Valiant Makes Faith Ongoing This Summer

that it will become an ongoing title, the publisher announced today.The series, which spins out [...]

By Russ Burlingame

faith-top
(Photo: Valiant)

Faith, Valiant's best-selling miniseries from Orphan Black's Jody Houser, has so impressed the company (and the direct market) that it will become an ongoing title, the publisher announced today.

The series, which spins out of Valiant's longtime staple Harbinger, marks the first ongoing solo title for a female lead at the rebooted Valiant. It also attracted a good deal of attention at its outset for being "body-positive," featuring a plus-sized protagonist in a rare superhero role.

Houser will continue to write the new series, working with the art team of Pere Perez and Marguerite Sauvage.

"Since Faith's solo debut hit stands, no matter where we've turned – from conventions to comic shops to social media – fans all over the globe have called on Valiant to further Faith's adventures beyond four issues alone," said Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons. "Now that day has come, and we're proud to say that Faith's journey will continue in 2016 and beyond. Jody Houser, Francis Portela, and Marguerite Sauvage did a masterful job introducing Faith to a whole new audience, and now we're glad to welcome Valiant-exclusive artist and extraordinarily talented storyteller Pere Perez to the Faith family for her first ongoing series – a benchmark achievement if there ever was one."

The series has attracted attention not just for being Valiant's first female-led offering, but for bringing a totally different tone and feel to the Valiant Universe. The effervescent and fan-friendly hero has been compared to things like The Flash and Supergirl on TV and Guardians of the Galaxy in the movies. Retailers have anecdotally shared that it's bringing in an entirely new audience that wouldn't ordinarily try a smaller superhero publisher like Valiant, or perhaps some who wouldn't be inclined to read superheroes at all.

"I am beyond excited that Faith is now an ongoing," said Jeremiah Fettinger, comic shop manager at Vestal, New York's Sound Go Round and himself an avid Valiant fan. "The interest it has generated has been incredible. first time comic buyers have been coming in and asking about it and I would hate to see someone who got interested in comics to only get 4 and then lose it. Great job on Valiant's part to give us a series that old time and new fans can both get behind and support whole-heartingly."

The series will launch on July 20, with a host of variant covers from Cary Nord, Kevin Wada, Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Emanuela Lupacchino, Colleen Coover, and Perez. You can see some of the covers in the gallery below.

The trade paperback Faith: Hollywood and Vine, which collects the four-issue miniseries currently in stores, will be on sale in July as well.

"Faith isn't just a superhero anymore. In a very short time, she's become a true pop culture phenomenon," said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. "Finally, the world is realizing what we at Valiant have known all along: that in a medium populated by characters that can often seem dark and cynical, Faith represents a ray of hope and optimism that resonates far beyond the printed page alone. She truly is a hero in every sense of the word and, at her core, she represents the best that superheroes and comics as a whole have to offer to the world."

Here's the official write-up of the series from Valiant, along with solicitation text for #1:

In a city under siege by robots, aliens, monsters and, even worse, celebrities, there is only one woman the people of Los Angeles can count on: the stratospheric superhero called Faith! Aspiring reporter by day and dedicated crime-fighter by night, Faith has tackled every obstacle in her path with confidence – like those crushing deadlines at work, the long-distance boyfriend half a world away, and the missing back issues that plague her comics collection! But, unbeknownst to her, Faith is about to collide with the one force she never saw coming: an up-and-coming super-villain bent on snuffing her out once and for all! But who is lurking behind the mask of her new foe…and could they be the one person capable of rendering Faith powerless?

FAITH #1 (ONGOING)
Written by JODY HOUSER
Art by PERE PEREZ and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
Cover A by KEVIN WADA
Cover B by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Cover C by CARY NORD
Cover D by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
Valiant x CGC Replica Variant by PERE PEREZ
Valiant Emoji Variant by SWYFT MEDIA
Interlocking Variant by PERE PEREZ
Variant Cover by KANO
Variant Cover by COLLEEN COOVER
Blank Cover also available
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On sale JULY 20 (FOC - 6/27/16)

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