Straight Forward Reviews : Archer and Armstrong # 21

Archer and Armstrong are back for more wacky adventures. This time stuck in a crazy hotel looking for the Wheel of Aten.

Writer - Fred Van Lente

Artist - Pere Perez

Publisher - Valiant

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

In what seems to be one of the crazier locations that the duo have been through, Archer and Armstrong have been dumped inside a crazy hotel by a man known only as The Lizard King. The two run into a host of celebrities and trouble.

The issue also raises more mysteries while solving others, thanks to Armstrong's explanations about just how the crazy hotel works some have been solved and thanks to the beginning and ending of the book raises a mystery.

This issue has some great moments where things slow down for explanations and speed up for action. Some great action at that. Especially when it features a certain martial arts legend. That alone was enough to make me go from simply liking the issue to feeling it was great.

Art

The art looks wonderful. Pere Perez line-art gives everything a dynamic feel and David Baron's colors complete it and gives the art character.

Verdict

For a fun story that has substance, great action and good art it's hard to not recommend. ...So I won't, it definitely feels like Van Lente and the artists had a lot of fun creating this issue and I had fun reading it. I give Archer and Armstrong a 9.5 out of 10.

Straight Forward Reviews : Archer and Armstrong # 20

After all the crazy events with Bloodshot and the Sect Civil War Archer and Armstrong take the time to look for Archer's biological parents. Of course things are never as easy as that.

Writer - Fred Van Lente

Artist - Pere Perez

Publisher - Valiant

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

To summarize without any spoilers Archer and Armstrong are searching for Archer's parents and have a lead that sends them to Los Angeles. After that they find things aren't all what they seem to be and get pulled into a larger plot that involves Archer's birth parents. It also seems to involve a lot of celebrities and pokes at pop culture.

The story seems to be a really interesting one. Involving not only pop culture but a dive into the human psyche. This first issue setting things up with references to all sorts of famous people who had mental health issues, be it depression or whatever multiple issues that can afflict a person.

The dialog still has that Van Lente charm and wit to it. Almost like it's back to normal, Armstrong is the funny oaf and Armstrong is the straight laced foil to Armstrong's antics. But being out into the kind of storyline they are dropped in gives them a fresh way to look at them.

Art

There's no complaints about the art. The characters look decent, they have a crisp line-art that lends itself to the action scenes. The environments and the segments that seem surreal are what stands out in this comic the most. It's really unique and it gives this comic something more to stand on, on top of it's good writing.

Verdict

This issue of Archer and Armstrong is not only a fun read but a smart one. It builds up the arc well and sets up all the themes it's going to explore in a pretty unique way. Whether or not the rest of the arc will have a pay off for everything it sets up will be seen. But for the first issue in a new arc it does things beautifully. The dialog is human, and the action and "crazy" scenes are great. It feels like Archer and Armstrong is hitting it's stride again and deserves another 10 out of 10.