Review: Archer and Armstrong Trade Collection Issues 1-4
By Christopher Vargas
Written by Fred Van Lente, drawn and colored by Matt Milla
I’ve only been reading comics for about 4 years. During this time, my vices were mostly DC and Marvel, but thanks to Alternative Mindz, I got my hands on Archer and Armstrong, a Valiant title.
Even though this was such a short collection, I was hooked instantly. What caught my attention from the first few pages was just how dynamic the storytelling is. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a huge fan of the cell shaded character design and gratuitous action and gore style with excessive blood use.
There are so many cool little things thrown into this book that naming them all would be far too long of a review. But one that comes to mind is the addition of little facts here and there about the type of fighting style or technique Archer uses at the time.
This gives it that almost “Burn Notice” approach, the facts you would see in a movie like Sherlock Holmes.
If I had to be critical of anything, the story itself is unique enough, but let’s be real, you’ve heard the ” I wanna destroy the world” scheme many times before. It almost becomes comical at this point. Yet, overall, I will be picking up more and have become very impressed with Valiant.
On a brief side note, what makes the collection worth picking up is its concept and breakdown pages in the back. I give this a solid 3.5/5.
