The world didn’t end after all; the heroes saved the day. Now what? Armor Hunters: Aftermath opens on a world where the general populace has been made aware of the existence of superheroes and aliens. Venditti writes a lighter book than the preceding ones, complete with tourists coming into town to see the new unveiling while the regulars grouse about the Johny-Come-Latelies and their lack of true dedication. Sound at all familiar?
So as of this point, Unity is now an official superhero team. The best part? Livewire is now a regular member! She has really developed over the course of the last two arcs, and it is good to know she will be around regularly. There is a bit more left of the Armor Hunters than expected. It is strange that with all the turmoil, one part of the story is now more traditional: Unity is a superhero team, and Toya Harada is now openly an enemy, moving things toward a more standard superhero-supervillain relationship. One minor complaint: We got to see Aric recruited. I would really love the chance to see what Gilad, the Eternal Warrior, had to say about making an advertisement for the team.
CAFU enjoys the opportunity to draw everyone in full superhero poses as they play to the camera. The Eternal Warrior and X-O Manowar each get a full page to pose on, although Aric has to deal with people in the background while Gilad gets to pose solo. He also provides crowd scenes with a varied array of body and face types, and shows he can do a peaceful gathering as well as full-on warfare.
Armor Hunters: Aftermath sets the stage for the next round of comics, but it is not itself a part of any longer arc. It is mostly a book for those who already know and love the characters, although newcomers will at least get name and basic power introductions.
Edit: I keep spoilers at a minimum in the review itself. The comments are a different matter; discus as much as you please and spoil away–or avoid if you don’t want spoilers!
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: CAFU
Cover Artists: Diego Bernard, Brent Peeples, Mico Suayan
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letters: Dave Sharpe
From what I’ve read about this, it seems like the public now knows what Unity is, and that Aric helped stop an alien invasion. Is that the case? I’m curious, because I was afraid that this arc would end with everyone thinking Aric was responsible for the whole mess, and that’d be too depressing for me.
Aric is officially a hero. No depression is called for.