Broken Frontier

Former Marvel Entertainment alumni, John Taddeo, is currently offering members of the fan forum, Valiantfans.com, something special this holiday season.

From now until December 31, 2005, Taddeo is offering all registered members of the forum the opportunity to receive a limited edition Zoom Suit comic featuring a cover by acclaimed former Valiant artist Bart Sears. Only 731 copies featuring this rare cover are available and those requesting one will receive it in late February or early March, prior to the release date of the first issue.

Taddeo, a comic fan of 30 years, made an attempt in early 2005 to purchase the assets of the defunct publisher, Acclaim Comics. After being informed that he had won the assets in the bankruptcy auction, the deal soured over language in the contract intended to close the sale. The assets were returned to the bankruptcy court who eventually sold the now incomplete assets to an under bidder on an "As Is" basis at significantly less than Taddeo had agreed to pay.

During the time leading up to the sale, Taddeo made numerous friends on the fan forum of Valiantfans.com. During an “open forum” interview, Taddeo was asked by a board member to provide a free special edition Valiant comic to the members of the forum.  Taddeo agreed to do so if he acquired the assets. When his attempt to purchase the assets fell through and he turned his attention to his latest project, Zoom Suit, Taddeo remembered the idea and decided to follow through on it, though in a slightly different way. Taddeo hired former X-O Manowar artist, Bart Sears, to draw a cover for Zoom Suit #1 that pays homage to his work for Valiant Comics.

“Fans of Valiant still discuss the books from the 1990s and ponder the future of the Valiant characters,” said Greg Holland, Valiantfans.com owner and moderator. “Zoom Suit’s homage to X-O Manowar helps keep the memory of Valiant from fading, and stirs discussion of both comic universes in the online community.”

The Zoom Suit synopsis explains the story like this, “When an extraterrestrial suit ends up on Earth, it could mean a huge advancement for the U.S. military...if it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Clothes make the man, or in this case the boy, in this animated superhero Cinderella story.”

Zoom Suit #1, the first issue of a four issue limited series, written by John Taddeo, will be solicited in the February issue of Previews for items shipping in April, 2006. The series, priced at 2.95, features 36 pages of story and art by Billy Dallas Patton and features exclusive covers by Bob Layton, Gene Colan, Bart Sears, Jim Starlin, Billy Tucci and Billy Dallas Patton. Fans can also watch the award-winning animated short Zoom Suit at www.superverse.com.