Armor Hunters Deluxe Edition

Armor Hunters #1-4

by Robert Venditti (Writer), Matt Kindt (Writer), Joshua Dysart (Writer)

Re-presenting Valiant's sold-out crossover event in complete chronological order! From New York Times best-selling creators Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar, The Flash), Matt Kindt (Rai, MIND MGMT, Unity), Joshua Dysart (Harbinger, Unknown Soldier), Doug Braithwaite (Unity, Justice), and more top talents, the acclaimed Armor Hunters saga gets the deluxe oversized hardcover treatment with more than 20+ pages of never-before-seen bonus materials! When Aric of Dacia returned to Earth with the stolen X-O Manowar armor of an alien race, he thought he'd finally found a weapon to guard the peace and kingdom he'd struggled so long to secure. But now, a relentless and surgical strike team from the farthest reaches of space - sworn to exterminate the armor and all like it - have found their final target. The Armor Hunters are coming. They will hunt. They will trap. They will kill. And they will rid the universe of the X-O Manowar armor's incalculable destructive power...even if it means taking the Earth with it.

Collecting: Armor Hunters 1-4, Armor Hunters: Aftermath 1, Armor Hunters: Bloodshot 1-3, Armor Hunters: Harbinger 1-3, Unity 8-11, & X-O Manowar 23-29

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book

576 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2015

About the author

Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.

Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid company wide crossover. This edition contains all the issues having anything to do with the Armor Hunters story line. Reading it in the order presented shows that editorially this could have been a bit tighter. Different books present conflicting versions of events. The story unfolded differently than I expected. There weren't really any fights with the Armor Hunters until the very end.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, Valiant really knows how to do a crossover! This is arguably the biggest event of the rebooted Valiant Universe, featuring every major Valiant character in a fight for Earth's survival after a group of intergalactic bounty hunters that specialize in destroying the Shanhara armor set their sites on killing Aric the X-O Manowar, and cleansing the very planet that he's contaminated.

Seeing the different heroes team up to save the day was cool and all, but what really makes this story stand out is the development of it's "villains," which was totally unexpected. The creators take the time here to fully flesh out the Armor Hunters themselves; their motivations, their histories, their successes and their failures. I refer to them as "villains" in quotations because they're hardly bad guys in the traditional sense, and I related to them and fully understood their motivations. We've been seeing the Manowar armor from a one-sided POV as a heroic tool for so long but now we see the armor from their point of view, as a dangerous, world-destroying virus. The story feels so rich because of our understanding of this strike team. Another one of the most interesting developments is that this does make us question the nature of the X-O Manowar armor itself. We realize that what we thought we knew about the armor might be wrong and that the Vine might've been totally wrong about what the suit was in the first place! And so far, we see the armor as being almost unstoppable up until now, so when we see what the hunters are capable of, I truly felt a sense of dread for Aric. His armor actually does have weaknesses and can be destroyed.



I love how patient Valiant is with telling their stories and how they seem to respect the reader's intelligence. This is great stuff. The reason I'm not giving it five stars is because some of the side issues of this crossover, like the Harbinger and Bloodshot stuff, feels a bit shoehorned in, and they're pretty forgettable. But the main story including the X-O Manowar issues is top notch stuff. If you would prefer to just read the Armor Hunters/X-O Manowar stuff without the side stories, then reading X-O Manowar: Deluxe Edition, Book 3 will probably be a tighter read.

This compiles the following trade paperbacks in complete correct reading order:

[The Lion's Share · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valiant know how to do a decent cross over event it seems.

I really enjoyed this, worth checking out for all Valiant fans.

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valiant events are fantastic!

World: The art is solid, some issues are better than others but the event has really elevated the series, I think the colors are still a bit washed and flat but the art is fine. The world building here is fantastic and has so much consequence. Unlike the big two with their events that usually end with a bit of consequence and status quo about 6 months after Valiant events change the entire landscape of the world. All the pieces from all the tie in books are brought into focus here and they matter. It's really good.

