Jody Houser Drops Valiant’s Faith Deep into the Dreamside
Plus an Exclusive First Look at Covers for Issue #2
Main Art by Sibylline Meynet
The modern incarnation of Valiant Comics launched in 2012 with reimaginings of some of the publisher’s biggest characters: Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Archer & Armstrong and the Harbingers, with cult-favorite properties like Shadowman and Ninjak following soon after. What few could have predicted, though, was a Harbingers ensemble cast member breaking out into superstardom all on her own. Faith Herbet, a.k.a. Zephyr, outshined her peers thanks to her perseverance, upbeat personality, nerdy interests and her status as one of the few plus-sized protagonists in the mainstream superhero genre. The first collected volume of her ongoing series earned accolades from the Young Adult Library Services Association and across the internet comics press, and writer Jody Houser has now shepharded the character through two different series and a time-travling mini. Starting on September 26th, Houser and Faith return in Faith: Dreamside with artist MJ Kim. In this “Valiant Beyond” mini-series, Faith must cross the boundary into the “Dreamside”—a new aspect of the Valiant Universe’s Deadside—to protect the dreams of her younger teammate, Animalia. To do so, Faith will need to recruit the help of Dr. Mirage, Valiant’s premiere parapsychologist hero. In advance of this dreamy team-up, Paste threw a few questions in Houser’s direction. We’ve also got an exclusive first look at covers to Faith: Dreamside #2 from artists Marguerite Sauvage and Sibylline Meynet.
Faith: Dreamside #2 Main Cover art by Marguerite Sauvage
Paste: First, the obligatory question for a series like this—how much do new or lapsed readers need to know about Faith’s current status quo before jumping into Dreamside? How is Faith doing at the start of this story?
Jody Houser: We lay out where Faith stands at the start of the book for readers who aren’t caught up on Faith’s previous adventures. But this is set after her ongoing series, where a group of villains framed her for murder. So she’s currently wanted for murder and not able to operate as a superhero out in the open.
Paste: Faith has a pretty big co-star for this series in Dr. Mirage. What’s it like writing that relationship? Is Faith a fan of Mirage?
Houser: Faith is a huge fan of Dr. Mirage, and a regular viewer of her show. Shan [Editor’s note: Dr. Shan Fong, Dr. Mirage’s alter ego], on the other hand, isn’t nearly as outgoing as Faith. But at the end of the day, they both want to help people in need.
