I think I missed a review for Unity, but that’s okay we’re in “Armor Hunters” territory now! I was curious to see how this series would handle the event since it’s tied-in, but it’s not requiring you to have read Armor Hunters proper. That is to say that this issue of Unity recaps basically all of the events of Armor Hunters #1 and even expands on them. The story structure for this issue wasn’t the best. The opening page is more confusing than anything. I understood that it’s picking up with the last thing seen in Armor Hunters, but then when the story goes back to it from another perspective it confuses the timeline. Based on the events of AH we saw the Hunters destroy the suits in Russia and then destroy Mexico City, but here it makes it seem like the two events happen at the same time rather than one after the other. That could just be how time is perceived in comics, but then you have to keep that in mind that readers are going to perceive it that way and your story will look out of order.
Unity apparently needs to be a four member group at all times which is cool because that means they always need to replace the missing fourth member. This time around it’s Bloodshot! I actually really liked this. Kindt’s take on the character was somewhere between Batman and the Punisher. I’m not kidding that’s the best way to describe him in this issue and it’s very enjoyable.
The flip side of course pairs Ninjak and Gilad who have become the odd couple of the book. Ninjak is a right bastard and I love to hate him. He never, never, fucking listens to Gilad and it’s so annoying, but it’s one of the things that makes his character great. Also Kindt gives him some killer one-liners so it’s hard to really hate him. “We’re going to need a bigger team” put a ridiculously big grin on my face.
The story is similar to Armor Hunters which is okay. I enjoy reading crossovers that really cover the entire timeline, though I would advise that it’s handled tighter in the future to avoid confusion. There’s still a different story being told here which makes it worth the purchase, but it’s a tie-in book. It reminded me a lot of when Marvel and DC did good tie-in books, ones that didn’t require you to read the event to actually get the full understanding and that’s what Kindt has managed to do here as he shows the audience that Armor Hunters affects everything.
For the art I only had two problems and one is minor; Livewire’s shirt looks like a cheap sweater rather than the bad-ass suit she’s had previously. She looked like the odd man out and Bloodshot could have used a shirt, but I’m not counting that as one. The other one was the details on Gilad’s face. It’s something that’s plagued this series from the beginning regardless of the artist. No one wants to draw this dude’s face and when they do there’s too much focus on the scars. In his introduction in Archer & Armstrong he looked like a young dude with a cool functional leather suit. Now he looks like an old man and is constantly rocking a hoodie. He’s another I can’t take seriously because of his design in this series. Other than that it’s a great looking issue.
I know a lot of people wonder why Armor Hunters and Unity exist at the same time, but they’re covering different aspects of the universe. AH is the traditional big event book delivering intense scenes and universe changing situations, while Unity is the personal touches that strengthens those changes and will continue to build the unity (pun not intended but appreciated) of the Valiant Universe. Don’t write this series off, it’s still a dynamite aspect of the Valiant Universe.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Matt Kindt Artist: Stephen Segovia Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/18/14 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital