowledge and expertise of comics in general, and Valiant in particular. Because that’s really what connects us all — we’re all fans of Valiant and together we have the ability to work with creators to make a truly unforgettable experience, where each book tells its own story and is also clearly part of the Valiant shared universe.
So, when fans of Savage and Shadowman get their hands on these books, they certainly won’t be disappointed, and it’s a great time for new readers to jump on as well. And speaking of new projects, I, unfortunately, can’t talk specifics about the first title I’m working on with Valiant, but I will say that it contains new characters and it’s part of the Valiant Universe, though it takes place in an as-of-yet unexplored area that’s more on the sci-fi side, but it will definitively show itself to be within the shared universe before the end of the first series. The announcement for it should be coming quite soon.
A former Valiant Executive Editor recently criticized the company for a lack of announced Black creators across the publishing line. I was wondering if you could address this criticism and whether it's affected how Valiant puts together its creative teams moving forward?
Wohl: Since I arrived during the summer, we, as a company, have seen the issues in the industry, and have been examining all of our hiring practices, like all responsible publishers are hopefully doing. We take this task quite seriously. We are all devoted to ensuring that Valiant is now, and will always be, a place where all creators are welcome.
What can you tease about Valiant Entertainment moving into 2021?
Wohl: 2021 will be a groundbreaking year for Valiant, as we expand our shared universe with a combination of brand-new and established, beloved titles that will continue to showcase the great stories and art that Valiant is known for. Many announcements are forthcoming and suffice it to say that several of our most well-known characters will re-emerge during the year. I hope everyone checks them out because if you do, you’ll become a fan — like us!