Armor Hunters #3

By Robert Venditti, Doug Braithwaite and Laura Martin

Armor Hunters continues and if you weren’t sure before, it’s crystal damn clear that Robert Venditti, Doug Braithwaite and, of course, Valiant are going all out; no punches pulled, no quarter given and the Valiant Universe is never going to be the same.

Venditti in his infinite wisdom uses this penultimate issue of AH to spend some time with the characters as the inevitable finale battle looms. Highlighted by a fantastic, albeit sad, moment with Aric and some badass panels with Livewire, it’s clear that these heroes of Earth aren’t done just yet. Up until this point, the Armor Hunters have appeared to be all but unstoppable with weapons beyond the capabilities of the vast majority of Earth. With one event, and with no disrespect to any of the other great writers on the Valiant roster, Venditti is cementing himself as the Valiant Universe architect as he shapes and molds the characters and world for what’s sure to be a long time to come.

As with every book in this event and every book he’s worked on in recent memory, Doug Braithwaite is 100% on point. Every page, every panel, scene or character is fantastically masterful. Particularly the scene mentioned above with Aric and the sheer emotion that Braithwaite was able to express in a single panel is staggering. Top line work and detail like Braithwaite provides with Laura Martin’s insanely excellent colors and once again you’ve got yourself a book that will challenge any other on the shelf as the best this week or arguably this month. Its work like this that makes it exciting to read comics; the work is so dynamic and it’s done with such skill and such care that you can’t help but pour over each panel.

Look, Armor Hunters is no joke. It’s an event that has far surpassed the initial expectations and it’s such a fantastic display of what Valiant can do and in many respects how comics should be done. There’s no bullshit and every creator involved is giving it their all. This will be felt throughout the Valiant Universe for a long time to come, you can bet on it, so get caught up if you’re behind and prepare for the finale next month because this is something special.