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Archer and Armstrong #10 [Review]

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Walt

Archer & Armstrong (2012) #10 [cover]Mystery Hole

Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Pere Perez
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Covers by: Clayton Henry, Juan Doe, Matthew Waite, Andrew Robinson
Assistant Editor: Josh Johns
Executive Editor: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant
Cover Price: $3.99

I’m enjoying the standard covers on this series lately. They fit the characters, and are rather amusing given context OF the characters. This one–Armstrong, Archer ,and some alien caught sneaking by, guns pointed at them…something about it just works for me.

Inside the issue, we don’t see this scene exactly…but we do see our heroes breaking into a Project Rising Spirit facility/Area 51 (there’s our tie-in: it’s Valiant, so of course PRS is involved). They’re looking for info on Archer’s past, true info rather than what he’s been told all his life by manipulative parents–but things don’t go quite as planned. We’re also reintroduced to Mary-Maria, whose status quo was left a bit in question recently, and see what she’s now dealing with…holding a lot of potential for quirky situations and interesting character development as we continue on.

I’m honestly not entirely sure where I stand with this title, in a way: I certainly enjoy it, but like Shadowman, I sometimes feel like I’m playing catchup, as its story details don’t often stick with me outside the actual reading of the issues. I guess that puts me as a more generalized or casual fan than a die-hard, for whatever that says about me.

As usual, the story and art work well together. I can follow along without issue, I’m not left scratching my head or finding myself taken out of the story by some weird, stylistic art bit, and I don’t pick up on any great plot holes or such.

In short, I read the issue, I enjoyed the issue, and I expect to be back for the next issue.

Filed under: 2012, Archer & Armstrong, Valiant | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Recent Acquisitions: Older Books

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Walt

Along with the various “free” comics I picked up on Free Comic Day, I also snagged a couple other bargains: a fresh copy of the Superman Tribute issue from Wizard that came out after The Death of Superman stuff; a hardcover The Trial of Captain America, and most surprising of all (to me) a $5 copy of Solar, Man of the Atom: Alpha and Omega still in the original bag with a poster! (originally cover-priced $10 on initial release back in 1994). The Captain America book was also $5, and the Wizard issue was a mere 25-cents.

FCBDnonfreebooksI’d also found myself that Saturday revisiting eBay, checking on the current pricing of the Ultimates 2 hardcover. I’d snagged the first hardcover in early May last year, paying a bit of an unwelcome “premium” for it including shipping, on the expectation that its price would skyrocket with the Avengers movie as “everyone” would want the darned thing. I wound up getting Ultimates 2 (also out of print like Ultimates) including shipping for well under cover price, giving me the two-volume set I’ve wanted to have for years.

ultimatesHaving managed to track down the Ultimates 2 volume, I turned my attention to tracking down the Ultimate Galactus Trilogy hardcover. I’d first seen it at a Books-A-Million a number of years ago while visiting with a friend, and I passed on a $17 copy several years ago at Kenmore. Managed to get this copy, including shipping for under $14.

ultimategalactusandvaliantmastersI also have meant to get the Valiant Masters hardcover edition of Bloodshot since about the time the book came out last year. I wound up finding both it and the Ninjak volume, and got both–including shipping–for little more than cover price of either of the single volumes.

ultimategalactusandvaliantmastersstacked Continue reading →

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Catching up with Valiant: Archer & Armstrong #0 and Shadowman #0

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Walt

Archer & Armstrong #0

archerandarmstrong000Gilgamesh as told via Armstrong to Archer. Not a bad premise, given Archer’s virtual immortality, and Archer continuing to learn the “real” world after living the “sheltered” existence he had up to the beginning of this series. Though this is a #0 issue, this story fits in the ongoing continuity, as A&A have been through stuff together already, and are now having some downtime before their next adventure.

The art’s the usual enjoyable quality, mixing with a solid story for an enjoyable issue. This could easily have simply been #10 of the series, as a flashback issue…but given the original Valiant‘s penchant for #0 issues (and that in retrospect, 1993’s X-O Manowar #0 is one of the most iconic single issues I recall from my youth) I think it’s kinda fun having these zero-issues for the current Valiant books.

Even if you’re not following the series in general, if you know the basic concept–Armstrong’s immortal, Archer just escaped a cult and is adjusting to the world around him with Armstrong as his truest friend–this is a nice one-shot story that delves into Armstrong’s past, telling a tale that leads into a scene we saw back in #1 and sheds light on Armstrong as well as the Eternal Warrior.

