Armorclads #5 Review

 

Cover A by BAGUS HUTOMO

Four short months ago, writers J. J. O'Connor and Brian Buccellato swept us away to a galaxy far, far away. Now, with the help of writer Ryan Cady, they conclude the first chapter of their extraordinary Armorclads saga.

It is a rule of life that what goes up must eventually go down. So it is with the tether that transports all personnel and goods between the spaceships and the surface of the troubled planet Xeru. 

Naturally, this includes the precious Pure mined by the Ironclads, which sustains the Alphans' war efforts. (Not that that's important or anything). 

After his Alphan soldiers arrested Ironclad Peris, Governor Domahn offered the genetically-engineered Ironclad a partnership. Now, both men will meet their fates. 

Peris' friend Lela, who led an Ironclad insurrection, will also discover hers.

Armorclads #5 closes off all the essential plot points satisfactorily. We're left wondering what happens next on the planet Xeru, and if, just possibly, the Armorclads might find their way to our own galaxy.

Oh yes, and the Bugs are back. Weapons hot, everyone!

Penciler Miguel Sepulveda does a fine job, imbuing each panel with realism. Inker Raul Fernandez helps him pack each page with incredible detail.

Colorist Hi-Fi and letterer Dave Sharpe breathe life and stereophonic sound into this final, tumultuous battle.

Bagus Hutomo's Covers A and C showcase the tremendous scope of this final battle. 

Yunggeun Yoon's Cover B reminds us that the Ironclad Peris is somehow key to bringing peace to this war-torn galaxy.

Cover B by YUNGGEUN YOON

Kael Ngu's fifth Pre-Order Cover features Lela again. I guess that means she's twice as important as any of the other Ironclads. At least, among those who don't have the super-genes that the Governor was searching for--and found--in Peris.

 

Cover C by BAGUS HUTOMO

 

Watch the Ironclads' bid for freedom!

See Governor Domahn's quest for the god-weapon-wielder!

Feel the Legionnaires' battle with the Alphans!

Experience one final Battle Of The Bugs!

Pre-Order Cover by KAEL NGU

It's all in Armorclads #5, an action-packed story brought to life with panoramic splendor. Weapon up today with the cover of your choice, available at your local comic shop or favorite internet provider.

Dragon Dave

Armorclads #4: Covers To Die For

 

Armorclads #4 Cover A by Bagus Hutomo

In Armorclads #4, our hearty squad of Ironclads--along with a few friends they've picked up at other outposts--arrive at the city where their friend Peris is being held. Bagus Hutomo's Cover A shows the vast city arrayed before them. 

The city forms an intriguing circle. Is this for defensive purposes? Or is this series of progressively larger rings, along with interlinking spokes, designed to support the tether that transports goods and personnel between space (or at least the upper atmosphere) and the surface?

Either way, Hutomo's Cover A shows the scope of the Alphan's interplanetary engineering expertise.

Armorclads #4 Cover B by Jeremy Roberts

Jeremy Roberts' Cover B is hands down one of the best covers I've seen all year. And yes, I mean from any publisher. The artist has captured all the energy, tension, and fear that a futuristic science fiction/military fiction/space opera can dish out. I know I'm a Pre-Order guy, and it's rare that I even consider getting another cover. But...

Wow. I mean, wow! I've gotta get me one of these!!!

Armorclads #4 Cover C by Bagus Hutomo

Bagus Hutomo's Black & White & Yellow Cover C shows the mammoth engineering of the city supporting the space tether more clearly than in his Cover A. Space tethers--or elevators, are staples of science fiction stories because they make it far easier to transport people into space without having to build vehicles and power sources to lift them out of a planet's gravity well. Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, and David Gerrold's novel Jumping Off The Planet, are but two literary sources that highlight what incredible marvels space elevators would be. 

As the space tether plays a crucial role in this issue, that makes Bagus Hutomo's Cover C one to die for.

