The fact that there isn’t a comic called “Ivan, The Soviet Science Bear” is a crime against humanity.
Creative Staff:
Story: Rafer Roberts
Art: Mike Norton with David LaFuente
Colors: Allen Passalaqua with David Baron
Letters: Dave Sharpe
What They Say:
Archer & Armstrong. Fearless adventurers. Best friends. Better partners. But that was before this traveling circus made them prisoners of a sideshow so freakish, it makes Davey the Mackerel look like the girl next door! Now captives beneath the world’s maddest midway, our fearless(ish) heroes are just steps from the final clue to locating Armstrong’s long-lost wife… Too bad there’s a literally “small” army of deranged and dangerous Armstrong clones protecting it with all of their miniature might! Meanwhile: Mary-Maria must confront the one force capable of putting her in her place – the Council of Elders! And whatever happened to Davey, anyway?
Come for the popcorn and stay for the mad science gone awry as rising star Rafer Roberts (HARBINGER RENEGADES) and Eisner Award-winning artist Mike Norton (Revival) bring “NEXT STOP CLOWNTOWN” roaring into a city near you!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
You know why I love comics so much? There’s no other medium where I can see a martial arts prodigy ninja kick a Soviet scientist bear in the face. You sure won’t see that on the Hallmark Channel!
Of course, I speak of A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong. When last we left our dynamic duo, the proprietors of the Soviet circus had captured them and were about to dissect Armstrong in order to learn the secret of his immortality.
First, though, Ivan the Soviet scientist bear had to get his monologue out of the way, and recounts the events of February 1943 where he acquired Armstrong’s finger. That finger became the basis of his group’s entire enterprise. They hoped to learn how to replicate Armstrong’s immortality, but the powers that be wanted only to use it for military application. They fled to America and started their socialist circus: earning money to fund their experiments and using runaways as guinea pigs—hence all the Armstrong lookalikes running around.
While the science circus prepares to cut Armstrong open “and make science” with his insides, Mary-Maria faces her own problems as the Sisters of Perpetual Darkness’ Council of Elders stage a coup attempt. She and her loyal followers manage to repel the first wave, but the war is hardly over. Not sure where this storyline is going just yet, but it’s a safe bet that she’ll intersect with our boys at some point.
Returning to A&A, the guys manage to extricate themselves from the science circus’ house of horrors with the aid of the freaks (this is where we get that awesome scene where Archer kicks a science bear in the face!). The breakout causes Armstrong to admit to himself that he’s been afraid of his life changing, so he’s been postponing his reunion with his estranged wife, Andromeda. He and Archer bro-hug it out at the end, and everything’s hunky-dory.
Until the next issue, of course.
I’ve mentioned this before, but Rafer Roberts is definitely channeling some Brian Clevinger in this story arc. The humor, the off-the-wall science, the antagonists, and even some of the language feels very Atomic Robo-ish. The whole line “The time has come to cut you open and make science with your insides” could have easily been spoken by Dr. Dinosaur, and I love that.
To be clear, this isn’t derivative—it’s simply similar in spirit. Archer & Armstrong has been part comedy since Fred Van Lente brought it back a few years ago, and it’s been fun seeing Rafer Roberts’ comedic style at play. We’ve only had two storylines so far, but it seems like he’s going for a specific flavor with each. The first focused on dude-bro culture and this one on wacky socialist science. It’s a good shakeup that keeps the story fresh and staves off repetition.
And did I mention that there is a bear who is really a genetically-modified Russian scientist? I want a Soviet Science Bear teamup with KGBeast comic right now! And I want it drawn by Mike Norton. The man draws a mean bear. Shoot, the man draws a mean just about everything. His work is fun and cartoony with solid character work, action, and backgrounds. He brings the story to life and compliments Roberts’ humor very well.
In Summary:
If you’re looking for a fun, silly comic that meshes the best parts of buddy movies, Atomic Robo style humor, and good old-fashioned action, then A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong is for you. With Ivar, Timewalker gone, A&A has once again risen to the position of my favorite Valiant title. Dr. J gives this piece of socialist propaganda a…
Grade: B+
Age Rating: T+
Released By: Valiant Comics
Release Date: October 5th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
