The Delinquents #1 Review: It Just Works

Valiant comics seems to be on a role nowadays with making comics where two of their franchises team. It’s come to a point where it looks like the only type of comic they’re interested in. The latest one, ‘The Delinquents,” pairs “Archer and Armstrong” with “Quantum and Woody.”

For some strange reason this pairing actually works.

Many years ago Armstrong was given half a treasure map by one of his dying hobo friends. Through the years the other half of the map has been sold and handed down by many people. Today Quantum and Woody have been hired to find the map and Armstrong has been told that the other half has been found. Now it’s a race for who can find the other half first.

One of the biggest problems with both series is that they rely too heavily on comedy and plot takes a back seat. It took both series to come together in order for James Asmus and Fred Van Lente to discover plot. It’s sort of like Sir. Terry Pratchett when he said it took him until book three or four of his “Discworld” series to discover plot ,where the first ones were satire and nothing else.

The treasure hunting plot may not be original, but here’s a story that has some well written dialogue and well developed story. This is one of the rare times where you actually care for characters that are nothing more than walking punch lines This seems like it could have many interesting encounters in future issues.

The major problem with this comic is the art by Kano. It is not on par with the high quality art we normally see in Valiant’s comics. This does not mean it’s bad. It does have some skill and nice designs, but the quality is not there.

“The Delinquents #1” is a step in the right direction for both franchises. It is well written, has an actual string plot and the writers actually give the characters some depth. The art may not be up to fans’ standards but this series should end up one of Valiant’s strongest series.