For almost 30 years, Valiant has been slowly building a name for itself in the world of comics with a collection of original heroes and engrossing stories. Many of their titles lean to the mature side of things, but there are a few that are more accessible to younger audiences. One such book came out this year, the all ages Valiant High. 

Readers with at least a passing familiarity with Valiant characters will have the most fun with this short series. It’s a lighter version of the Valiant universe of heroes, with all of them portrayed as either students or faculty at a high school for kids with powers. There’s a typical teenagers dealing with life sort of plot – friends, jocks, nerds, bullies, dating – but it all has a super-powered edge to it. And, of course, there’s an evil plot to attack the school and take over the world, so everyone has to put aside differences and work together to stop it.

Though Amanda McKee (aka Livewire) is the main focus of the story, she interacts with all of the other characters, including Faith, Quantum, Woody, Archer and, perhaps the most amusing presence in the book, Bloodshot. In this iteration, he’s Coach Bloodshot and his primary communication method is yelling. He’s also a stereotypically aggressive high school gym teacher, having students play his version of dodgeball – in Bloodball there are no rules and all powers are allowed.

Valiant High is a fun, quick read and the final action sequence is well done. There’s also a lot of diversity among the characters, not only in gender and race, but also LGBTQ representation. The collected volume of all four issues includes a gallery at the end showcasing some character designs, cover art and storyboarding.