X-O Manowar was the first series to explode onto the comic market from Valiant Comic’s “Summer of Valiant” relaunch. Since #1’s release in May, it has gone back to print FOUR times. The fourth printing edition is an awesome wrap-around sketch cover by Arturo Lozzi. This just goes to show that not only is Valiant on fire, but so is X-O Manowar. X-O #4 continues the streak of awesome looking comics with loads of action and suspense.
Having read the original X-O Manowar series from the 90’s, the story isn’t too far off the mark this time around. The only difference is that the point at which we found ourselves in X-O #3 was the point we found ourselves in the first few pages of X-O #1’s first series. The story, although may have the same outline, is much more specific and purposeful. Robert Venditti knows how to write the Sci-Fi action that this series deserves. He has also taken Aric, the main character, and from being a simple-minded, arrogant Visigoth warrior to being a fearless leader with just as much brains as brawn.
The first three issues of X-O Manowar were very action oriented. All being said, the events that take place between #1 and #3 don’t cover a lot of ground. What it does do is sets us up for a great story after bombarding us with explosions and sword fights. And finally, at issue #4 we find the story starting to show just how deep it runs. After Aric’s escape from an alien race’s, referred to as the Vine, prison ship he is hurdled toward earth where he promptly crashes in the middle of the coliseum in modern day Rome. The government catches wind very quickly and sends in the big guns, but is anything earth’s military has any match for the Manowar armor?
Needless to say word travels fast about this mysterious man in armor, who, up until now, has been looking to rescue his wife from the Romans. And that’s where the plot really starts the thicken. If you’ve read the old X-O series, none of this really comes as a surprise, unfortunately. But fortunately, for return readers and new readers alike, Venditti has taken the old premise and shook it up dramatically. This series is a force to be reckoned with, both in the script and in the artwork.
Cary Nord, pencil magic maker of X-O Manowar, does a really good job. The artwork is nice to look at, not too much detail and not too much blank space. Every panel is used efficiently, and the layout of the panels works really well on the eyes. There were a few panels that take place in the sky, that I felt were a little incomplete. I know I’m supposed to use my imagination when reading comics, but it just seems to me there should have been a panel involving an action. The colors by Moose Baumann, along with his name, are bright and unique. As always, faces are extremely important in comics, and here I didn’t get a sense of confusion about who someone was. The art isn’t the best I’ve read, but it does fit the story very well, and that’s really all that matters.
All in all, X-O Manowar #4 is just another epic addition to an already juggernaut of a series. If you’re not reading it already, what are you waiting for? The fourth printing of #1 came out this week, too. Get to your local comic shop, grab this series, not only because it keeps selling out, but because you are really missing out!
Art: 8/10
Script: 9/10
Parental concern: Moderate. Violence.