Shadowman #0

shadowman000This was a rather dark (yet illuminating) issue, providing us with an origin story for Darque. We see his birth and that of his sister, as well as how the children grew up, and the events that led to him becoming what he is, and the character becomes slightly sympathetic in that he’s not JUST some two-dimensional baddie. Sucks what he went through, but there’s a motivation there that one can “understand” a bit.

The art fit the story, and the story fits continuity. While the Archer & Armstrong issue was sort of a flashback issue where we still saw the contemporary title characters, this is a Darque story, and we don’t actually see Shadowman. Which makes this a fine #0 issue–we get backstory on the main villain of the piece, which takes place long before the series, hence a #0 issue (takes place before the events of #1) and as a #0 issue it’s functionally its own thing and doesn’t take away from the ongoing narrative and throughline of the ongoing numbering.

 

Filed under: 2012, Archer & Armstrong, Shadowman, Valiant | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Catching up with Valiant: Harbinger, Bloodshot, and X-O Manowar

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Walt

Harbinger #12

harbinger012Harbinger Wars continues, but we focus here on the interaction of the usual cast with the freed psiots and how everyone’s dealing with the stress of their current situation. We also see Toyo’s continued machinations as his plans for everyone continue to unfold.

In some ways, for a fairly casual reader, this story’s all over the place. I honestly don’t have a completely clear mental timeline of this “event”/crossover where I could simply rattle off a lengthy summation of The Story So Far.

However, somehow I’m continuing to enjoy the individual issues, in and of themselves, being aware that there’s an overall story going on. It’s sort of like missing an episode or two of a tv series, having read basic spoilers online, and continuing onward. It’ll be interesting to see how this thing’s collected–whether we’ll get a nice, thick 12-issue volume collecting the entire thing, or three separate volumes (one for each series involved).

Bloodshot #11

bloodshot011I’m finding some blurring in my mind as to what’s been happening in this title itself (ditto Harbinger). Yet the story’s been solid–as has the art–and I’m thoroughly enjoying the “bigger picture” nature of Harbinger Wars: the larger story, and things unfolding in three issues per month rather than just one or two.

This issue gives us an expanded scene on the Harada Protocol, where the core of Bloodshot’s programming is to kill Harada–including the use/display of previously unknown abilities including a brainwave EMP and being able to puke the nanites into another person.

The story and art continue to be good, and as I actually read the issue, I enjoyed it; more than I can consciously reiterate details of the plot contained within this one issue. I’ve already been “spoiled” as to upcoming changes for this title that leave me a little curious…it’ll be interesting to see how things go, but it sorta sucks to already be thinking about that with two more issues to go with this current event/story.

X-O Manowar #13

xomanowar013This issue’s–I believe–the penultimate chapter of Planet Death, as I seem to recall #s 9 & 10 were to be “prologue” and the entire thing 6 chapters including those.

Aric finds himself faced with unforeseen choices as what should have–to him–been black and white is muddied gray once he’s had time on the Vine homeworld. There’s something to this issue that reminds me vaguely of classic Superman stuff, with Kandor and all–and it’ll be interesting to see how things actually play out in the next issue, as I think the issue after that involves the Eternal Warrior.

Nord‘s art continues to fit the character well, though I find that some pages seem rather light on detail while others look very good. Overall looking forward to the next issue, and quite glad to see this series last not only a full year, but seeing it on track for beyond.

Filed under: 2012, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Valiant, X-O Manowar | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

This Week’s New Comics haul: 4/17

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Walt

This was another rather large week of new comics, which leaves me truly hoping next week is a small one!

20130417newcomics

The cheapest of the bunch are the issues I’m not as likely to read as soon–I’m waiting for the full Cyber Force arc to be out (1 more to go), having been picking the series up with the price being quite appealing. Jirni is a typical Aspen book; but fell under my standing request for $1-or-less promo-priced issues.

I continue to be frustrated with Valiant‘s clustering of titles. X-O Manowar #12 is out this week, as is Bloodshot #10…marking the fullness of a year I’ve been following all of the new Valiant books. You’ll see Archer & Armstrong #9 there, too–my THIRD copy of the issue, due to my unfortunate spilled-liquid-on-my-comics-and-accidentally-bought-the-stupid-variant-as-replacement incident this past weekend.

Superior Spider-Man is on my chopping block…I’m pretty much just looking for a good jumping-off point while struggling with the idea of the excitement I had just 3 months ago for this title. It’s not bad, but I’m just losing interest a bit–primarily due to the $3.99 price point for the thing!

Cable and X-Force had bought itself a couple extra issues when I saw the ad for this issue–but unless I’m HIGHLY impressed when I read it, I do intend this to be my final issue of this series…in this case due entirely to the price point.

Finally, a new mini-series of “micro-series” for TMNT, focusing on the villains, begins with a look at Krang. While not particularly fond of the character in the cartoon, the IDW–TMNT-verse iteration has been a much more worthwhile character…I consider this much the same as comparing the cartoon Cobra Commander to the comics’ Cobra Commander in GI Joe.

20130417hardbacks

Continuing the goldmine of bargain-priced hardbacks…Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 11 came in this week, for the sweet price of 75%-off-cover, making it cheaper than 3 single issues of Superior Spider-Man…and come to think of it, about the same price as 3-4 of the original singles it collects.

And not being one to turn down “free,” chose the Punisher volume as my “buy one of those, get one of these free” book.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Ruining a couple comics and falling victim to a Valiant variant

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Walt

ImageSaturday night, I had an experience I hadn’t had in quite awhile: I managed to spill something on a comic.

I honestly can’t remember the last time that happened–I’m not OVERLY “careful” anymore about comics–but I’m not going to intentionally set one in standing liquid, or use ’em as a coaster or anything like that. But I knocked a (virtually empty) pop can off its perch and it landed upside-down on my copy of Archer & Armstrong #9. I quickly grabbed the can off, and attempted to gather up the comics to get them away–which resulted in my (stupidly) stacking X #0 on top of A&A, and not realizing it until the damage to both issues had been done.

While I don’t “collect” for profit/”value” I do like my comics to be in good condition–and I’m certainly not gonna want damp/formerly-damp paper to be stacked in with other (dry) paper–so I determined I was going to consider this a costly lesson, and replace the two issues. When I went to the closest comic shop (Comic Heaven in Willoughby, OH), they had several copies of the A&A issue left and one copy of X, so I grabbed one of each, grabbed a another “sale” hardcover (see post later this week on sale acquisitions), paid, and walked out.

When I got home, I realized to my great dismay, that I’d grabbed the VARIANT cover for A&A…which honestly just totally ticks me off. I’m NOT used to grabbing the singles “off the shelf,” and my standard “pull list” includes a request for the “standard/regular” covers of everything, so I thought nothing of just grabbing a copy of the issue, having identified the series from the logo–which was the main part of the cover that was visible. Functionally this was to be a simple replacement of something I’d already bought a copy of the other day, already read, so there was no “need” to examine the cover.

I am so incredibly sick and tired of variant covers, though. And now, even the “equal ratio” variants–50/50–have become troublesome because they’re not separated out (no reason to, it’s the same issue, no “special version” of a cover, etc) so nothing calls attention to it being a variant without looking at the UPC box to find its designation.

So at this point, to get the cover that I actually want–the REGULAR cover!!!–I’m going to have paid $11.97 for ONE COMIC that stays in my collection. I can accept the $7.98 because I’m the clumsy guy that knocked a can of pop onto my original copy. But to pay that $7.98 ON TOP OF the copy I ruined just bugs the crap outta me.

Perhaps “making a mountain of a molehill” or some such, but this has me once more/yet AGAIN contemplating a radical shift to collected volumes. At least then I’m (so far/to my knowledge) not going to be dealing with near-constant variants for each volume. And the collected volumes often have the art from the variants included anyway, so I can still see the art in-person.

Typically, I quite enjoy Valiant, and have been sticking with ’em in part BECAUSE they’re Valiant. But between their ridiculous “clustering” of titles and so many variants…it’s enough to leave me contemplating dropping the line and waiting just for the collected volumes, despite the otherwise quality stories/art.

Image

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, Valiant | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

More Shiny Comics

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Walt

After a momentary re-kindling of my fascination with “shiny covers” last week, I had the chance to raid bargain bins at a local Half-Price Books store as well as another comic shop, Comic Heaven a few days later over the weekend.