Armorclads #4 Pre-Order Cover by Kael Ngu

Kael Ngu has been bringing Pre-Order customers a focus on each of the primary Ironclads. First off was their leader Peris, followed by Lela, who stepped into the breach after he was arrested and transported to the city. Unlike Jac, the mechanic showcased on his Armorclads #3 Pre-Order Cover, this month's featured Ironclad, Pulo, probably hasn't bowled readers over much yet. But Pulo is younger than Jac and Peris, and despite his doubts about Lela's choices, has proven one of her loyal followers. 

His fellow Ironclads are thankful Pulo didn't carry out his threat to do number one or number two in his armor. I'm likewise grateful, as the resultant smell would have distracted Lela from her efforts to unite Xeru's oppressed Ironclads. So as a Pre-Order customer, I'm happy to include Pulo in my gallery of Valiant's mighty Ironclads. 

Well, there you have it, Valiant Cover fanatics: all the cover options for Armorclads #4. Make sure you pick up the one you want this coming Wednesday, whether its one, two, or all of them!

Dragon Dave

Armorclads #1 Review: A Revolutionary Tale

Armorclads #1 Pre-Order Cover by Kael Ngu

 

In Armorclads #1, young Peris (pictured in Kael Ngu's cover) leads a group of miners on the planet Xeru. They drill for a substance called the Pure, which is essential to the planet Alpharon. Peris (Miner 391) and his fellow miners are genetically engineered beings. Perhaps they're born as teens or young adults. All writers J. J. O'Connor and Brian Buccellato tell us is that they have youthful high spirits, and are not old enough to drink.

 

Despite the importance of the mining operation, the planet Xeru is not developed. No citizens of Alpharon have settled here to homestead. It is an untamed world, with many dangers aside from the difficult terrain.

 

While the miners extract the Pure, soldiers must accompany the rare substance between the extraction site and the base. The miners receive a token escort as they travel between the base and the worksite. The rest of the soldiers guard each convoy. 

Those guarding each convoy seem to outnumber the miners who extract the rare substance.

 

 

Before they depart for each work shift, and upon their return, a prerecorded message reminds the miners that if they work hard, one day they can earn lives for themselves on Alpharon. No specific term of service--which of course they didn't agree to, as they were born to be miners--is mentioned. They are only given the vague promise that after twenty years of hard labor, perhaps they can earn lives of their own.

 

Yet the soldiers treat the miners like drill sergeants in a perpetual drill camp. While the soldiers hear the ritual promises, their opinion of the miners clearly differs from the broadcaster.

The miners call each other by name. But to the soldiers, they're only numbers.

 

Penciler Manuel Garcia and inker Raul Fernandez show us the engineering marvels that are the powerful mech suits, and how the soldiers' armor differs from the miners' Ironclad suits. They show us how the Alpharon mission to this hostile world has adapted the cave system in which the miners extract the Pure, and how the miners must load the sealed containers onto the transport vehicles.

 

Rex Lokus' soft pastels bring out the humanity of the workers, the wildness of Xeru, and (as you will see in the issue), the terrifying dangers they face. Dave Sharpe's letters and sound effects help us hear the propaganda, the rivalry, and the urgency of Alpharon's desperate struggle to supply their ongoing interstellar war.

 

Sam (Miner 357) refers to the bugs, which prevent Xeru from being settled. Unlike the soldiers, the miners don't carry guns. But the tools they use for extracting the Pure, and loading the containers onto their transports, can also be used for defense. 

Sam demonstrates a lot of individuality, perhaps more than is good for him. His friend Alec agrees with Sergeant Troy that he should concentrate on his work, and not on fantasies of drinking alcohol, gaining his freedom, or wiping out the bugs.

Wiping out the bugs, after all, aren't the miners' job.

 

Everything will change in this issue. Events will transform the miners' rigidly proscribed lives. Thankfully, while the issue ends on a cliffhanger, Valiant Entertainment provides a few Black and White preview pages for Armorclads #2.

Oh, and if you're curious about those God Suits that Sam mentions...

 

Armorclads #1 Cover A by Bagus Hutomo

Armorclads #1 reveals a multilayered society. Technology and slavery fund perpetual wars. Yet change is coming. How it will affect the genetically engineered miners, or Ironclads, we must wait and see.