Story: The story is paced wonderfully, and is consistent in it's form and tone, it's just so well thought out and planned. Unlike the big two each tie in makes sense and fits into the greater narrative, it's not tacked on, it's not a cash grab, it matters in the grand scheme of the story and it's a part of the big even that the company is trying to tell. There is also consequence in the story, events happen and shit goes down and it changes the world (it reminds me of the Mignolaverse) and I like that about this event. So, how's the story? It's pretty fantastic. It's basic in premise but the execution is great, it reminds me of Relic from Green Lanterns (same writer) that takes the past and builds on the world and really give consequence to the event and a weight that many events lack. The cast of characters all have things to do and even if they are in separate parts of the world they matter and their actions matter. Add to that this event is global not just the United States which is the case in a lot of North American comic books. I don't want to ruin the story for you but it's a hella ride, it feels like a movie and is incredibly cinematic. The only issue I had with the book is the Harbinger parts as Generation Zero is nowhere near as interesting as the main cast we had in Harbinger the standalone.

Characters: A lot of characters and a lot of action so you would think there's not a lot of character development but that's where you will be wrong. Aric has a lot and so does Livewire (the best thing about Valiant). Other than that yes, it's light on development and heavy on action. The villains on the other hand get a lot of development and I like that, it makes their story matter and their quest matter, this is not just a mwaa haa haa villain.

I like this event, it was fun, it had weight and it shows you what happens when a small company really puts all their titles together to do something of consequence. Too bad DC can't do this and has not done this since Flashpoint.

Onward to the next book!

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent example of a well-crafted story with a tight, but diverse, cast mixing, an origin retelling, and characters that you can get into & care about (even the "bad guys"), mixed with terrific action, consistent art, and a pace that just begs for you to continue reading!

Marvel & DC should be taking notes.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another very solid VEI Valliant Universe crossover. Together Armor Hunters and X-O Manowar manage to not just tell a global story, but also provide the backstory of the adversaries, offering up a very balanced epic, which is well supported by Unity. The two mini-series (Bloodshot and Harbinger) are by far the weakest part of the crossover. They're small stories, without the global threat that makes the main series great. Unfortunately, there end up being some hitches in the overall storyline, including an alien that's killed in two different ways (blown up and decapitated) and a giant robot whose combat chronology is a bit confusing. Those oddities and the weaker mini-series keep the overall book from being 5-star, but if you just looked at the three central series, you might still rate things that way.

X-O Manowar: Prelude to Armor Hunters. The issues that lead off this volume suggest that X-O is moving toward somewhat more normal superdom, as he takes on tasks for the US government. Despite that, it still has an unusual feel to it, thanks to its heavy science-fiction basis, which I'm continuing to love. I was pretty shocked that the big super-size 25th issue ... doesn't have X-O in it at all. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story, with its intro of the Armor Hunters (and I love the fact that Venditti and Valiant are both willing to do this sort of thing.) [4+ stars]

Armor Hunters Mini-Series. The solid heart of the Armor Hunters series, but it's more an X-O Manowar comic than anything else. That means it's got the great characterization that Venditti has been pushing throughout the X-O, but all moved to an even more global stage that the comic has ever seen before, as Aric deals with a menace to the whole world. It's a great comic that continues to show Venditti's strengths (and nicely dovetails into Unity at the end, really showing how well connected the Valiant universe is, which has always been its strength, back to VH1 days). [5 stars]

X-O Manowar: Armor Hunters. This isn't really X-O Manowar. Though it appears under that name, 3 of the 4 issues actually cover the backstory of the Armor Hunters, following up on issue #25. And, I love it. This is a wonderful history, really making the antagonists of the crossover into interesting, tragic heroes. (And the final issue coda is a nice hint at things to come). [5 stars]

Unity: Armor Hunters. Unity is clearly a subsidiary comic in the Armor Hunters arc, but it stays involved with the big picture items and the evolving story, so it's more successful than the mini-series, which tended to get a little small and specific. Ninjak and Livewire are both put to very good use. Ninjak is depicted as an interesting, multi-faceted character, while Kindt really has fun with Livewire's machine empathy (almost, but not quite, to the point of success). The result is overall a fun read. [4 stars]

