Advance Review: Archangel 8 #1
Archangel 8 #1, published by AWA, is a comic that is, ostensibly, about competing assassins in some game of intrigue. However, as the issue ends (and as the title implies) there appears to be a supernatural component to this story which will encompass 5 issues.
Writer Michael Moreci (Hoax Hunters, Burning Fields) begins the tale in a scene that combines elements of Jason Bourne and John Wick, introducing us to a man who is brought on to do one thing and one thing only, to visit death on those who have earned it through their deeds. Walking into a betting parlor where a dog fight ring takes center stage, this unnamed assassin speaks with his employer, a man named Gabriel. With a surfeit of internal monologue, the assassin sets out to track down his target and, as the story unfolds, the lines between good and evil, right and wrong, are blurred and confused as the issue closes on a supernatural cliffhanger image. Let’s backtrack for a moment though to where I mentioned the surfeit of internal monologue; this is both a boon and a bane to this comic. While the writing is wonderful and adds a noir feel to the book, it is also rather lengthy and presents a rather difficult challenge for letterer Sal Cipriano. There are times in the book where the words overwhelm the art panels and, in my opinion, there seemed to be no easy solution resulting in a drop for both the writing and letter score.
The art team of C.P. Smith (The Programme, The New Invaders) and Snakebite Cortez (Velocity, JLA: Convergence) do an admirable job on this book with a few exceptions which I’ll talk about in a moment. First, the positive. The line work in this book is incredibly strong which is no surprise from someone of Smith’s talent and experience. Smith draws in a realistic, gritty style that truly shines when he gives us close ups of character faces; his artwork taking on an almost photo-realistic quality. Similarly, the color by Snakebite Cortez is absolutely beautiful and, when allowed to, is one of the stars of the book. That brings me to my one serious critique of the book’s art. While C.P. Smith is known for this gritty and realistic style; his art can also get over-complicated, dark and muddy at times. This is especially true of the inking in this book. Those of you who are familiar with my reviews 
know that I often favor the liberal use of the pen when inking a book. I don’t know that I love heavy-inking per se. Rather, I feel that many modern books are inked too lightly. In this case, I feel that Smith has leaned too heavily on the inking and it detracts not only from his fabulous line work but the color as well. I’ve included two examples in this review of art in the book. You’ll note that one panel is over-inked and suffers for it while in the other, Smith has restrained himself and the panel has a very different feel and is truly fantastic.
All in all this is a very good book with two flaws that end up detracting from the final score but in no way detract from the experience of reading the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of spy novels, action, assassins and crime drama.
Writing – 4 of 5 Stars
Art – 4.25 of 5 Stars
Ink – 3.75 of 5 Stars
Color – 4.25 of 5 Stars
Letters – 3 of 5 Stars
Overall Score – 4 of 5 Stars
Writer – Michael Moreci
Art – C.P. Smith
Color – Snakebite Cortez
Letters – Sal Cipriano
Cover – Jeff Dekal
Published by AWA
In Shops: Mar 18, 2020
Diamond Code: JAN201610
Author Profile
- Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.
He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
Latest entries
Comic BooksNovember 8, 2023Review: Cyberpunk 2077 Library Edition Volume 1
GamingSeptember 21, 2023PC Game Review – Starfield
PreviewsSeptember 20, 2023TTRPG Review – Star Trek Captain’s Log
Comic Crusaders PodcastJuly 19, 2023Comic Crusaders RPG Special – Dune RPG by Modiphius
