Advance Review: Archer & Armstrong #2

Archer & Armstrong #2
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Clayton Henry
Color Art: Matt Milla

I enjoyed Archer & Armstrong's debut last month, but I know a lot of people had their issues with it. After reading this second issue, I think that Archer & Armstrong is Valiant's biggest shot at a mainstream comics hit.

Archer & Armstrong does a great job of mixing humour with globe-trotting adventure, martial arts action, and a heavy dose of satire directed mostly at conspiracy theory nuts who can't get enough of hack genre fare like The Da Vinci Code or the National Treasure movies.

This issue finds Archer & Armstrong making a temporary alliance to find the pieces of the Boon before The Sect (aka The 1% aka The Cult of Mammon) can. They travel to Italy and meet a tommy-gun toting nun named Tommy who helps them break into the secret Vatican vaults (of course) which contains another piece of the Boon, but not before encountering the The Sisters of Perpetual Darkness, black-eyed ninja nuns who lurk in secret Vatican crypts and who may-or-may not be vampires, it's hard to tell honestly.

Like many of the artists in the Valiant relaunch, Clayton Henry is someone I'd never heard of before, but who is doing a great job on this title. More than any other book, Archer & Armstrong reminds me of a Marvel comic book in terms of style and tone, and while that might not appeal to readers of Harbinger or Bloodshot, it has a better chance I think of appealing to readers outside of Valiant's hardcore fan base.

I wouldn't want every Valiant book to be like this, as I'm currently loving the more realistic take on science fiction featured in Bloodshot and Harbinger, but it's a nice change of pace and a hell of a lot more fun than most books I'm reading from Marvel and DC these days.

If none of the other Valiant comics have appealed to you so far, give Archer & Armstrong a try. If you are following the other Valiant titles, then let me tell you that this is one comic you don't want to miss.

Advance Review: X-O Manowar #4

X-O Manowar #4
"Then and Now"
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Cary Nord
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano
Colourist: Moose Bauman

The flagship title of the new Valiant Universe continues this week as Aric of Dacia finds himself faced with an armed response to his sudden arrival in the modern age. Robert Venditti and Cary Nord’s relaunched X-O Manowar series has been excellent so far, and from an action perspective, this issue once again delivers as Aric shows off what the Manowar armor can do when faced with modern military hardware. 

Storywise, Venditti continues to develop the schism within the Vine as the religious and military factions disagree about what to with our time-displaced protagonist. We also get to see a meeting between the Vine admiral and what I’m assuming are the descendants of the Vine babies we saw in Issue #1; a scene that seems to be sowing seeds of unrest among the Vine’s sleeper agents that have been stationed on Earth.

Despite how great it was to see the Manowar armor in action again, I found the scenes between the Vine factions in this issue to be the most intriguing. As antagonists, The Vine are a vast improvement over the Spider Aliens  from the original series, as their motivations are not completely black or white( or even really all that known to us, yet) and their culture is much more nuanced. I feel like we still have a lot to learn about this alien race, but Venditti is keeping the real progression of his story a secret, as small layers are revealed to us issue by issue.

If I have one minor gripe with this issue, it is this: when Aric rips the pilot of the Eurofighter out of his jet and demands he tell him where the Emperor is, he speaks to the pilot in English and the pilot responds IN ENGLISH. First of all, they are in Italy, and the pilot is Italian, ergo, they should be speaking Italian. Secondly, Aric of Dacia is a Visigoth. His language predates English by more than a thousand years! I'll have to re-read the first few issues and see if there was any indication that the armor was working as a translator, but as I was reading this issue this really bugged me. 

This is extremely nitpicky, I know. I should be able to use my suspension of disbelief when reading a comic about a barbarian in power armor fighting aliens, but in the original series they made a big deal out of the fact that once he entered the modern era, Aric had to actually learn how to read and speak English. He was an uncultured, violent, illiterate barbarian. In this issue, the helmet transmits 16 centuries of human history directly into Aric’s brain. Boom. I can assume, therefore, that it is also acting as a universal translator, but personally, having the character adapt so quickly to the present day makes him less interesting. 

