Valiant was in many ways the flagship title for IPC but by 1976 it was struggling like so many British comics to survive changing tastes. Having already absorbed the equally old fashioned Lion it eventually merged with the short lived Vulcan (see post below). However the merged title was bit odd and may not have been to everyone's taste.
Instead of simply integrating stories from Vulcan, the publisher decided to run them as a pull-out in the centre pages. Fortunately for me whoever purchased the first combined issue back in the day did not take this out, but they do make for a rather messy reading experience as does the tiny font, too small for me, though perhaps younger eyes may not have had the problem reading these strips that I did.
There were a couple features continued from the comic of old, Captain Hurricane and Adam Eterno. Plus of course the long running Billy Bunter.
The comic kicked off with One Eyed Jack about a New York Cop which I seem to recall featured in the second volume of The Eagle in the eighties. Then there were the inevitable soccer stories of which then, like now I have no interest in whatsoever.
The other two copies I picked up lack any Vulcan stories at all. No pull outs.
Valiant only lasted a few more months until it met it's end and merged with Battle, part of the "new wave" of British comics.
Whilst these final issues may not have been up to the usual standard expected from this once great comic, Valiants 14 year run will be fondly remembered.
The final issue:
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