Valiant Announces 4001 A.D. Crossover

Valiant Entertainment announced this week that beginning with a prologue in the Free Comic Book Day offering in May 2016, the summer crossover will be 4001 A.D., a story in the tradition of Harbinger Wars, Armor Hunters, and Book Of Death. Matt Kindt (from Valiant’s Ninjak and Divinity, plus Dark Horse’s Mind MGMT) and Clayton Crain (from Marvel’s X-Force) continue the collaboration they have done with the relaunch of Rai. The four-issue event will unite characters such as X-O Manowar, Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and Bloodshot under Rai’s leadership to defend the Earth from Father, the artificial intelligence ruling the satellite nation of New Japan.

In Rai, the technosamurai title character has been learning dark secrets about what led Father to launch Japan into orbit in the 22nd century, leading to a society of peace and order but maintained by strict obedience and policed by technologically-enhanced generations of Rai. Rai has been exiled for digging too deep into this history and now walks the ruined Earth of 4001. He seeks to unite the surviving heroes in a rebellion against the most advanced civilization in history.

Will Earth die so New Japan can live, or will the floating world come crashing back to its home planet? The action in the main title will be supplemented with a parallel storyline in the relaunch of Rai’s own book as well as one-shots throughout the summer focusing on individuals involved in what Valiant calls “the war for the ultimate fate of humanity.”

“The year 4001 has always been a vital component of the Valiant Universe but, now, for the first time, we’ll finally be pulling back to reveal the true scale of this world and the wildly diverse cast of heroes that inhabit it,” said Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons. “Matt Kindt and Clayton Crain have pushed themselves to design a story that is positively brimming with crazy-mad energy, continent-sized ideas and unthinkable potential. From cosmic beings and sentient cities to post-apocalyptic warrior kings and cybernetic samurai, 4001 A.D. will see the Valiant heroes pushed beyond the threshold and into territory far beyond anything we have ever attempted before.”

“Over the past two years, Matt and Clayton have defied all expectations with their epic and acclaimed work on RAI. Now, they’re expanding that vision to include not just one hero, but dozens for a James Cameron-meets-Jack Kirby vision of Valiant’s future and RAI’s incredibly important place at its epicenter,” said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. “As always, everyone at Valiant – from our writers to our artists to our editorial team – is challenging themselves to ensure that 4001 A.D. lives up to Valiant’s growing reputation for creating the highest-quality and most accessible event comics anywhere in the industry today.”

Also included in the 2016 Free Comic Book Day special will be previews of A+A, the new Archer & Armstrong series by Rafer Roberts and David Lafuente, and Divinity II, by Matt Kindt and Trevor Hairsine.

Solicits are currently as follows:

VALIANT: 4001 A.D. FCBD SPECIAL
Written by MATT KINDT, RAFER ROBERTS, and MORE!
Art by CLAYTON CRAIN, TREVOR HAIRSINE, DAVID LAFUENTE, and MORE!
Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
FREE | 32 pgs. | COMING IN MAY!

4001 A.D. #1 (of 4)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art & Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | COMING IN MAY!

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