Got these six “shiny covers” at Half-Price Books:

moreshiny01

And then at Comic Heaven, snagged these as part of a 15/$5 deal:

moreshiny02

And while not of the shiny variety, found a full set of the Milestone #1s still bagged (I’ve seen these occasionally in bargain bins, both bagged and unbagged, but I don’t recall ever finding all 4 at once, bagged). I can finally build/complete the 16-panel poster now, as each of these comes with 4 panels of the whole.

milestone01s

Best part is, all the comics shown in this post, shiny covers, polybags, and all?
Cheaper than buying any 2 NEW comics today!

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Harbinger #9 [Review]

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Walt

harbinger009Writer: Joshua Dysart
Art: Pere Perez
Color Art: Ian Hannin
Covers: Mico Suayan and Khari Evans
Lettering: Rob Steen
Associate Editor: Jody LeHeup
Executive Editor: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99

Nine (ten if you count the recent #0) issues in, and this title’s getting rather complex, juggling a number of characters. While it does so, this seems a fairly Faith-centric issue, focusing more on her than the other characters…which to me, really is the way to go; allowing character development and for the reader to get to know the character better, while keeping the entire, overall story progressing.

After being temporarily depowered and falling from a dangerous height, Faith comes to and discovers her friends/teammates have been captured by Project Rising Spirit (we as readers witness the kids’ capture). Interspersed, we get flashbacks to how Faith got into comics, a tragedy in her early life, as well as some added details that flesh out her off-panel time several issues ago…and the issue ends on a key moment for Faith and Peter as Project Rising Spirit prepares to move out with their mission accomplished.

Visually, this is yet another strong issue. I honestly don’t recall as of this typing whether Perez has been on every issue thus far, but the look of this issue solidly fits with earlier issues, and seems entirely consistent with my memory of earlier and most-recent issues. The visual style has a certain simplicity to it–it’s not overly or distractingly-detailed…but it has a certain authenticity that makes the characters all seem that much more real: they’re not virtual clones of one another…the faces and bodies are distinct and varied, as the characters actually are.

Story-wise it’s painfully obvious (particularly with recent house ads and other “meta” information (online news/interviews/etc that are not part of the story itself) that this issue is continuing to put pieces in place for the upcoming Harbinger Wars crossover/arc/event with Bloodshot. While I don’t much care for the feeling of “let’s get THIS over with so we can get to What We’ve Been Promised,” it still resonates with me a bit, as it’s that much more obvious how these titles are beginning to fit together as part of the shared universe.

While we don’t have much in the way of development for the other characters–we mainly just see what fate’s befallen them–we get quite a bit with Faith…and it makes her a much more interesting character. It’d be easy to “assume” stuff with her, but having the actual details keeps her grounded and relatable…on the surface, one might see her as some cliché, yet it seems to me that much of what she is even so far in this book comes from her making conscious choices, not mindlessly following the clichés.

Though there are plenty of positives for the other Valiant titles…more and more I find myself with Harbinger at the top of the list for the nice art and the complex, realistic (as much as they can be: that’s a given) story and characters. If you’re only going to follow one Valiant title, I’d be inclined to make it Harbinger.

Filed under: 2012, Harbinger, Valiant | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

X-O Manowar #10 [Review]

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Walt

xomanowar010Prelude to Planet Death Part Two of Two

Writer: Robert Venditti
Art: Trevor Hairsine
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Cover Artistis: Trevor Hairsine and Cary Nord
Assistant Editor: Josh Johns
Executive Editor: Warren Simons
Published by: Valiant Entertainment
Cover Price: $3.99

We open this issue on a flashback, to young Aric and Gafti training in a field, ending with a show of brotherhood and declaration that someday they’ll be known the fiercest Visigoths to ever swing a sword. We then shift back to the present, where Aric faces Vine commander Trill holding forth the tortured, barely-alive body of his old friend. After some strong words back and forth, Aric engages Trill in battle, while the Vine invasion begins. One battle ended, Aric gives up the X-O armor that it might heal Gafti as it did him–only the pain leaves Gafti in another state of mind entirely…one that could cost an entire planet its life.

Even before anything visual sets in, I noticed the paper quality of this issue is significantly better than some of the earlier issues of the series–while at least a couple of the issues seemed positively (forgive the term) floppy…this feels like a very sturdy paper stock…which is a lot more befitting of a $3.99 single-issue!

Visually, this is quite a solid issue–even with all the action, I was able to follow along without really having to disengage from the story to exert any concerted effort on interpreting the art. The “changing of the guard” where the armor bonds with Gafti–and the resultant look of the armor is striking yet subtle. No real problem for me with the issue’s art.