Granted, in this new series Aric seems to have been branded a terrorist for the incident in Rome, so it remains to be seen exactly how adjusted Aric becomes. 

Some readers might find the pacing of X-O Manowar to be too decompressed, since very little has happened so far beyond the book’s initial premise, but I feel like with every issue of this series I have gotten my money’s worth in entertainment value. There is a really nice balance in this series between plot, character development, action and exposition. It feels very deliberately paced, and though some might find that frustrating, to me it's an indication that the series is building towards something. 

This is definitely a series that will read better once it has been collected in a trade paperback or hardcover collection, but each issue has done a great job in packing a ton of action into the book, interesting details about the aliens, the armor, and Aric himself to bring you into the world of the story, and just enough of the plot to keep things intriguing and leaving you wanting more.

The Summer of Valiant is almost over but this series shows every indication that it will continue to improve as the year continues. Since these first four issues have basically just retold the origin of X-O Manowar, I am really excited to see where the book goes from here. 

Advance Preview: X-O Manowar #4

Valiant sent me some kick-ass preview pages from X-O Manowar! Are you as psyched about the next issue of X-O as I am? 

Click on the images to enlarge and let me know what you think in the comments below. 

And oh, by the way, I probably uploaded these in the wrong order, because I'm a rank amateur professional. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Preview: Bloodshot #2

Courtesy of Valiant Entertainment, here's an exclusive preview of Bloodshot #2!

Bloodshot #1 was my favorite of the Valiant #1's so far, and I can't wait to see where this series is headed next!

Preview Page 1

Preview Page 2

Preview Page 3

Preview Page 4

Preview Page 5

Variant Cover

Coming this Wednesday

Coming this Wednesday, 
Reviews of:

• Extermination #2 (Boom! Studios)
• Saga #5 (Image)
• X-O Manowar #3 (Valiant)

And maybe Captain Marvel #1, if I can get over how much I dislike the idea of this reboot. 

Harbinger #2

Harbinger #2
"Omega Rising: Part Two"
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artist: Khari Evans with Lewis LaRosa
Colours: Ian Hannin with Moose Baumann
July 11, 2012,
Valiant

Okay. As with my review of Bloodshot #1, to even speak about what was good about this issue of Harbinger is going to require some Spoilers. You have been warned.


Like the beginning of Harbinger #1, this issue opens with another memory of Toyo Harada's. This time, Harada is older, and is in Dharavi, Mumbai, India to investigate the birth of young harbinger; one with the power to make you relive your worst memories, more powerfully than when you first experienced them.

After a powerful scene involving a memory that gives us some important context to understanding Harada as a character, the plot picks up where Issue #1 left off with Pete, Kris, and Joe surrounded by armed soldiers from a mysterious organization being led (or coordinated) by the Mr. Tull, whose memories have been erased countless times by Pete.

Harada, speaking to Pete through his mind and using his powers to convince everyone that he is a dog, refuses to help Pete unless he unleashes his powers on the soldiers. Pete relents, and we see just how out of control of his own abilities Pete is as he is unable to calm down after injuring, and possibly killing, dozens of soldiers with his mind alone. Fans of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira will find a lot to like about this issue of Harbinger.

Khari Evans' art has really improved with this issue, and he completely nails the realistic, modern day look and feel that this title aspires to. Unlike the debut issue, there are no panels with unclear or obscure depictions of what is happening. Everything in this comic made sense, from the character reactions and motivations to what was being depicted in the panels. The flashback scene involving Harada was especially well done. Likewise, Ian Hannin and Moose Bauman deserve their credits for the really great lighting and colour effects in this book.

I had just one issue with the production of this book: the lettering of the sound effects. I know. I know. This is the most nitpicky thing to criticize, but compared to the rest of the lettering in the book, the bright green, yellow, and red lettering of the sound effects just looks amateurish and cartoony, and detracts from the otherwise realistic style of the book.

