ARMORCLADS #1 by JJ O'CONNOR, BRIAN BUCCELLATO, and MANUEL GARCÍA (Valiant Entertainment)

Welcome to a all new edition of Parlay Points, the complementary comic book blog to the ODPH podcast! On this edition, we’re checking out a new series coming from Valiant Entertainment. ARMORCLADS #1 by JJ O'CONNOR, BRIAN BUCCELLATO, MANUEL GARCÍA, RAÜL FERNÁNDEZ, REX LOKUS & DAVE SHARPE is hitting the stores on March 23rd. If you’re on the Valiant discord, you’ve heard about his book for a while now. Sci-Fi battles with armored power individuals throwing down? Sign me up! Let’s check this book out & see if it continues the strong start of “The Year Of Valiant”, shall we?

ARMORCLADS #1
Written by JJ O'CONNOR & BRIAN BUCCELLATO
**Art by** MANUEL GARCÍA
**Inks by** RAÜL FERNÁNDEZ
**Colors by** REX LOKUS
**Letters by** DAVE SHARPE
**Cover A by** BAGUS HUTOMO
**Variant Covers by** MARCO MASTRAZZO & JEREMY ROBERTS
**Pre-order Cover by** KAEL NGU
**Distressed Metal 1/250 Variant** by LIVIO RAMONDELLI, designed by TRAVIS ESCARFULLERY
**On sale March 23rd | 32 pages, full color | $3.99 US | T+**
**Credit: Valiant Entertainment**

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

First and foremost, no one does opening intro pages like Valiant. Even with a first issue, they explain just enough so you get the idea of what the books about before diving in. This is so clutch for new readers. For this book, it gives the breakdown of what Armorclads are: Exoskeleton suits built for fighting in wars.

Readers are introduced to the planet of Xeru. On this planet, there is a mineral known as The Pure with is important to overall survival to the people of Alpharon. Readers also meet Sam, Peris & Lela who are miners of the Pure. They also have very unique suits of armor called Iron Clads. Iron Clads are primarily for construction-esque jobs. Those who wear them are not exactly treated as equals by the military force helping in their mining mission. Readers are shown that there is a class system set up in this universe, where the iron clad wearers appear to be on the bottom of. Prior to the mining mission, there are military forces scouting the area for an enemy that is unseen.

During the mining mission, Sam’s rope breaks that is holding him from falling down the caves in an unsafe area. Sam becomes trapped when the cave starts collapsing in on him. Peris tries to make the save but is stopped by Sgt. Troy who deactivates his suit. Reason being: They can’t afford to lose 2 Iron Clad suits & Sam is considered a lost cause. Sam dies right before Peris’s eyes.

Later, the iron clads are going back to base when they are encountered by the huge bug-like creatures that were lurking earlier in the issue. They attack Sgt. Troy. When Troy calls for help, Peris halts the Iron clads from assisting since he was the one who let Sam die. Troy is overwhelmed and killed instantly. Peris rallies the rest of their troop to fend off the attack. However, there is a sense of uncertainty that this wasn’t a random attack by creatures. Solid final page to set-up the story for next issue.

Fun & fascinating read for a first issue. O’Connor and Buccellato introduce readers to a new part of the Valiant Universe. There is a lot of set-up work done in this first issue. The motivations of Peris are very interesting. Obviously, the most stand-out character thus far, it feels as when we find out about his story, the actions involving Sgt. Troy will have a bigger impact. The other characters will get their time as the book goes on, but no one really made an impact other than Peris (& Sam). This new world has a lot of promise. Very intrigued at where we are going from here with the story at hand.

Garcia’s art complemented the story very well. Alien creatures looked like aliens. They had a “Starship Troopers”-esque feel to them which isn’t a bad thing. Action sequences were solid and didn’t reveal too much of what the armors are capable of. Speaking of the armors, both styles looked good too. The world of Xeru looked interesting and with a story just unfolding, it will be something to see what’s going on in this solar system they’re based in. I know it’s still early but I’ve very interested to see how Garcia presents more of this new universe & world to readers.

Overall, Armorclads #1 was a noteworthy debut of a new corner of the Valiant Universe. There seems to be a lot of layers to the story unfolding. Once this book gets going, there should be some stand-out moments coming that will get fans buzzing. If you’re looking for a great sci-fi book to add to your pull list at your LCS, give this book a shot on NCBD.

Hit me up on Twitter ad let me know what you thought of Armorclads #1. As Always, thanks for reading.

ARMORCLADS #1 (VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT)

Ken M