Review — ‘Archer & Armstrong: Assassin Nation’ #1 Doesn’t Miss A Beat
by Tony Thornley
Over a decade ago, Valiant Comics’ relaunch made a big splash. Unfortunately, the publisher appeared to be one of the victims of COVID-19 … until now. With Archer & Armstrong: Assassin Nation #1, it’s clear that Valiant is back.
Fred Van Lente, Emiliano Urdinola, Exequiel Fernandez Roel, Ludwin Olimba, and Marina Leon bring back one of the best dysfunctional duos in comics.
The 1% have recruited Archer and Armstrong. The only chance the United States has is for the duo to work with their greatest enemies. However, knowing these two, it’s about to get weird and complicated.
Archer & Armstrong was the Valiant relaunch title I gravitated to previously. It was full of goofy humor, weird conspiracies, and lots of fun action. Van Lente wrote that series, and he returns here without missing a beat. The jokes were funny, hitting without lingering too long, and the action beats were well orchestrated, unfolding like a Rube Goldberg machine. There were a few plot plots that maybe could have used a little more exposition (like Archer now being immortal), but overall, it was a great re-entry to the world.
Urdinola had a lot of heavy lifting to do here. He matched the energy of Van Lente’s script with every beat. His layouts are clear, but he keeps them dynamic, playing with point of view and panel shapes to help the flow of his action. Roel & Olimba uses the color art to match the tone of both the script and the linework, evoking specific feelings as he goes along.
Archer & Armstrong: Assassin Nation #1 is available now from Valiant Comics/Alien Books.
Overview
I know this isn’t the first of the titles for Valiant’s return, but I’m glad that I caught it. It was absolutely enough to draw me in, and help me see that it’s well worth catching up and getting on for the ride to come.