Armor Hunters: Harbinger. It's good to see Generation Zero again, and Dysart places them in an appropriately horrific apocalyptic environment, creating the opportunity for big-picture heroics. I don't think the resulting story is as great as the main Armor Hunters comics because it doesn't have the same scope and because Generation Zero is too large of a cast to appreciate appropriately. Still, this is an enjoyable miniseries. [3.5 stars]

Armor Hunters: Bloodshot. Probably the weakest part of the Armor Hunters crossover. It's mainly a long drawn-out fight with an alien, followed by a long drawn-out fight with an alien. Worse, it's not really depicted that well. Somewhere between the scratchy art and the muddy plotting the major beats of the fight get confused, leaving something that's not as exciting as it should be. Finally, the flashbacks to the South America jungle don't add anything to the narrative; I was never able to figure out what their point was. I think many of the problems may have been due to a either a disconnect between the writer and the artwork or between the artist and the writer ... but even then, there just wasn't a lot of plot here. [3 stars]

This Deluxe volume was also very nicely put together (which has been the case for all of VEI's deluxe volumes). Now if Valiant can just be convinced to not reprint the X-O parts of this story in X-O Manowar Deluxe volume 3, all will be well. (Overlapping volumes has been the one problem with their Deluxe program, and here they really have the opportunity to just insert Armor Hunters between X-O Deluxe volumes 2 & 3.)

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My inner fanboy tends to come out for big epic crossovers. It began with those old JLA/JSA annual events (I remember the first appearance of the Crime Syndicate-proof that I am old) and Crisis on Infinite Earths continued that for me.

That is why Armor Hunters was attractive to me as a point to dive into the "new" Valiant Universe. I use the term new loosely as this is the third reboot of many of these characters under the Valiant banner (third time's the charm?).

These type of stories do not lend themselves to much characterization, but the little bit of character that does come through is nicely done. These incarnations of Ninjak, X-O, Faith and Torque hint at mild improvements over their first incarnations (Ninjak and X-0's second go round bear zero resemblance to the 1st and third versions). Aric (X-O) might be a time displaced Visigoth, but he's not dumb, and he has a sense of duty to his people, while what little of Ninjak's past that is revealed makes him a more believable bad ass assassin/secret agent.

The villains are a bit one note, but come across as believers in their mission. This especially holds true for Reebo, and I wouldn't have minded reading adventures of the Hunters before they came to Earth. Because, the Hunters aren't necessarily evil. They believe in their mission that the Vine armor infects its wearer and then the planet essentially taking it over. The Hunters believe that they are saving people and planets when they can.

And, when they can't they sterilize the planet.

Their belief does not absolve the atrocities and mass destruction the Hunters cause. I credit the creative team with trying to do a good job of showing the effect these events affect the people who live in Los Angeles and Mexico City. As an aside I'm in that minority who thought the Man of Steel movie was right for showing the final battle devastating Metropolis.

Anyway in summation-a good dose of big action movie type fun.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS is how you do an event comic! A massive crossover in the Valiant universe that not only uses most of the major characters but also has a long lasting effect on the whole world, this is how this kind of thing should be done. The problem with the two big comic companies is that their major characters cannot change much and so any massive event not only leaves out a lot of their heroes but also, more often than not, just resets the status quo at the end of it.

Here when the Armor Hunters arrive looking for X-O armour you not only learn a lot more about the armour but also find yourselves with the most sympathetic brutal bunch of 'villains' I think I have ever come across. Their whole purpose makes absolute sense and you know that they are, in many ways, exactly right.

Valiant have managed to create a roster of heroes that are realistic and human. Every Valiant book I've read so far (Shadowman excepted) has been excellent.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely complain about Valiant rushing into crossovers, since we're not even a year into Unity and barely 3 years into X-O. But this is actually a solid crossover. It's fun, the plot holds together, all the characters have something to do. It's all around well-done, even if nothing is particularly revolutionary. 3.5/5.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mysterious purpose and origin of the Man-of-War armor gets explored and exposed. Again, I'm impressed at the world building that Valiant puts on. It's not as bombastic as Marvel or DC's events--but there is change and growth.

