Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Archer and Armstrong are all sorts of ridiculous. It starts with the title of the book, which is just a mouthful. Armstrong is a 7,000 year old perpetual drunkard with a magical bag that may just contain infinite space. Archer is his sidekick and current best friend.
Armstrong decides to enter his magic bag in search of a bottle of booze from a previous adventure. Creatures begin to escape the bag, and Archer goes in after Armstrong so he can close the bag. Archer leaves his sister and her group of nun assassins to guard the entrance. Archer and Armstrong run into goblins, trash golems, and Bacchus (yes, the god) within the bag. Bacchus has a grudge against Armstrong and is determined to escape and cause chaos.
This is another book that is pure entertainment. Sure, there are some dramatic moments, but the book is driven by silly things. The closest thing I can relate this to is a buddy movie. These guys are friends, get pissed at each other, and eventually make up to save the day. It is a fun story, but it may not be the best jumping on point for these characters. There is a history between these two that is hinted at throughout the book, but is not covered in detail.
I enjoyed the art, but some of the panel layouts were odd. At times, there are illustrations that are broken into boxes when they probably didn't need to be. This follows other parts of the book where the same technique is used well because of the way the drawings are set up. The pictures lean toward cartoony aspects. This fits the feel of the book perfectly. The creatures and events are buoyed by the art, whereas a more realistic approach would make the book feel too over the top. I've read a few different Valiant books recently, and this one has a completely different vibe from the other ones.
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