Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

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grendeljd
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Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

Post by grendeljd »

I finally got around to picking up print copies of #1 & #2 of the series, and I read the first one…

Gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it quite a bit more than many other VEI-era attempts at these characters. These guys are just tough to do “right” for some reason that I can never quite put my finger on - and with that in mind, this is a reasonably promising start to the series.

I appreciated all the nods to previous VEI continuity while starting down a new path - even nods to bits of continuity that weren’t always the greatest (aka some of the more absurd interpretations of “gangs” within The Sect - this tradition is continued here with the Gardeners Of Earthly Delights, and even though I’m not a big fan of these oddball jokey spin-off groups, it’s nice to see the effort to maintain continuity there, and there were some good gags sprinkled in there).

Nice to get a panel shot of the Brothers with the Boon. Nice to see Obie chatting with Faith to establish that is still a thing. Nice to see them camped out & living near the bar that has been in the series since the beginning (If I’m remembering correctly - and if not, it’s been there for a good long portion of the VEI stories published). Nice to see the narrative treatment of Obie’s manoeuvres again, where you can sometimes tuck a joke into the concept of what skill he is using to fight with.

Lots of good stuff like that. I like the new “villain” characters introduced so far and I’m interested in seeing where the story goes. We need more new characters like this to compliment the “heroes” in this Valiant Universe. The nods to other continuity via The Eccentric may have been a tad forced, but still fun to see (really, he killed a Vine bio-weapon/LV99 looking creature with a couple of shotgun blasts? Seems unlikely, and doesn’t play well as a joke if that was the intent).

The art is pretty good too - there may have been a few too many pages with sparse backgrounds in panels, but there were also plenty that contained good backgrounds too. I think that Aram looks a little too slim and clean cut at times for a rough-around-the-edges guy that should be a tad overweight and stocky, but the artists style is solid otherwise. I also really liked the cover by Bernard Chang that is a slight nod to BWS’s classic original image. It’s a great piece of professional looking art.

I would also say that Obie’s characterization is a tad off too - he does come across as just a little too frenzied & OCD for a guy who should normally be pretty Zen & Chill & having his naïve charm. Not always, but just a little off.

Otherwise it really is a good start and I’m into it. Looking forward to reading #2!
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grendeljd
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Re: Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

Post by grendeljd »

Two other things I forgot to mention - I liked seeing Aram taking out a vintage “special” bottle of wine from the satchel after they got it back, that’s a great little in-character thing for him to do.

The other is that I’m not sure entirely how I feel about the gimmick plot point of him suddenly losing his immortality as part of the thrust of this story arc. This is a pretty key component of his character and I don’t think it’s something that should be tooled around with too much - and I also don’t really expect it to be permanent either because I don’t think they would mess with that. So it just comes off as a bit of a cheap thing to do for the sake of a story. Having said that, though - I *am* curious about why it’s happening to him, so there’s that.
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Re: Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

Post by geocarr »

Thanks for the review and thoughts! I hope this is a good series!
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Re: Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

Post by Phantom »

Been very busy. Sorry haven't been posting much.
Really liking this story arc, especially number 2.
I like the idea of Armstrong not being immortal, it was mentioned before ( I am sure, well maybe) - that he might just have limited time, or just the amount of life that the ' boon' took when it activated - maybe my memory wrong.

Hope everyone well.
Had a knee replacement, - just an update.
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Re: Archer & Armstrong Forever #1

Post by Dallow Spicer1 »

Not a big fan of these characters, I think it would take a very talented writer to make them interesting. Ever since FVL’s first VEI series I think he wrote Armstrong into a corner by making him impervious to any damage and able to recover/grow back limbs like it was nothing. Another example of FVL’s short term thinking where he’d rather write a ‘gag’ in the short term than think about the characters long term development. So essentially, Armstrong can have limbs removed, arrows in the eyes and only suffer minor discomfort. Where’s the peril? Why would any story be interesting if there’s no stakes? :?

Matt Kindt did it best when he wrote an Eternal Warrior story where Gliad had his legs blown off, it showed him months later still recovering whilst his legs slowly grew back. That shows consequences.

Even in this story where Armstrong has lost his immortality he seems to feel next to no pain despite having an ear severed? :?

It also bugs me that Archer was designed to always wear a T-shirt whereby Armstrong wears 3 layers, either one if then is freezing or the other must be sweating like a pig! :lol: Poor original character design.

I did like the nods to Valiant continuity (Vine character, ninjak sword etc) and I think this must have been editorial direction as the Harbinger book also had a lot of continuity references.

Art was solid enough.

3/5 - readable but not funny


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