The Good
Gilad, Armstrong, and the Geomancer battle Archer, whose mind is taken over by The Last Enemy in the conclusion to this story. Can the team stop The Null from destroying everything?
Fred Van Lente treats us, once again, to a fantastic opening to an issue. This time, we get to see Gilad during the 1960s all decked out in hippy gear taking on Jack Ruby and his Gone-Gone Dancers. First, this is currently my favorite scene in the series. It's ridiculous, and it has my favorite line of dialogue from the whole series. "Make it rain, girls. RAIN DEATH!" The scene isn't just there to be there. It connects to The Last Enemy and an important moment in American history.
If you've been thinking, "hey. I am missing some action in my life. I need more gunshots, arrow shooting, and crumbling floors while a bunch of dudes are all hitting each other," then this is the perfect issue for you! This issue is full of well paced action sequences with a dash of character development. Look, I'm going to say the word "satisfying" a few times here because it truly describes so many different facets of this issue, and my vocabulary kinda bites. This issue takes the time to build on some of the newer concepts the reader has been introduced to (The Geomancer, The Last Enemy) and sprinkles it in between some fantastic action sequences that really drive this fun story home. This is the apple pie of comics. If you're Canadian, this is the poutine of comics.
The art in this issue is incredibly solid. It weaves the tale wonderfully, and it's a fine compliment to an Lente's writing. Emanuela Lupacchino (art), Alvero Martinez (art), Guillermo Ortego (inks), and David Baron (colors) do some great work here, and the opening splash page, featuring Gilad in front of his mother in essentially eternal nothingness is beautiful. There's a great use of detail and color here, and it's my favorite page from the issue.
The issue wraps up extremely well. This is an insanely satisfying conclusion to this story. Everything is seemingly neat and tidy as our heroes take on The Last Enemy. We get to see a "return to normalcy," which is a bit hard to say since this book is only 9 issues deep, and what is "normalcy" for Archer & Armstrong anyway? This issue is the comfort food of comics.
Wow! What an ending to this issue! I’m going to keep this completely spoiler-free because you should be reading it, not looking up spoilers online. What the reader learns, at the end of this issue, completely changes the direction this book is headed and why it is headed that way. Without a doubt, it’s one of my favorite turns in comics this year because it was actually surprising/shocking/awesome.
The Bad
Hey! New reader. Don't start reading this comic with this issue. Buy the trade or waiting until the #0 issue, next month. You're going to have no clue what's going on here. We're deep in it with issue #9.
The Verdict
It's no surprise that this book continues to be completely and utterly awesome. ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG #9 is a super-satisfying end to a fantastic story. The opening page is incredibly funny, and the overall story is a ton of fun. The art is great and consistent throughout the issue, and there's no reason you shouldn't be reading this book.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
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