Ninjak #19
Publisher: Valiant
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Khari Evans
Colorist: Ulises Arreola and Chris Sotomayer
Cover: Mike Choi
A few months ago Ninjak contracted a parasite during his trip to Deadside – the realm of Shadowman. This parasite lodged itself in Ninjak’s brain and left him in an intense meditative state in order to heal himself. Fast Forward several decades in the future. Ninjak has teamed up with the Eternal Warrior and they are going by the call sign, the Fist & the Steel. They have a great chemistry between them. Their playful banter is prevalent throughout and is my favorite aspect of the story. But this is, at least in part, because this is the tail-end of Act 2. Thus, there is not much resolution. But if Valiant’s goal was to make me want to read the next issue, they succeeded. I enjoyed this comic. It was a fun and entertaining read all the way through. 3.5/5
A & A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong #7
Publisher: Valiant
Writer(s): Rafer Roberts & David Lafuente
Artist(s): Mike Norton & Brian Reber
Colors: Allen Passalaqua
Cover: Kano
As unlikely a pair as you can get, Archer & Armstrong have actually became good friends and partners. In this issue they find themselves in a Soviet-run sideshow circus. Sound weird? It was. But what makes it weirder is the people in the circus look like deformed versions of Armstrong. Blend that with some good, old-fashion hatred of America and communistic rants and you have what turned out to be a fun comic. It had a Total Recall-mutant society thing to it which just added to the Cold War-nostalgia feel. I particularly enjoyed watching Archer try and remain respectful to Armstrong despite his bull in a China shop style. The extra Davey Sequence at the end was good in that Saturday-morning cartoon kind of way. Overall I’d say it was a good read. But how can you go wrong with Archer & Armstrong? 4/5
Michael Nunneley
