Should You Have A Burning Need – Valen The Outcast #1 Review

I know we’re heading into December and that, as the season gets colder, we all try to find ways to keep warm. Me? I go to my day job and get money to pay for utilities, like gas and electricity to run my heat. Maybe I throw on an extra pair of socks and pop open a bottle of Bowmore. Scratch that. I definitely open the bottle of Bowmore. Michael Alan Nelson, on the other hand, burns books, specifically, his own. Why?

Even though I’ve been writing comics for seven years and have written over 120 single issues for dozens of series, most comics readers have never heard of me. Now, that’s not a woe-is-me-nobody-reads-me-wah-feel-sorry-for-me statement. Not at all. Let’s be honest. If you’re a customer and can only afford one comic, are you going with the book about a character you’ve been reading since childhood or a book by some guy who includes his middle name in his credit like some self-important twit? The math is simple. Childhood Hero > Self-Important Twit.

That said, I’ve been fortunate enough to have people take a chance on me and many of them can now be called my fans, for which I am incredibly grateful. I believe, as does BOOM!, that if you read one of my books, chances are you’re going to enjoy it and want to read more. The problem is getting enough people to pick up that first issue.

Um, ok. Seeming self esteem issues aside, this lead you to burn your own books in what appears to be some kind of publicity stunt? Really?

Yes, really. Check it out after the jump…oh, and some spoilers on the book in question.

Here you go.

And the rationale:

We burned them and recorded it to prove that the Jusko cover really is as rare and collectible as we said it would be. From my understanding, there are only 25. That’s it. So, if a retailer purchased 200 copies, they get one of those 25 slabbed variants. Because there are only 25, it is drastically more collectible and, in theory, more valuable and will net the retailer a greater profit. Good for them. And now they have 200 copies of the other variants they need to sell and will want to put in readers’ hands. Good for us. And it’s only $1.00 and a great frikkin’ read. Good for you. All the while garnering more readers and, hopefully more fans, more customers, and more enjoyment for everyone.

I understand wanting to get eyes on your book, man, but watching that makes the book loving English major in me exceedingly stabby. If the book is as good a read as you say, and I’ll get to that in a minute, aren’t there other ways to get some attention that don’t make me need to Godwin my own damn post? I don’t know; say, wear a meat dress to a book signing or something.

I’m not a comic book fan who particularly gives a hoot in hell about variant covers. I pick up whichever book happens to be at my LCS and buy it. I’m there to read the story. That Jusko cover has already been slabbed in a laminate case by the comic book graders. I’d have to buy another copy, unslabbed, if I wanted to read the story. Sure, it’s only a buck, but…seriously? You’re going to destroy your own work and then enshrine 25 of the remaining copies of that particular variant like flies in amber for posterity in an artificial attempt to make them rare and, therefore, valuable. Why not just dump a bottle of white truffle oil on them? That might have the same effect and be about as pretentious.

Yes, you’re frustrated and want to be noticed. But, why not go with your strengths? Just write a good book.

You see, Mr. Nelson, I’ve actually read the book. It’s pretty good – perhaps a little on the formulaic side in terms of opening volley in structure, but good. Hero is dethroned. Hero is made to be undead and in thrall to the conquering overlord (at least, briefly). Hero plots vengeance and assembles Scooby Gang to go after the Big Bad. Simple and straight foward. The press release posted at Comic Book Resources says it’s targeted at fans of Conan and Game Of Thrones and it definitely is. Readers who enjoy swords and sorcery will find much to like here.

The interior artwork from Matteo Scalera is fluid and bold. If you’ve seen his previous work, such as with Deadpool, you know he’s comfortable conveying action and humor in his panels – and that carries through here as well:

I can do that. I just don't want to.

So, in the end, if you like the swords and sorcery genre, at $1, give this book a chance. Personally, I can’t condone book burning, but I sympathize with the position of a creator wanting eyes on his or her work. Hopefully, the arc will remain strongly realized so that Michael Alan Nelson won’t feel compelled to commit any further desperate acts…although I still like the meat dress idea.