I never rate comics in my reviews. Yet I feel so drawn into this entrancing story that I can easily give Armorclads #1 Five Stars, 10/10, or an A+. If Valiant can maintain this level of storytelling in successive issues, the upheaval on Xeru might not be the only revolution that rocks the comics world.

Dragon Dave

Armorclads #1: Covers That Are Pure Fun

 

Armorclads #1 Cover A by Bagus Hutomo

 

The new series Armorclads marches into your local comic shop this Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Here's all the available covers you can mine for your own collection. 

Armorclads #1 Cover B by Marco Mastrazzo & Jeremy Roberts

If you're a serious collector, you might want to search online for any local shop variants.

Armorclads #1 Cover C by Bagus Hutomo

If you're an aspiring artist, or want to commission an artist to create your own unique cover, there's also a blank cover available.

Armorclads #1 Pre-Order Cover by Kael Ngu

Shops that ordered 250 copies will receive this distressed metal cover. 

Armorclads #1 Metal Cover by Livio Ramondelli

All the covers speak to the excitement of this new series, and are true to the plot of the debut issue.* Needless to say, they are also great works of pure art.

Dragon Dave

*Cover B may be taking a little artistic license with the Ironclad suits' capabilities. I'll have to read future issues to be certain.

X-O Manowar #4 Covers Part 1

 

X-O Manowar #4 Cover A by Christian Ward

British artist Christian Ward has done some terrific covers for X-O Manowar, and this certainly counts as one of them. With the yellow world or sun behind him, the red background with the dots and circles suggests a colorful and symbolic view of the cosmos. Aric, our Visigoth hero, speeds into action, with Shanhara struggling to keep up with him. 

This will be the first full issue with Aric taking the fight to the Ukrainian warlord Yakiov his upgraded armor, and Christian hints at this change in appearance.

Incidentally, one of Christian Ward's favorite novels is Weaveworld. Perhaps Clive Barker's classic tale inspired Christian to weave Shanhara around Aric in this trippy cosmic cover?

X-O Manowar #4 Cover B by Paul Renaud

French artist Paul Renaud gives strong Fantasy heroines like Red Sonja and Athena a classic feel, and imbues the places they inhabit with grandeur. His portrayal of Shanhara, sans Whitaker's upgrade, is elegant and powerful. The cavalry soldiers behind Aric remind us of his youthful battles leading the tribes of Dacia against the armies of Rome, while the planes or spaceships shooting overhead remind us of more recent battles. 

Whether serving in Earth's armed forces with GATE, or during his exile on the planet Gorin, Aric has demonstrated his leadership abilities time and again. The way his laser sword bursts out like a star is another nice, classic touch.

X-O Manowar #4 Cover C by Kael Ngu

Malaysian artist Kael Ngu gives us a truly radical take on X-O Manowar. The blue on his armor looks like hammered, shaped, and strapped on, while the yellow suggests the ripped muscles of a bodybuilder posing before contest judges. But the power crackling from his hands suggests what Aric might do with the armor if he threw off all notions of chivary, dispensed with his moral code, and used Shanhara to wreak as much havoc as he possibly could. 

Aside from this more villainous portrayal, I'm also struck by the placement of the lights glowing on Shanhara's armor. Does the fact that Shanhara is displaying more glowing lights mean that she's channeling more power than ever before?

Colorist Candace Han not only colors Aric brilliantly here, but gives depth and ambiance to the fog Aric is trudging through. Altogether, an atmospheric and thought-provoking piece by Ngu and Han.

Congratulations of Christian Ward, Paul Renaud, Kael Ngu, and Candace Han for contributing three stunning visions of Aric of Dacia for X-O Manowar #4! If you love great art, and admire X-O Manowar, you really do need to get them all!

Dragon Dave

X-O Manowar #4 Review: Yakiov In America

Cover A by Christian Ward

 

In X-O Manowar #4, writer Dennis Hallum shows us the instability of the dictator. Or at least, a would-be dictator. Having seemingly won in his insurgency movement, and secured his hold on the Ukraine, warlord Vlad Yakiov headed to the U.S., where he captured the mother and child who had taken Aric in. While it seems strange that a foreign military band could carry out such a move in downtown New York City, recent events in our nation's capitol remind us that nothing is impossible.

