In the first two volumes , Navis went from a savage to an undercover agent in the Armada service. Despite the lack of experience and being the only representative of her species, the Earthling turned out to be deadly effective and appreciated by everyone (coughing, Mary Sue, coughing). In her adventures, the protagonist slowly discovered that Armada was far from a utopia. Corruption is rampant everywhere, and many space races are at the bottom of the social ladder. However, this is not the only profession. The main character managed to achieve her goal and find other homo sapiens. These originally appeared as perpetually partying hippies, but all it took was the appearance of strangers to unleash their bloodlust. This was not what Navis expected from her meeting with her fellows.
No changes in Armada
The third volume supposedly promises an intriguing change in dynamics, but this is just an appearance. Well, Navis insubordination reaches such a cosmic level that it leads to a catastrophe. And I understand that the main character rebelling against the existing order on paper sounds good, but her actions are simply stupid. It would seem that causing the death of many bystanders is something for which the protagonist should be imprisoned forever, and yet the only punishment she suffers is withdrawal of the license and prohibition of work. However, this kind of ostracism almost immediately ends, because Navis is hired by a shady lawyer, thanks to which she can continue to crash into ships and planets and show off recklessness. It is a pity that screenwriter Jean-David Morvan did not decide to leave Navis at the bottom for longer.
Cosmic orientalism
What I like about this series is that each single album has its own closed history and specific atmosphere. In this way, each story is significantly different from the rest. And so in the third volume there is a mission to infiltrate an evil gang, return to the home planet Navis (which has been transformed from the jungle into a barren desert) and a visit to an island where you can only tell the truth. And these stories read well, although Navis forgiving the destruction of the entire planet’s ecosystem looks rather strange.
I just don’t understand why a scriptwriter so badly needs to lean on our reality when he could delve into pure fantasy. I am drinking here for the third album Niezała Death with a pseudo Japanese planet that smells of cheap orientalism. Overall, Armada fares better when it’s just an entertaining comic book. I appreciate that the creators sometimes want to bring up a bit heavier topics, but they tend to be rough here.
technical review
Graphically , Armada looks nice. The illustrator Philippe Buchet uses quite detailed lines and does not spare on colors. If someone likes cosmic worlds, where races are countless (see Star Wars ), then he will be in seventh heaven here, because new aliens are pouring out from almost every side. Similarly, there are a lot of space armor, ships and robots.
MacArmada
I realize that when I complain about Armada , I am in the minority – just look at the popularity top again. And although this comic book disgusts me in many places, I will probably reach for the next volume of Armada . Because it’s such a fast food comic that comes in fast and tastes pretty good even. You just can’t think about its details too much.