[Ed Downard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun story. Some beautiful artistic moments. This feels like a comic event that set up a lot of what is to come in the Valiant Universe.

Absolute quality read.

[Bob Solanovicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jedino što stvarno mogu zamjeriti ovom epskom krosoveru jest finale. Možda sam ipak malo previše očekivao s obzirom kako je sve počelo i kamo je čitava priča otišla. Mimo toga, sasvim sam neočekivano uživao u svakoj epizodi, bilo da je X-O Manowar, Unity ili Bloodshot (svi su sjajni i svatko na svoj način). Crtača je bilo svakakvih, ali nitko nije bio užasno nepodnošljiv i ne mislim ih secirati ponaosob, pogotovo jer ih ima hrpetina. Osim prvog Valijantovog Bloodshot/Harbinger krosovera ovaj je isto tako rijedak jer je svaka epizoda, bez obzira tko je glavni junak ili junakinja, gurala glavnu priču naprijed što inače u Marvel/DC krosoverima praktički nikad nije slučaj, ili barem ne na ovaj način. Svaka čast Valiantu i sjajnim scenaristima i crtačima koji su dokazali da može postojati i kvalitetan, smislen krosover sa pravim i trajnim posljedicama po njegove protagoniste.

[Capital Fetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars, really (taken as a whole); Grade: Very Good (based on the strength of the core issues -- more on that below)

Read in individual issues.

The gist: The event and X-O issues are great; the supplemental material that runs through Bloodshot, Unity, and Harbinger diminish in value (in that order w/ Harbinger being totally skippable).

I couldn't help thinking that this event has some similarities to Marvel's Infinity storyline (headed up by Hickman) several years back. I'm not sure as to the timeline here. But one of those similarities is the extraneous material that attaches itself to the main story. Infinity has something like Heist; Armor Hunters has the Harbinger angle. It's a shame b/c during my Valiant read-through (from the beginning), Valiant has really been able to steer clear of these kinds of traps. Not so w/ their first big crossover. The Unity issues are a little better but add up to little more than a long action sequence involving Gilad and Ninjak.

The Bloodshot issues are redeemed by focusing on Malgam, who is an important piece of the story board. It's a shame that Valiant didn't just find a way to add Bloodshot to the X-O books, and run the entire storyline through X-O Manowar w/o all of this extra baggage.

Now, the main even title and the X-O issues (including the prelude stuff right through to the even tie-ins) are excellent. So good -- the kind of stuff that has been the norm for Valiant up to this point in my read-through. I love the backstory issues involving the armor hunters and they sit side-by-side along the main story issues very well. Again, trimming the fat would makes this story much, much better -- something I'll keep in mind next time I read this story.

I recommend that you pick up the main event trade, the X-O Armor Hunters Prelude, and the X-O Armor Hunters tie-in trades. That is an excellent set of books there. The Bloodshot tie-in you can take or leave (I'd take it), as are the Unity issues (I'd leave them), and you can pass completely on the Harbinger issues.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most beautiful collection of a crossover that I have come across in a while. Just a marvelous book to hold in your hands. And the story is pretty badass as well. Valiant has been hitting it out of the park in terms of creating a realistic universe where extraordinary people suddenly appear in the modern world. Check their stuff out.

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What a wild ride! This hefty graphic novel is totally action-packed and unrelenting in excitement. Characterization is present for almost each protagonists and villains as well. Valiant Entertainment is changing the comic book publishing race by offering it's readers great stories told with mesmerizing arts. An outstanding comic event for the year 2014!"

[Culgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Espectacular historia repleta de acción, si te ha picado el gusanillo del universo Valiant ha de ser una de tus primeras lecturas si o si, porque no decepciona en absoluto.

-Lo Mejor: El ritmo trepidante, el trasfondo que se les da a los cazadores de armaduras.
-Lo Peor: La batalla final me queda un poco corta y apresurada, eche de menos unas cuantas páginas mas.

[Thomas Maluck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another notch in Valiant's "read their crossover events in order for the full effect" belt.

[Meghan Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dialogue is so stilted.