Writer: Rafer Roberts

Artist: David Lafuente

Colors: Brian Reber

Letterer: David Lanphear

The dynamic duo of the Valiant universe returns in this new series. After seeing the death of an old friend in the newspaper, Armstrong ventures into his bag to retrieve something precious to him. Archer, on the other hand, dives into his satchel to find Armstrong and save him from an ancient evil that resides there.

It’s been a while since I read an Archer & Armstrong title and this new one doesn’t disappoint. Rafer Roberts, creates an interesting story featuring Armstrong’s mysterious satchel. The satchel is bottomless and contains many items Armstrong has gathered in his life. Yes, it’s similar to the TARDIS. The opening to the title is funny, heartwarming, and sets up the story quite nicely. I love the way Archer has to navigate his way through the satchel while coming across various denizens in it. The item that Armstrong is looking is revealed as well as the villain. How the villain gets into Armstrong’s bag is pretty funny and the appearance of Mary-Maria makes things troubling for Archer. The story flows at a decent pace to where you can enjoy it. The humor works in the title and you can even catch a reference to the “Maury” show . The dialog is great and creates some interesting dialog between characters. I didn’t find much, that I didn’t like about it.

This is my first time seeing David Lafuentes artwork and it has a unique look to it. The art seems to have a manga-esque style to it and feature lots of geometric areas on characters. When you look at Archers legs, they seem to look like a combination of a rectangle and squares. You can see it on other characters throughout the issue. It didn’t bother me reading it and it worked well in the story. When Archer enters Armstrong’s bag, it’s like looking at an “M.C. Escher” painting, as stairs going up, down, and all around. Lafuente didn’t waste anything with his panels and is filled with various items, that Armstrong has collected over the centuries. The action is done well and captures Archers psiot abilities, which allow him to copy skills. Also, he’s a skilled martial artist and Roberts shows that. The way he fights against the three lizard creatures that appear from inside the bag, is fierce and fast. Showcasing the skill of Archer. Letterer David Lanphear, did a great job on the captions that appear to illustrate Archer’s moves.

Colors were done by Brian Reber and they look good. When Archer enters different areas, the colors changed and makes each environment have a different feel to them. The lighting in some panels look phenomenal and the tone of colors matches the story perfectly. The multitude of colors on some of the creatures, look awesome and adds to their look.

Archer and Armstrong return with a bang and it doesn’t miss a beat. Rafer Roberts did a phenomenal job on the story and it feels like the Archer and Armstrong of old. Some may not like the art of David Lafuente, but I loved the uniqueness of it.The colors look amazing and captures the tone of the story. If you don’t know much about Archer and Armstrong, this may not be the best to know about them. If you go in without knowledge of the characters, it is an enjoyable first issue.

4.8 Armstrongs out of 5