It’s Alphan Armorclads vs. the Legionnaires’ guerrilla tactics with the Ironclads caught in the crossfire in Armorclads #5! With the Citadel under assault from all sides, it’s going to take more than luck to rescue Peris and escape in one piece. With the Legionnaires unveiling their secret weapon, will the Citadel fall before the Ironclads can fight their way out?

The last two issues of Armorclads have effectively just been a rather large combat scene with giant mechs battling it out with humans and monsters; writers JJ O’Connor and Brian Buccalleto are more than capable of pulling something like this off, and do so while leaving enough threads hanging for the second arc/series that will inevitably be hitting in the future.

The plot in the comic is pretty simple, with the Iron Clads aiming to rescue Peris from the director amidst the chaos, which does end up with one of the more eyebrow raising moments in the series as Peris seems to have developed some form of Stockholm Syndrome with the director – though this is largely based around the ancient mech that they had discovered might work for the captured youth (at this point the mech has basically become another Chekov’s gun situation). This marks one of the downsides of the series as the dialogue around the exchange seems a little hokey compared to what we’ve seen in the series already, but ultimately it’s not enough to really break your immersion in the story.

I’m going to repeat what I said last issue, about the artwork, because it’s still just as relevant given the setting hasn’t shifted locations at all; “The artwork, once again, is wonderfully suited to what you’re seeing on the page. Gone are the lush vistas and vibrant colours, however, replaced with a harsh rock and urban landscape bathed in greys and browns, lit primarily by explosions and missile blasts. The comic’s artistic team, penciller Manuel Garcia, inker Raul Fernandez, colourist Rex Lokus, and letterer Dave Sharpe, deliver yet another visual experience that grabs you by the collar and shakes your tired self for attention. There are a lot of names credited to this book, and each one of them deserves praise.”

Armorclads #5 isn’t the conclusion I had hoped for, given the number of threads left dangling, but it’s still going to be a satisfying enough ending to the first trade; here’s hoping the next part won’t take too long to turn up.

Writers: JJ O’Connor and Brian Buccellato
Penciller: Manuel Garcia Inker: Raul Fernandez Colourist Rex Lokus Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Story: 7.8 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

The only thing standing between the Ironclads and rescuing their kidnapped friend, Peris, is the Citadel, the most heavily-fortified location on Xeru, the army of Armorclads guarding it, and the battle raging between the Citadel’s forces and an army of Legionnaires. Is this the end of the line, or have they come too far to turn back now? Find out in Armorclads #4!

Writers JJ O’Connor and Brian Buccalleto know how to write a good battle, and because that’s essentially what this entire comic comprises of (or at least 90% of it), you’re in for a treat. There’s no real world building in this issue, not a huge amount of characterization, but there is a lot of destruction. It’s just the kind of book that you should be looking for when you don’t want to think a whole lot – of course the reason you don’t need to think too much is because O’Connor and Buccalleto have spent the previous issues building to what we’re seeing here, which means Armorclads #4 is the payoff we’ve been waiting for since the first issue hinted that mechs will battle mechs. Being the penultimate issue means there’s no need to force loose ends to wrap up, and instead we can just enjoy the chaos and explosions as the young group of Ironclads try to rescue their kidnapped friend.

The artwork, once again, is wonderfully suited to what you’re seeing on the page. Gone are the lush vistas and vibrant colours, however, replaced with a harsh rock and urban landscape bathed in greys and browns, lit primarily by explosions and missile blasts. The comic’s artistic team, penciller Manuel Garcia, inker Raul Fernandez, colourist Rex Lokus, and letterer Dave Sharpe, deliver yet another visual experience that grabs you by the collar and shakes your tired self for attention. There are a lot of names credited to this book, and each one of them deserves praise.

Armorclads #4 begins to bring the story to its conclusion, but after this issue all I can say is I want more. More mech battles, more details on the world’s history that we’ve only begun to scratch into, and more of the spunky Ironclads who are too stubborn to know when they’re outclassed. Thankfully there’s another issue next month.

Writers: JJ O’Connor and Brian Buccellato
Penciller: Manuel Garcia Inker: Raul Fernandez Colourist Rex Lokus Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Story: 8.2 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW