Valor #9
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeValor #9 is the first appearance of Chaser Bron, the Darkstar of Baaltar IV, who went on to become one of the more durable supporting characters in DC's early-1990s cosmic corner — ultimately counted among the last surviving members of the Darkstars organization before their disbandment. The issue is also notable as a creative inflection point: writer Mark Waid, working here as a fill-in, would become the series' regular writer just two issues later and use the title to lay groundwork for the Zero Hour restructuring of the DC Universe. As a self-contained space-opera story, it represents Valor's mandate — charting Lar Gand's pre-Legion adventures across alien worlds — at its most focused, trading the Earth-bound machinations of earlier issues for the interstellar tone the series would sustain through its final act.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Valor ongoing series launched in late 1992 as a direct epilogue to the Eclipso: The Darkness Within crossover event, with Robert Loren Fleming as the founding writer and the book running concurrently with DC's companion Eclipso title. By issue #9 (cover-dated July 1993), editorial was in a transitional moment: Fleming's original run was winding down, and Mark Waid stepped in to write this single issue — a guest turn that previewed the tonal and thematic shift he would bring when he took over as regular writer with issue #11. The issue's cover was produced by Adam Hughes, who provided cover art for several issues during this stretch of the run.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Chaser Bron, the Darkstar of the planet Baaltar IV — a character who went on to appear in Darkstars, Superboy and the Ravers, Starman, and Adam Strange over the following decade.
- Written by Mark Waid (his only solo issue before taking over as regular writer with #11); penciled by Paris Cullins; inked by Ray Kryssing; cover by Adam Hughes.
- Published with a cover date of July 1993; DC Universe Infinite records an on-sale date of May 11, 1993.
- Story title: 'How to Win Friends and Influence People!' — Valor becomes entangled in a duel with Chaser Bron to determine planetary champion of Baaltar IV, with marauding space pirates serving as the common enemy that ultimately unites them.
- The issue presents the Darkstars in their role as a Controller-sponsored interstellar police force, connecting to the broader Darkstars ongoing series (1992–1994) running concurrently at DC.
- Chaser Bron's unnamed daughter appears in this issue, serving as the romantic catalyst for Valor's confrontation with her father.
- Editors on the issue were Eddie Berganza and K.C. Carlson, the same editorial team that oversaw the series throughout its run.
- Retrospective analysis identifies this issue as a creative turning point — the last fill-in before Waid's formal takeover — signaling the series' pivot toward the Zero Hour storylines that would conclude the title in 1994.
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