Another day, another Valiant #1 which launches in the middle of a crossover. Following on from Eternal Warrior #1, the next chapter in the linewide Unity crossover was found in Archer and Armstrong #1. So let’s check it out!

So, at the rather muddled conclusion of Eternal Warrior #1, we saw the titular character taking his long lost brother, now going by the name of Armstrong, to the Lost Land. Currently the battleground upon which time itself is being defended, the Lost Land is playing host to the heroes of the Valiant Universe, and a few of its most awful villains too. The two main characters are captured, but Archer’s destiny sees him revered; Armstrong doesn’t fare as well, and has to resort to a rather unusual attempt at escape.

As a first issue and introduction to the titular duo, this comic is an absolute mess. It does a terrible job of explaining the main characters to new readers, but a few moments where their actions speak louder than words, particularly in Armstrong’s case, do work well.

Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that, once again, a new comic series launching mid-crossover is a terrible, stupid idea, and even though our main characters are almost hilariously unbothered by most of the action going on around them, it’s really not the ideal way to kick off their adventures. Oh, and there’s more of the awful treatment of female characters which plagues so many of the 90s Valiant comics I’ve read so far; at least this time, it comes from a character who’s supposed to be an evil bastard, and not one of the ‘heroes’.

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