ARCHER & ARMSTRONG # 2
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Clayton Henry & Matt Milla
Valiant Comics
INTRODUCTION:
To find out about what happened before, got to Jeremias de Leon's review of Archer & Armstrong # 1.
FLIPPING THROUGH:
Archer has found out that his strong religious family is connected to a cult that wants to kill Armstrong so they can get their hands on a powerful object. Meanwhile, Armstrong frees himself, collects the next piece of said object and ... after going through memories in his head and stated that Archer reminded him of his brothers , decides to go help Archer; who was about to be sacrificed ... cause he's a virgin. Yay!
Armstrong storms in to find that Archer is quite alright. Archer freed himself after a 'heavenly' vision ... yet, the guy seemed to look like Armstrong's brother, Ivar, to me. (Note: Ivar, in previous Valiant continuity, was the main star of his own title, Eternal Warrior). Armstrong and Archer head to Rome to gather the next piece of the object as Armstrong goes on about his friendship with the artist Michaelangelo. It seems to be a big plot point as they stumble upon traps inside a church alongside an old friend of Armstrong's. These traps were made by Michaelangelo and had Armstrong in mind. And when I mean with Armstrong in mind, it also means the perverted side of the immortal.
Our book ends with another mystery and a group of ninja nuns. No ... I am not kidding. NINJA NUNS! And they look awesome.
ART:
Clayton Henry seems to be loving his work on this book because it clearly shows. Each character looks distinct, which I honestly thought was a problem of his before when he drew issues of Uncanny X-Men a few years a back. That and foreheads always seemed too big. Not here. Henry pencils and inks a great body of work; really giving readers a nice serial flare alongside comic book sensibilities. Emotions are easily conveyed. Everything looks really good.
The only really downside is that there are times where the panels seem to be a little darker than they should be. It detracts from the light, wondrous mood that both Archer and Armstrong are having while they are in Rome because I feel like something bad was supposed to happen there or that it was a partially cloudy day. We don't really know but the fact that it messes with the mood of the scene takes it down a little bit. A small gripe but it does mix up a little when they are outside on a sunny day and it feels like it is not bright enough. Otherwise, Matt Milla and Clayton Henry really sell us visually on the action and adventure that is within the book.
WRITING:
Fred Van Lente gives us a very strong issue that has a great balance of character development while also having action and adventure at the same time. Readers are getting to know both these characters and Van Lente has not shy-ed away from showing us who these characters really are.
Archer has a great sense of loyalty that was played with and is balanced with a great sense of duty. But he is honest and truly believes in God while Armstrong does not believe in God due to the tragedies of his own, long life. That puts them in conflict but they still work extremely well together. As Jeremias de Leon stated, this is definitely a bromance(buddy-buddy) book that is enjoyable in multiple ways. Kudos to Van Lente for showing us these two very different characters and weaving them into a fun, dysfunctional relationship on top of their weird adventure.
OVERALL:
Archer & Armstrong gives readers a unique, fun experience with action, adventure, mystery with some comedy rolled in there. The characters feel like people we know. The adventure makes you interested and invested in what will happen to our duo. And it is a great piece of work to look at, even though there are some shading issues.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next issue. I give Archer & Armstrong #2 a 4 ... out of 5.
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