Rai Deluxe Edition Book 1 (RAI DLX HC) Hardcover – May 17, 2016

The art alone is worth the price of admission, and the story is fantastic. If you are looking at Valiant's summer event 4001 A.D and need to catch up, this is for you. This book collects the first 3 Rai trades along with plenty of bonus material. Matt Kindt has set up an interesting world. The situation the world is in with New Japan hovering over a post apocalyptic earth is full of story telling potential. Valiant does these deluxe editions right. This book measures up to the high quality standards as the other volumes. It is well constructed.

I've been trying to collect more and more of these Deluxe collections because they are printed and bound so well! They just feel good to hold. Rai is a unique take on the "future comic" genre. If you have liked Batman Beyond this is gonna be a series to follow. The art is absolutely stunning and worth the deluxe size!

The book was great

Simply put: Rai is amazing.The story starts small, but over the course of 12 issues the scope becomes breathtaking as more and of the world of Valiant's future is exposed. The series establishes it's own lore and intertwines with those of established Valiant series. It feels reminiscent of sci-final staples, but only ever respectfully so. The story here leads up to the current 4001 A.D. event series, which continues to expand the scope and impact of the events here.In all seriousness, I'm not much of an art guy. The classic Valiant from the 90s demonstrated that even mediocre art can adequately carry a great story to make for a great overall experience. That being said, I notice when art is remarkably bad or, as is the case here, remarkably good.Crain uses a sort of digital paint style that breathes life into almost even the smallest detail. The colors are gorgeous and the pages simply ooze with them, elevating the experience beyond an average comic.While some story elements are a bit weak, such as Kindt's almost habitual creation of multiple iterations of a character (sometimes even existing together), overall it's enjoyable and exciting. I will say that there are a few hiccups in the art as well, with one particular conflict suffering from a lack of detail to the point of looking like a printing issue, but they are as few and far-between as the story gaffes.Quite simply: a great story and amazing art benefit from this oversize deluxe format. It's impossible to argue the value here.

Story and Art are on point!!! You don't have to know much about Valiant history to understand the story. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Rai is truly an extraordinary title. Not only is the writing filled with top notch action, conspiracy and politics, but its accompanied by the most beautiful art courtesy of Clayton Crain. The story revolves around New Japan in the year 4001AD, in Valiant continuity. Rai is a samurai guardian, created by Father, and everything changes when the first murder in a millennium occurs.I HIGHLY recommend you pick this up, along with every other Valiant deluxe hardcover. This one especially however will be leading into the 4001AD event, which I'm sure will inevitably be getting a deluxe hardcover as well.

This is one of the best storytelling and the most phenomenal digital artwork ever! Clayton Crain is the artist and it feels that you are really transported to 4001 A.D where this storyline is set. Buy it, read it and most of all treasure it! You won't be disappointed.