Thank you for checking out this Thursday’s Valiant Effort for May 8, 2014. Hopefully you got to get some cool free comics this past Saturday for Free Comic Book Day. With that big event past, we have Armor Hunters to look forward to as Valiant launches us into the upcoming Summer months. Check out this cool trailer we have for this big event.
And now, a review!
Archer & Armstrong #20 – After having come to a somewhat peaceable agreement with Project Rising Spirit, basically leave us alone and you won’t be exposed, Archer and Armstrong are off on another adventure in this new story arc, “American Wasteland”. In this new story, the duo is off to Los Angeles. In the first few pages there is an interesting interchange with an Elvis impersonator… or is he? Then it is off to the Church of Retrology, the address listed for Archer’s parents in the files he procured from Project Rising Spirit. At the church, Archer and Armstrong are separated so that Archer can meet the Founder who turns out to be another surprising celebrity from the past.
Fred Van Lente continues the strange journey of Archer & Armstrong by putting them into a trap/puzzle/situation that neither of them has any understanding about. The appearances of famous “dead” celebrities seems to speak to some strange goings on and not just a bunch of people who dress up as impersonators. The trip in this story may be more about delving deep into who each of our heroes really are than about destroying some villain… although there does seem to be a villain.
As always, someone wants the Wheel of Aten, a relic that Archer and Armstrong thought they had from the Master Builders. After it proved to be a fake, they had given up hope of finding the original item. Now, they are forced on the hunt by the Founder and told that the only way they can take this journey is to “Ride the Snake”, a way of sinking through the layers of our human and mammalian brains and getting to the source of our self, the lizard brain. The trip may end up being a little “trippy”.
As always, the art team of Pere Perez and David Baron did a great job bringing this story to life. Their skill in capturing the details, the expressions, and the multitude of characters in this issue really shines through. This is one book that I always look forward to reading for the wit of the story and the sharpness of the artwork.
One last bit of news before I send you on your merry way this week. The huge 18-part crossover event that is Armor Hunters starts soon. Valiant just announced that they will be releasing special covers that create a huge interlocking picture, the largest ever attempted in comics history. This is pretty awesome and I have a partial sketch version of the whole picture to leave you with this week. This will be a limited edition cover set and only available from six retailers nationwide. I will include the list right after the image. Until next week, Read Valiant First!
Available in limited quantities per issue, each component piece of the ARMOR HUNTERS 18-PART MEGA-COVER will be available exclusively from these six participating retailers nationwide:
DCBS
www.DCBService.com
customer.service@dcbservice.
10202-C Coldwater Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
Graham Crackers Comics
GrahamCrackers.com
At all 9 locations in Illinois!
Laughing Ogre
www.laughingogrecomics.com/
At all 3 three location in Virginia and Ohio!
(703) 437-9530
(703) 250-6479
(614) A-MR-OGRE
M & M Comic Service
www.mmcomics.com
830-438-6131
service@mmcomics.com
3128 Hidden Haven
San Antonio TX, 78261
Midtown Comics
www.midtowncomics.com
info@midtowncomics.com
212-302-8192
800-411-3341
Mile High Comics
www.milehighcomics.com
back_issue@milehighcomics.com
1-800-676-6423
(303) 455-2659
4600 Jason Street, Denver CO, 80211
super special chromium bagged with poster, trading card, digital copy code, coupon for a free taco from taco bell, and a lifetime supply of pogs!