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.

Archer & Armstrong #1: The 1% Want You To Buy This Comic

Archer & Armstrong #1
"Sons of Perdition"
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Clayton Henry
Colours: Matt Milla

The last new title of the Summer of Valiant has arrived.

Archer & Armstrong is the latest title to be relaunched by the new and improved Valiant Entertainment, but of the four series launched this summer (X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and this), it's likely to be the most divisive among comic readers.

Tonally, Archer and Armstrong is a complete shift from the other Valiant books released so far. Most of the Valiant titles have been serious, high-concept science fiction for mature readers that takes a  "world outside your window approach" to storytelling. This comic, on the other hand, is completely taking the piss out of the "world outside your window." Opting for silly instead of serious, Fred Van Lente's script is full of broad satirical swipes and at Young Earth Creationists, conspiracy theorists and The 1%.

Obadiah Archer is raised as a part of a paramilitary Christian group who lives in a Creationist theme-park called Promised Land Park, and is trained by his Republican parents to kill "He Who Must Not Be Named," aka the immortal poet and infamous drunkard, Armstrong.

This issue does a good job of establishing Archer as a deluded, but sympathetic character, and Armstrong is a surprisingly capable hand-to-hand fighter despite his drunkenness. The first few pages, revealed in advance previews of the issue, set up what is likely the beginnings of the Valiant universe as we know it, and will likely have repercussions in this series and others in the future.

Clayton Henry's art maintains the level of quality set by the rest of Valiant's comics this summer, balancing realism and clean pencil lines with style, yet the art in Archer & Armstrong has more of a "classic Valiant" feel than any Valiant title currently on the stands. Visually, this was my favourite issue of a Valiant comic so far, and I can't wait to see how these issues look once they're released in hardcover and trade paperback.

Fred Van Lente has said that he wants Archer & Armstrong to be the "South Park" of the Valiant Universe, and that might appeal to some readers, but I'm hoping this series focuses more on its characters, story and action rather than on gross-out humour and broad satire. I liked this first issue, and will keep reading Archer & Armstrong at least until issue six, but this is the only comic released during the Summer of Valiant that I didn't love.