Here's the preview pages for X-O Manowar #4:

Unlike his adventures in the Ukraine, in which X-O Manowar battled one of Troy Whitaker's robots, and then took on Yakiov's forces single-handed, this time the full resources of Whitaker's technological empire are on Aric's side. As you can see, the resultant battle is spectacular.

Cover B by Paul Renaud

 

 Another development in the last issue was a radical change to Aric's armor. Whitaker found a way to increase the power of Shanhara, which again seems strange, given that the armor is a driven by a sentient alien, and even the extraterrestrial race The Vine never found a means of controlling it. But Troy Whitaker is a billionaire industrialist, and the ruler of a technological empire. If anyone on Earth can hack Shanhara, it makes sense it would be him.

Cover C by Kael Ngu

By far the biggest surprise from last issue was a strange nanite swarm that attacked, and nearly got the better of Aric. Did it come from the newly refunded Project Rising Spirit? Does it have something to do with all the nanites The Burned bled out of Bloodshot? Or does this storm, either remotely controlled or operating a gestalt entity, have origins we can only begin to imagine? While X-O Manowar #4 may not answer those questions, rest assured that this nanite swarm was in no way an isolated, one-time event.

 

Sword of Shanhara Incentive Cover by Michael Walsh

In these last four issues, writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum has given us a plethora of storylines, and introduced us to characters we want to see more of. While we may have to wait a few months until the next issue arrives, I suspect the wait will be well worth it.

 

Pre-Order Cover by Jim Towe

In the meantime, I plan on reading through all four issues a couple more times, searching each issue for clues, and enjoying the beautiful artwork by penciler Emilio Laiso and colorist Ruth Redmond. I invite you to accompany me on this journey into this new series of X-O Manowar, overseen by Senior Editor Heather Antos. That is, if you dare. 

Dragon Dave

 

Bloodshot 9 Review: When Monsters Attack

Cover A by Tyler Kirkham

 As we open Bloodshot #9, we read these mission notes from General Grayle

 It's obvious he had little time to write them. The despair he feels is equally palpable.

 

Monsters the size of Godzilla or King Kong are attacking Russia. These weapons were created to protect the former U.S.S.R. Now the renegade spies known as The Burned have released these immense beasts upon their former masters.

General Grayle believes nanites give man the power of the gods. He fears such power could destroy mankind. In controlling Bloodshot, he had hoped his internationally funded defense agency--known as Black Bar--could protect the world against the weapons mankind seems so adept at creating. But Bloodshot is tired of being wielded as someone else's weapon. 

 

That doesn't mean that Bloodshot won't do his best to protect humanity from the dangers these monsters present. But if Grayle thinks he is controlling Bloodshot, he's wrong.

 

 

Mina, also known as Eidolon, has proven a real friend to Bloodshot. Together, they have devised a plan the General knows nothing about. If successful, it will defeat both the monsters ravaging Russia as well as the anarchist organization known as The Burned.

 

 

While General Grayle may be obsessed with controlling or destroying all other nanite-driven beings, Bloodshot sees these monsters in Russia as a mere distraction. In their desire to unleash all the secrets held by the major defense agencies of the world, The Burned pose the greatest possible danger to the world.
 

Bloodshot knows where these renegades are. He knows their intentions. But can he stop them in time?

 

With issue #9, the seeds writer Tim Seeley has planted in earlier issues have grown to maturity. Aided by the art of Marc Laming, Jason Masters, and colorist Andrew Dalhouse, the story unfolds like a big budget movie. Dave Sharpe's fonts, dialogue balloons, and sound effects enhance the sense of urgency,  danger, and determination the characters feel.

Cover B by Kael Ngu

Bloodshot #9, with its choice of covers, brings the story arc begun in issue #7 to conclusion. Can Bloodshot, Mina, and Black Bar contain the monsters in Russia? Can Bloodshot neutralize The Burned? And how does the end of Bloodshot #9 tie in with the appearance of Wilfred Wigans in the Valiant 2020 Free Comic Book Day special?

 

Pre-Order Cover by Jason Metcalf & Stephane Paitreau

What? You honestly think I'm going to tell you?

Dragon Dave