This issue clarified a number of questions raised in the first. For example, not only do we learn what organization Mr. Tull and his soldiers represent, and what their motives are, Spoilers we learn enough about what happened between Kris and Pete in the first issue to reasonably suggest that if Pete did not actually use his powers to rape Kris, she was definitely sexually assaulted by him. Personally, I think her cries of "What did you do to me?...I'll kill you!...I'm going to cut your balls off you son-of-a-bitch!" pretty much says it all. End Spoilers. 


As a fan of the original Harbinger comics from the early 90s, I love the direction that Joshua Dysart and co. are taking this series, and cannot wait to see what happens when Pete is transported to the Harbinger Foundation in the next issue. 

Harbinger #2 is a very good follow up to a great debut. If you like superhero comics that deal with mature themes and are grounded in unflinching realism, I cannot recommend this title enough. Fans of Marvel's Ultimate Universe looking for something outside the House of Ideas, this is your book.

Bloodshot #1

Bloodshot #1

"Dunk Tank"

Writer: Duane Swierczynski

Pencillers: Manuel Garcia with Arturo Lozzi

Inks: Stefano Gaudiano

July 11, 2012

Valiant 

Bloodshot #1 marks the return of one of Valiant's most successful characters, and a strong debut from writer Duane Swierczynski (Birds of Prey) and his art team of Garcia, Lozzi and Gaudiano. 

There are about five or six different plot twists in this first issue, constantly keeping readers on their toes, but making it difficult for anyone to talk about it without revealing some spoilers. 

For those who are unfamiliar with this character, here are the basics: Bloodshot is a man whose blood has been infused with billions of nanites, microscopic robots that enhance his strength, speed and reaction time, heal wounds, communicate with computers or computerized machinery, and change his physical shape for a short period of time. 

These nanites obviously give him a huge advantage over his enemies, and in Bloodshot #1 Swierczynski and co. show us just how effective an elite solider like Bloodshot is. 

This issue has Bloodshot called in from reserve duty to rescue an American P.O.W. from a Afghan terrorist cell, but he is blown out of the sky by a rocket almost as soon as he parachutes out of his helicopter. To say much more about the plot of this book would be spoiling too much, but needless to say, this is a complete reboot of the character that will not only appeal to fans of the original, but will bring new readers in without needing to know anything else. Readers are also likely to know about as much of Bloodshot as he knows about himself, if that tells you anything. 

One of he things I loved about this comic was how the first page on the inside cover gives a detailed description of the nanities and their various capabilities. It instantly informs the reader what the character is capable of, and makes watching those powers in action all the more exciting.That this book can give you so much information on the first page and yet keep you guessing how it will end all the way through is a testament to Swierczynski's skill as a writer, and I'm very excited by the plot he is constructing with this title. 

The art in this book was also very good, and I have to commend Valiant for pairing their writers and artists together so well during this relaunch. The action flows really quickly between the panels, and more than a few pages left me just admiring the art direction. 

My only gripe was that sometimes the figures were rendered in this somewhat realistic, very smooth style, and then at other times the characters had a much more gritty texture. It wasn't a major issue, but it took me out of the book momentarily. 

Bloodshot #1 is an action-packed comic with some cool sci-fi concepts, inspired plot twists, and clear connections to other relaunched titles in the new Valiant Universe. 

If the second last page of this issue doesn't leave your jaw hanging open, I don't think Bloodshot is for you. 

What We're Reading: July 2012

Below is a list of comics that Courtney and I are reading. Our goal is to update this list on a monthly basis, to reflect our changing reading habits, comics we've dropped from our pull list, and comics we've started collecting.

With that explanation out of the way, here is the list!


Comics We're Reading - 10/7/2012

• Animal Man (DC)
• Bloodshot (Valiant)
• The Cape (IDW)
• Dial H (DC)
• Extermination (Boom!)
• Higher Earth (Boom!)
• The Hypernaturals (Boom!)
• Fables (DC/Vertigo)
• Harbinger (Valiant)
• Hit-Girl (Icon)
• Justice League Dark (DC)
• Locke and Key (IDW)
• Mind the Gap (Image)
• Saga (Image)
• The Secret Service (Icon)
• Super Crooks (Icon)
• Supreme (Image) 
• Swamp Thing (DC)
• X-O Manowar (Valiant)