Straight Forward Reviews : X-O Manowar 18

The last X-O Manowar issue before Unity starts. This is a huge moment.

Writer - Robert Vendetti

Artist - Lee Garbett

Publisher - Valiant Entertainment

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

Things ramp up to, as the kids would say, "all the way to 11" in this issue. We've seen the plotting the entire world was starting to take against Aric and we know everybody was monitoring him like a hawk. But now, everyone is making their moves.

This arc had always had tension but this issue has tension that I wouldn't call thick, I'd call it combustible. So much so that you already see explosions occuring. All these moments however are only the signal of the start of the huge events going to happen in Unity next month.

Art

The artwork is something special, just calling it dark or gritty isn't enough because in the very same issue words like vibrant and colorful can be used to describe it.

The art is truly something to behold in this issue. Also of note is the line work of the characters it has this sketch like yet detailed quality to it. There isn't a ton of details on their faces or anything but you can immediately tell who they are and that they're totally unique characters.

Verdict

The writing in this issue is gripping, and that's a word I don't use very often unless I truly feel it is. As a matter of fact I think this is the only review I've said that. (Waits to see someone point out a previous review and prove me wrong.) The art is distinct and has a really style. 

Also considering these are the events that lead directly to Unity you definitely want to pick this up. X-O Manowar 18 gets a 9.5 out of 10.

Straight Forward Reviews: Executive Assistant Assassins 11

The Executive Assistants are back. The last issue had a big shake up, just how is the world of Executive Assistants holding up?

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

This issue focuses on the backstory of a new assassin. No information on what kind of role she'll play or why she's being shown now but after the big events in the last issue getting new players on the EA: Assassins stage seems likely and she just may be a new protagonist, or antagonist even.

The assassin shown here is a woman named Rani who was trained by her father. We get development of her character through flashbacks with her father, showing how her training is, the relationship with her father and her knack for certain things which later shows to give her an edge over other assassins. 

The writing in this definitely exceeded my expectations even with my expectations being raised since starting to read this series. 

Art

The artist is different than previous issues but does a fantastic job. The characters all look like they're alive, not necessarily ultra realistic but they never look stagnant or like cut outs. When they move they look like they're flowing. Cool fight scenes, big explosions this book is full of them and they look great.

Verdict

Executive Assistant Assassins has always been a fun read and this issue adds character development to that. The art is different but still fantastic. Definitely a good starting point for new readers as this issue focuses on a totally new story and character. You won't need to have read previous issues to understand and the writing is solid and will have you intrigued. I give this issue a 9 out of 10.

Archer and Armstrong issue 9 review

Hello and welcome to Broken Infinite's comic reviews. We're back with a new issue of Archer and Armstrong. We've been blown away by the previous issues. Does this hold up?

Review by Jeremias de Leon

Story

Armstrong is in a bind. It seems Archer has gone off the deep end and is attacking his friends. Again, it would seem that way. But the truth is he is under control of something and thanks to this it looks like the Null is going to have it's way and destroy the entire universe. The writing this issue is fantastic. The plot itself is not overly complex where if you missed even one issue you'll be left wondering what's going on but the characters are written extremely well. From their interactions to the growth and change they undergo and that is apparent at the end of the issue the story and writing is fantastic. For ending a story arc it definitely amps everything up and has every character have their moment to shine, which is awesome. There's also a big hint at the end of this book as to what will happen in the next issue and the next story arc. So again, great work here with the writing.

Art

Looking back on the most recent previous reviews the art seemed to not wow me as much, but this issue really stepped it up. What's stands out the most is how well action is drawn. The characters look fluid in every movement they do and the panels look as they should. Like they were photographed or frozen in the middle of performing an action. Character expressions like in previous issues are still a strong point as well. As each time a character made a specific significant expression on their face like say terror it was conveyed so well that you wouldn't need to even read anything to know what they're thinking.

Verdict

I honestly do enjoy this series. To a point where I gave it my only perfect score for two issues. Recent issues were enjoyable but I didn't feel as strongly as I did earlier in the series. But for this issue and for the end of this particular arc, the writing and the art combined in such an awesome way that this issue reminds you again that this is truly an awesome series and for that it gets a 10 out of 10