Archer & Armstrong Commentary #10

Yesterday's release of Archer & Armstrong #10 kicked off the biggest, most divergent since the beginning of the run. While the first two arcs both dealt dark forces trying to reassemble the Boon--an ancient device of inestimable power, kept in pieces by Armstrong and his brother the Eternal Warrior--here we pick up with Archer and Armstrong on a quest for truth, while their enemies hope to replace the Boon with a new artifact--one that they're searching for at Area 51 when our heroes show up, looking for answers. Also, there's a dinosaur. Series writer Fred Van Lente joined ComicBook.com to discuss the issue and the series. Remember that this is a spoiler-filled conversation. If you haven't read the book yet, why not go buy it, come back, and read along with us? ComicBook.com: Were you intentionally juxtaposing the pregnancy belly with Armstrong carrying Archer around in a Baby Bjorn--or was that a happy accident?

Fred Van Lente: Happy accident. ComicBook.com: With Greg Pak taking on Eternal Warrior, will we continue to see him in Archer & Armstrong once his title launches or will you give him a little breathing room? Van Lente: I wouldn't rule it out but I don't want to step on Greg's toes. ComicBook.com: Something tells me that you could tell a pretty decent story with Pak--maybe a crossover down the line? Van Lente: We just had a five issue arc featuring Gilad so, no, I don't think we'll need to do that for a while. ComicBook.com: Is Project Rising Spirit kind of the S.H.I.E.L.D./A.R.G.U.S. of the Valiant universe? something that touches all the characters, whether it's a key plot point or not? Van Lente: Not necessarily. PRS has direct links to both Bloodshot and Archer, and they're one of the main players in Harbinger Wars ... well I guess that's half the line right there. It's easy to have a universe-spanning element when you only have five or six titles.

ComicBook.com: This is an awful lot of security to put her through without ever really checking on her pregnancy. Are these people just not used to working with women? Van Lente: Presumably the fake belly is lead-lined. How deeper are they supposed to check? Trans-vaginal probe? This is Area 51 not Virginia, man. ComicBook.com: Gilad seems pretty savvy, allt hings considered--did you have a kind of loose idea of what he'd been doing all the time he was estranged from Aram when he was introduced? (Note I'm not asking whether Pak will stick with that or not, just how much thought you gave it.) Van Lente: Not really. I kept being told Gilad was "the greatest military strategist in the Valiant Universe" so it stood to reason he'd have heard about PRS. ComicBook.com: Obviously you're dealing with some pretty well-worn territory in dealing with Area 51. Do you have any particular favorite stories revolving around the site? Van Lente: I read a really just amazing non-fiction book about the site that informed a lot of General Redacted's backstory and our layout of it in general that I'd recommend anyone. No aliens or that BS, just the straight history: I had no idea the U2 spy planes and the stealth helicopters used in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound were developed there. ComicBook.com: Just wondering: Is "Doctor Emmerich" an inside joke? Van Lente: Now that would be a happy coincidence if it wasn't! ComicBook.com: Are we meant to read the Archers as being genuine astral projections, or something in Mary-Maria's mind, or "other"? Van Lente: All of the above, I'd think.