Interview Time: Gregg Katzman, Marketing & Publicity Manager, Valiant Entertainment
The written story, as well as recorded interview were done by Chris Doucher, Editor-in-Chief, Writer and Comic Panel Moderator for GeekNerdNet. (Photo & image credits to: Gregg Katzman)
Gregg Katzman, Marketing & Publicity Manager, Valiant Entertainment (photo credit: Gregg Katzman)
Recently, I (virtually) sat down with one hell of a comics guy: Gregg Katzman, Marketing and Publicity Manager at Valiant Entertainment. I’ve been wanting to talk to Gregg about Valiant for the longest time now because while I read many comics, I have yet to dive into the super cool universe that makes up Valiant comics. (If you’d like, you can scroll down and listen to the interview now, but it would be really cool if you kept reading some background on it.)
Before I go on, though, since the recording of this interview, Gregg and his wife have welcomed a baby boy into their family: Parker. Congratulations!!
Okay, back to Valiant. This company has produced quite the lineup of titles, that thankfully aren’t bogged down with 80-plus years of history or backstory to live up to. And that’s a good thing. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Marvel and DC, as well as many amazing creator-owned books. However, now is the time that I finally dive into this comics universe and learn about Valiant. That’s where Katzman comes in as my (and even your) guide to explore all that Valiant comics have to offer.
Katzman and I jump right into it by discussing the comic, THE HARBINGER, an original Valiant property from almost 30 years ago, and soon-to-be motion picture. When Valiant rebooted its universe in 2012, THE HARBINGER played a big role at that time, too. Katzman talks about that history, including the background on the series written by Joshua Dysart. Also, what we can expect with the new direction for the series in 2021 - from co-writers: Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, and artist Robbi Rodriguez.
***Also, Katzman and I have a question on the pronunciation of: HARBINGER. What say you:
“Har-BING-er” or “Har-BINGE-er?” (Please chime in on the comments here, or on our @GeekNerdNet Instagram and Twitter posts for this interview).
Moving on. As I said off the top: It’s high time I dive into this universe. And if you want to read Valiant comics, too, Katzman gives us some great starting/jumping-off points. Perhaps, you’ve seen Valiant books at your local comic shop, or you’ve heard of them because of the BLOODSHOT movie starring Vin Diesel, or from quite simply, your fellow comic-loving friends. One of the things that Katzman found appealing is this:
“Just like Marvel and DC, it is a shared universe full of these characters with surreal abilities and incredibly cool costumes designs, of course...but one area where I believe Valiant has an advantage—and again, I say this with nothing but love for all other publishers. As you know very well, I’m a big Marvel and DC fan, but Valiant is a younger universe. Our new line of continuity started in 2012. So this universe is less than a decade old...with the Valiant universe it’s super easy just to hop in anywhere and explore different parts of the universe.”
Before you go ahead and listen to the interview (just below), please know that you can reach out to Katzman (via Twitter: @GreggKatzman) anytime and he’ll get back to you with answers to any questions you have, as well as reading recommendations.
Without further adieu, here’s my interview with Gregg Katzman. Select “Listen in bowser” on the Soundcloud link. Depending on which device you’re using to access this interview, you may also click/select the SoundCloud Play button. Enjoy!
Gregg Katzman - A quick career history:
His career started in the news industry, and from then he went on to spend several years as comics press (Comic Vine, Screen Rant, About.com's Marvel expert, IGN, CBR, UGO) before also becoming the Marketing & Events Manager at Midtown Comics. Now, he’s the Marketing & Publicity Manager at Valiant Entertainment. He joined Valiant two years ago in the role of Marketing Coordinator.