While trapped in lockdown and avoiding the riots, we’ve had a LOT of screen time. Clicking from one article to the next on a random journey recently took me deep into the world of the Valiant Comic universe.
If you haven’t heard of Valiant, it is the third largest comic book universe behind the two you HAVE heard of – Marvel and DC. But whereas Marvel and DC characters are one-dimensional and feel like they were designed 50 years ago (because often, they were), Valiant comic characters are clearly from a different era. Where Marvel and DC have superheroes that you could imagine in the old comic section of a newspaper, Valiant characters can sometimes feel like they were put together by an excited designer, on acid, while watching the History channel.
Intrigued, I burrowed through character after character, soon discovering that this universe isn’t so obscure after all – the recent Vin Diesel movie Bloodshot is in fact a product of the Valiant Entertainment universe, that has now been taken over by Los Angeles based production company DMG Entertainment. Facebook tells me that they must be loving the indoor time everyone is currently facing, as Bloodshot has shot to number one for digital streaming.
Clicking further is when I came upon my now favorite character, The Forgotten Queen. This is her story!
Long ago in the days of Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire there lived an immortal who we today would call a witch named The Forgotten Queen. She had the mysterious powers to afflict all surrounding her with a blood lust, stirring them all to slaughter. This War Monger has returned in our own day and age to wreak devastation and death on the modern day world yet again.
Rising star Tini Howard of Assassinistas fame has combined her powers with the legendary comic book artist Amilcar Pinna of Generation X fame to release this new and already popular tale of love, honor, and brutality that has been hundreds of years coming. Readers were pleased to learn that this new beloved historical villain character appeared in a four issue comic book miniseries that Valiant Entertainment developed and published through these two accomplished comic book designers in 2019.
The story that captured comic book fans’ hearts and minds is epic in both scope and scale. Nearly a thousand years ago, the greatest general from the Mongol Empire journeyed from Siberia in the northeast down to Carpathia and swept all that he encountered along the way before his devilish hordes. Everyone in their path was either enslaved or subjugated if they surrendered without resisting the onslaught.
The legend relates the story of a witch who traveled and fought alongside them. She had the mysterious power to stir a blood lust fury within the hearts and minds of any warriors surrounding and accompanying her. They became filled with an inexplicable and unending battle lust thirst for blood thanks to the presence of this ultimate Medieval World War Monger hellion. She walks among us again as the Forgotten Queen who unfortunately has returned to trouble the world once more.
The Return of the Ancient Evil Fires the Imagination of Comic Book Readers Everywhere
The superstar historical villain lived up to her medieval world reputation with her four volume series launch and return in 2019. Tina Howard with her vast experience on past successful projects including the Captain American Annual number one and Assassinistas worked hand in glove with legendary comic artist Amilcar Pinna from Generation X to unleash a modern day version of the infamous bloody medieval hell with this saga of love, brutality, and honor.
The Inner Struggle of the Forgotten Queen
The Forgotten Queen is a conflicted character though. Her alter ego name the War Monger is well aware of the best ways to stir up a fight not only between enemies or strangers, but even among the finest of long-term friends. She never cared about the final end-result of a given battle that she inspired until she fell madly in love with the most famous and feared warrior of all time in the Mongol Empire. The Forgotten Queen was able to poison the hearts and minds of any man against another man. It remains to be seen if she has the power to win the heart of a man for her own pleasure and future.
The Forgotten Queen’s Connection to Dracula Ensures Her Enduring Popularity
Part of what has made the War Monger a.k.a Forgotten Queen so enduring in her newfound popularity is her connection to another beloved monster villain of the past centuries from Eastern Europe. Valiant Entertainment’s most deadly villain of all time does more than simply cause war wherever she goes. She met her match in the parched desert wastes of Mongolia.
Violence gave way to heartache and a broken heart. She then sought out her-vengeance as Vexana the War Monger then encountered a fellow kindred spirit in the world. This was the legendary real life figure of the man who went on to become known for all time as “Dracula,” Vlad Tepes, the Wallachian warlord.
How Today’s Audiences Embrace and Relate to the Bloodthirsty Vexana the Forgotten Queen
The real question is how today’s more peaceful people can relate to the blood lust and battle thrill presented in the core character of Vexana the War Monger (the Forgotten Queen). Her appearance in the Valiant Universe has already been said to alter the history of the comic book universe. Perhaps readers today feel a connection with her because of their own family dramas at home? One of the aims of the newcomer on block, DMG, is to bring people their vastly more relatable characters.
Whatever the reason may be this immortal conqueror the Forgotten Queen is back and here to stay in the hearts and minds of comic book readers around the world. The fourth and final issue of the comic book mini-series reveals the true origins of Vexana the War Monger, giving readers the true story of where she came from and what happened to her to make her into the great villain of the ages.
