Reviewed by Brady Steele. Last month, we had X-O Manowar try to stop an alien virus outbreak in New York City. It was a great read but did not end up not being a great outcome for him. Dead Drop #2 goes at the same problem with a different solution this time: Archer, from Archer & Armstrong infamy. Not only are there no pants in this chapter, there are any limits as to what crazy fun action this miniseries can give us.
WRITTEN BY: Ales Kot
ART BY: Adam Gorham
PUBLISHER: Valiant Entertainment
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 6 May 2015
Writer Ales Kot knows how to craft an off-beat and thrilling story. His previous work ranges from Zero to Iron Patriot to Suicide Squad to Secret Avengers to Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier to here. I already enjoyed his super space spy odyssey with Bucky Barnes and I am completely aboard for this story as well. Our would-be hero this outing is so utterly underprepared yet unrelenting in his pursuit. Kot makes Archer’s awkwardness in the world and pure heart shine through.
The pages by artist Adam Gorham are even better than last month which is saying something. The page with Archer bellowing out his battle cry “FOR COMMON GOOOOODDDD!!!” instantly screamed “Please make this a poster!” to me. Having someone more down-to-earth and literally grounded like Archer chasing around these would-be terrorists makes for such a bold and fascinating contrast from X-O Manowar. The best part is that it completely works too. You can feel all the shamelessness and virtue in each page of Archer’s attempts and it looks gorgeous to boot.
Not that this book needed it but there were also ninjas thrown in for good measure. You can almost never go wrong with ninjas, right? I like being continually surprised by this series that I will just wait and see what Valiant Universe character will show up next month. I expect Dead Drop to keep readers enthralled until the very end.
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Mr. Steele enjoys all things comics and imagination-based. Using his lifetime of comic-fu-dom for good, he imparts his knowledge for the universe to enjoy and for you, dear readers, to pass it on.
Twitter: @mrbradysteele