A comic book I constantly kept hearing about was X-O Manowar. All my friends kept going on and on about how awesome it was, that it was fantastic and interesting sci-fi/superhero comic and so on and so on. So I decided to pick up the first trade which has the first 4 issues, and I was blown away. Mostly because I usually hate superhero comics in space, unless its a comic book about a sc-fi series along the lines of Star Wars or Mass Effect, a sci-fi comic almost always brings me to the brink of failing into a coma from sheer boredom, not the case with X-O Manowar.
A comic book I constantly kept hearing about was X-O Manowar. All my friends kept going on and on about how awesome it was that it was fantastic and interesting sci-fi/superhero comic and so on and so on. So I decided to pick up the first trade which has the first 4 issues, and I was blown away. Mostly because I usually hate superhero comics in space, unless it’s a comic book about a sc-fi series along the lines of Star Wars or Mass Effect, a sci-fi comic almost always brings me to the brink of failing into a coma from sheer boredom, not the case with X-O Manowar.
Our story begins in the year 407 A.D. where the Roman Empire wages a fierce and bloody war against the Visigoths in an attempt to wipe them out once and for all. Our hero, the young Aric of Dacia, attempts to lead his retreating people into victory during the latest skirmish with the Romans, but his Visigoth army is out numbered and ill equipped to deal with such a force and they are quickly overwhelmed. During the battle, Roman forces attacked the Visigoth camp and kidnapped Arics wife and mother. That same night he leads a small group of soldiers in an attempt to find them but encounter an alien ship and several alien soldiers who take them captive.
Aric spends many years a prisoner aboard the alien vessel but is able to convince the other human prisoners into starting a rebellion and escaping the ship. The escape goes about as well as you might think, and Aric ends up wielding the sacred X-O Manowar armor. A powerful weapon with many different abilities that is worshiped by many of the aliens who are known as the Vine. Aric manages to use the suit to escape back to Earth but discovers that the Vine have kept him a captive for over 16 centuries, the enemy he’s swore to destroy is gone and his beloved wife he swore to save perished a long time ago.
The writer knew how to get my attention right off the back by starting the story in ancient times. I’m a big history nut and seeing people battle using swords, bows, arrows and all that good stuff in a gargantuan beautifully drawn battle immediately got me hooked and I couldn’t stop reading it until I was done.
He also managed to find a real story purpose for the aliens to even be on Earth. They make periodical trips to our planet, they abduct our children and replace them with their own (mixed with our own DNA to make them look like us) and basically leave sleepers agents on the planet. It also follows what a lot of people think about aliens in that they also abduct people and use them as slaves on their ships.
Probably the best part for me was how the Vine reacts to Aric getting command of the armor. See, the armor has existed for over a millennia and the Vine have tried to use the very best of the best their species can offer in order to use the suit. However the suit only allows the one who is worthy to use it. This has resulted in thousands of dead Vine, and Aric, a mere human manages to get control over it.
The final issue is where it really gets good as we see the Vine already splitting into two groups. One who will follow Aric as they see him and his control over the suit sacred, and the other group that sees him as a grave threat that must be eliminated. I honestly can’t wait to see how that’s going to play out in following issues as it’s a really interesting place to take what could have been another generic evil alien species.
The art is absolutely fantastic, the first few pages depicting the battle between the Romans and Visigoths is absolutely spectacular and it felt like I was watching one of those historical epic type films you don’t get anymore. The Vine look appropriately creepy and menacing, yet they still show plenty of emotion in their facial expressions, especially the eyes which is kinda hard considering they look like bugs.
If there’s one flaw I had with this is Aric. He’s that young, brash warrior from the good old days who likes to solve everything with the sharp end of a sword or later on, with a laser blast to the face. He’s by no means a bad character and the way this ends leaves plenty of room for him to develop. But as of right now, he’s kinda generic, but I already ordered a copy of the second trade so Ill see if that changes.
Two more minor gripes I had were the abilities of the armor and how the aliens kept him alive for 16 centuries. The armor, as of right now, can shoot lasers, missiles, heal injuries and even grow back lost limbs; fly and can take a whole crap load of hits without any damage. With a suit that powerful, it makes me a bit concerned as to how you can make a genuine threat to the protagonist, especially since he ends up on Earth at the end.
But again it just might be me not giving the writer enough credit; he’s already hooked me on a superhero, sci-fi book so I guess I should have more faith in him at this point. Besides this I really don’t have much to say about this comic, its fun, interesting, the action is dynamic and exhilarating and the art is absolutely spectacular.
It brought me back to the good old days when comic books were still well written but didn’t try to change the whole industry; they were just a whole lot of fun but were also intelligently written and captivating. And that’s pretty much what X-O Manowar is and sometimes that’s enough.
FINAL VERDICT: A-
Loading ...