ARCHER & ARMSTRONG: REVIVAL - graphic novel

 Archer is master of hand-to-hand combat as well as an expert marksman.  He is always on the hunt for truth but is perhaps a bit slow on .  Think of him as an updated Kwai Chang Caine.

Archer has partnered with Armstrong, a street-smart but none-too-bright fighter who cannot die. He's been alive since the dawn of history and realized that the most important thing in life is grabbing a drink.

The pair balance each other in many ways throughout this book. 

The title is 30 years old and Valiant Publishing pulls together some key past issues to give readers a good look at the history of the characters and some highlighted adventures, starting with Archer's backstory - again, reminiscent of Kung Fu's Kwai Chang Caine or even Batman.

I was not at all familiar with this title, but I was not much of a comics reader back in the 1990's. I did, however, recognize the names of the creators for this - Barry Windsor-Smith, Jim Shooter, Bob Layton - and it was on the strength of those names that I wanted to give this a try.

I felt that this was really dated. While I generally still prefer the hand-drawn, ink on board/paper artwork from comics from my generation over the slick look of drawn-on-computer graphic novels, there was something about this work that was unnecessarily busy, cluttered, and too often I had to stare at a panel to understand what was happening.  This slowed down the storytelling and therefore the art and the story didn't always mesh well together, which is ironic since Barry Windsor-Smith often did both.

Armstrong comes off as a Falstaff-like character - larger-than-life, the comic relief, and always looking for the next drink. But he becomes pretty much a one note character, and that takes away from the humor that he's there to create.

Overall, I was disappointed. I expected more, better, from this group of creators.

Looking for a good book? Archer & Armstrong: Revival, a graphic novel by Barry Windsor-Smith, Jim Shooter, and Bob Layton didn't really capture my interest or make me long for more stories in this 'buddy' relationship adventure series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

* * * * * *

Archer & Armstrong: Revival

authors: Barry Windsor-Smith, Jim Shooter, Bob Layton

artist: Barry Windsor-Smith

publisher: Valiant Entertainment

ISBN: 1682153940

paperback, 336 pages