Imperium Vol 1 Prelude

"Toyo Harada must be stopped," they'll say, fearing me, fighting me, while I fight for them.

-- Toyo Harada

Solicitation[]

The VALIANT NEXT initiative is introducing its latest milestone ongoing series on February 4th in IMPERIUM #1 by New York Times best-selling writer Joshua Dysart (HARBINGER) and superstar artist Doug Braithwaite (ARMOR HUNTERS), and now Valiant is giving fans a chance to discover the next essential series of 2015 with the IMPERIUM: PRELUDE – an exclusive, never-before-seen prologue sequence by the ongoing creative team of Dysart & Braithwaite that will make its print debut in Valiant’s February titles!

Bridging the gap between Valiant’s hit series HARBINGER and Toyo Harada’s rise in IMPERIUM #1, the spiritual successor to HARBINGER starts here with a fresh start for new readers in the IMPERIUM: PRELUDE! A psychic dictator, an inhuman robot, a mad scientist, a murderous alien, and a super-powered terrorist are about to try and take over the world…and you’re going to be rooting for them every step of the way.

Fully detachable and printed on high-grade cover stock, this exclusive prelude to one of the year’s most highly anticipated new series will come bound into the following February titles from Valiant Entertainment – each of which will be clearly labeled with an IMPERIUM: PRELUDE cover banner:

X-O Manowar (Volume 3) #33 – on sale February 4th
Rai (Volume 3) #7 – on sale February 11th
Q2: The Return of Quantum and Woody #5 (of 5) – on sale February 11th
Unity (Volume 2) #15 – on sale February 18th
Ivar, Timewalker #2 – on sale February 18th
Quantum and Woody Must Die! #2 – on sale February 25th

“IMPERIUM is unlike every other book Valiant has ever published before, and this exclusive prelude story is a great chance to find out why,” said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. “Joshua and Doug are doing phenomenal work, and, together, they are about to unleash a politically charged series with global stakes and what are sure to be some of the most compelling characters anywhere in comics today.”

Look for the IMPERIUM: PRELUDE in each of Valiant’s February titles – except the prestige format releases DIVINITY #1 (of 4) and THE VALIANT #3 (of 4)!^[1]

Imperium: Prelude[]

Appearances[]

Featured Characters:

Toyo Harada

Supporting Characters:

X-O Manowar

Villains:

Governments (Mentioned only)

Other Characters:

Locations:

Africa
- Southern Somalia
  - Foundation Zone
Indian Ocean
- Arabian Sea
Romania (Flashback only)
Russia (Mentioned only)

Items:

X-O Manowar Armor
- Shanhara Armor

Vehicles:

U.S.S. George H.W. Bush

Credits[]

Writers: Joshua Dysart
Pencilers: Doug Braithwaite
Inkers: Doug Braithwaite
Colorists: Brian Reber
Letterers: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artists: Raul Allen
Editors: Alejandro Arbona
Editor-in-Chief: Warren Simons

Synopsis[]

This article does not have a synopsis recorded yet.

Notes[]

Despite the solicitation it seems that this prelude was only added to Imperium #1 instead of any of the other regular publication in February, 2015.
The prelude consists of a cover, a four-page short story, a double-spread Imperium teaser ("If you want peace...prepare for war"), and a one-page Imperium teaser showing the variant covers that feature LV-99, Gravedog (Valiant Entertainment), Broken Angel, and Mech Major aka "Sunlight On Snow."
It can be detached and bagged individually but it does not have an indicia.
The actual cover has a green background instead of pink.
Fun fact: The textless pages were also shown in the very first announcement for the Unity series back in August, 2013,^[2] but none of the pages were actually used and published in Unity (Volume 2) #1 (November, 2013).