The story itself is fairly simplistic on the surface–an Earthman fighting a commander of the Vine, then Earthman vs. Earthman with alien armor, then Earthman vs. more aliens.

But–if you’ve been reading the series, Aric and Gafti have a deeper history than the two-page flashback in this issue, and that history is felt as the characters interact here; ditto the history between Trill and Aric. This issue truly grows from what we’ve read throughout this entire series so far–it’s all led here, and this into the next major arc.

While I would like to see X-O a bit more “grounded” and relatable; with a “standard” supporting cast and all that…it’s an instinctual desire, I think; and AS I think on it, I also recognize that this is a very personal sort of story–of Aric and just a handful of people around him. We’re seeing and aware of more than just Aric’s point of view, yet for the most part, this series on the whole has stuck rather firmly to Aric and those immediate “contacts” in his life as well as the “ghosts” of his memories.

I’ve toyed with dropping the Valiant books from my monthly pulls solely due to pricing and a kneejerk backlash against the $3.99 price point from all publishers…but then I remind myself that even with the Valiant “cluster” of multiple books in one week with other weeks devoid of all Valiant…I’m actually reading the early part of a shared universe contained in only 5 books per month, with any doubling up being a one-shot special issue, rather than 3-6 titles that then ship a second issue the same month.

Filed under: 2012, Valiant, X-O Manowar | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Binge Consumption: My Experience With TV and Comics

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Walt

houseofcardsI’m seeing a bit of chatter lately about “binge” consumption–specifically referencing Netflix and their having released an entire 13-episode season all in one go–the same time the first episode is ever available, all the episodes are available.

And I’m definitely in the camp of seeing that as the way to go. I hardly ever even BOTHER TRYING a new show–I’ll just wait for the entire series, or entire seasons, to be available.

A couple years ago, I went through 7 seasons of Buffy and 4 of Mad Men and a couple seasons of Felicity. Last year, I finished the final 2 seasons of Felicity and 4 seasons of Breaking Bad. I also at some point took in an entire season of Doctor Who–whether 2011 or early 2012 I don’t recall. I just this week finished the third season of White Collar and have no clue how much/what’s available thus far of a fourth season.

I’m also noticing myself REALLY going this way with comics, though (if only to myself) it seems this is a new phrasing for how I look at it.

Last year, I snagged near-complete runs of Batman: Shadow of the Bat, of Birds of Prey, and of Nightwing, early-on. I also picked up a small stack of Detective Comics. Last week, I acquired another small stack of late-80s Detective Comics. Foolish or not, I have this vision of reading the entirety of the ’90s Batman saga, beginning with a complete shot through Batman and Detective Comics from shortly after Crisis on Infinite Earths (tentatively aiming at starting points of Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two).

I also got into Valiant in a big way last year–first discovering a larger assortment of Valiant books already in my collection than I was aware, and taking advantage of some excellent deals at the local comic shops. I presently have at least 3 shortboxes of ’90s Valiant waiting to be read–though I’m determined to fill in some holes yet, so I can ideally start at the VERY beginning and go all the way through, with ALL the titles, to a point.

And my Valiant acquisitions got sidetracked when I pulled together all of my X-Men comics and got several great deals at the local comic shop to fill in further gaps. My goal there is to pick up with Uncanny X-Men as far back as I have a solid run into the ’90s, the entirety of X-Factor, and then the ’91 stuff through to the 2001 stuff with Morrison‘s New X Men and the corresponding run of Uncanny, at which point I’ll probably see how far I can get on the two core titles.

Even with ‘spoilers’ (after 10, 15, 20+ years, eventually a “spoiler” simply becomes “common knowledge”) there’s the enjoyment of the journey, of the details.

And with this week’s announcement of six more New 52 books getting cancelled…well, I know the old Valiant stuff includes 3-5 year runs for several titles, with multi-year runs on more. I’m looking at 8-10+ year runs on much of the X-Men stuff. And similar multi-year runs for the various core Bat-books (even Azrael made it to 75 or 100, no?).

Maybe I don’t get THE MOST CURRENT stuff this way…but it’s still a heckuva lot of story to be (eventually) consumed in a much shorter span than the original releases. And far more satisfying than waiting weeks between issues. Not to mention knowing the finite runs and what gets finished rather than having a new series just start to hold my attention only to be cancelled (I’m looking at Boom, with Extermination and Higher Earth!).

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