The Eccentric will stop at nothing to add Armstrong to his collection. Archer will stop at nothing to restore his best friend’s lost immortality. And who the heck is going to stop The Maw when he catches up with Archer and Armstrong? Only one thing is certain: Archer & Armstrong Forever #4 will change Archer & Armstrong…FOREVER!
I’ve been largely enjoying this series; the irreverent fun and pacing has often been a welcome distraction while reading the comic. Because Archer & Armstrong Forever hasn’t really picked up on the threads from the previous volumes, it has been the kind of series that new readers can use to introduce themselves to one of comics’ more unique duos. The fourth issue is the first one this series where you can’t really pick up and read without having read the previous one, as it picks up exactly where the Archer & Armstrong Forever #3 left off with the Maw having subdued Archer, Armstrong and Frig, which is exactly where we start this issue. I’ve really enjoyed how writer Steve Foxe has brought these characters to life, but this issue had a little less of the magic from the first three; the jokes didn’t quite hit the same way for me as in the past, and consequently the book fell a little flat for me. It’s still far from a bad book, and was still enjoyable, but hasn’t been as solid a comic as its predecessors.
Visually, the comic is still a triumph; Marcio Fiorito, Alex Guimaraes and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (artist, colourist and letterer respectively) continue to deliver a top notch book – this is visually genuinely enjoyable from start to finish.
I ended the review last month with this: “you really can’t go wrong with any book featuring Archer and Armstrong together, but when they’re written well, holy shit, is that a comic that you should be reading. Archer & Armstrong Forever is a book where the characters are written really well – don’t miss this.” Ultimately that’s still entirely true even with the falter (and you know, there’s every chance that I read this on an off day – I’ll happily admit that), this is still a comic I’ll be adding to my physical collection.
Story: Steve Foxe Artist: Marcio Fiorito
Colorist Alex Guimaraes Letters Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 8.5 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW
Source: Graphic Policy
