If there’s one thing that I’ve learned with A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong #8 is that this is one of those comics that never stops surprising me. Every issue of the series just keeps bringing something new and exciting. This one in particular was simply a pleasure to read.
“Valiant must be doing something with their letterers, as that is becoming one of my favorite things in terms of art each time I read a new issue.”
With a well paced story and a catchy plot line, we discover what happened back in the early days, how that strange circus came to be thanks to an even stranger investigation whose goal was to discover the secret to immortality through an amputated finger. I warned you it was strange.
This time round I didn’t laugh quite as much as with other issues, mostly because of external influences, but A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong #8 did make me smile more than a few times and forget about everything else. Considering this is a clear comedy I read during a crappy day here in Venezuela , it speaks very well about it as a whole.
I still submit that the character of Mary-Maria should have more space or even a comic on her own. She, and her group as well, have become one of my favorite characters and I’m sure many readers of this story would like to know a little more about her and such and her interesting gang.
As for the little gift we get at the end of this issue, the seemed-to-be ending of sorts for Davey: The Mackerel Adventure, which is finally directly related with the comic itself and adds something to the plot. It’s also good to see that not everything is lost in that miniseries. I’m sure we’ll be hearing again about these guys!
The coloring is still something this comic has as a strong ally. Simple, not very detailed and with little shadows, but it’s part of its own enchanting style, and after many issues of the series, you get used to it and enjoy it, even if it’s not what most people are used to.
Valiant must be doing something with their letterers, as that is becoming one of my favorite things in terms of art (and it is an art) each time I read a new issue. A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong. Issue #8 is not the exception, as I actually liked the lettering quite a bit.
I also find it very interesting that this issue has many horizontal panels. They help set up these panoramic views of the action and show off more environment than people in some cases. These end up being a good option, one I hope to see more often in future issues (take notes of that, if you like Valiant *wink*).
And the same goes for the extra chapter this issue gives us. The style is not a problem anymore for me. It’s a little hard to keep reading because of the dark palette they used. It sort of gives it this rare contrast with the speech balloons that feels somehow off. It’s not a big thing, but something that bugged me a little.
There were a couple of little details that I disliked this time in A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong #8, but they were so minor that it really does not hurt the book all that much. We shouldn’t wait much longer to see another chapter and I can’t wait to see things develop.
“If there’s one thing that I’ve learned with A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong is that this is one of those comics that never stops surprising me”
4 of 5 stars
“Great”
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