X-O Manowar #4
“Then and Now”
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Cary Nord
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano
Colourist: Moose Bauman
Later today X-O Manowar #4 will be hitting the shelves of all good comic book stores and readers will get a chance to pick up where the action packed last issue left us hanging. Last week we got a chance to preview the first four pages.
Aric Dacia has arrived on Earth, sixteen centuries after he left. The Vine are repairing the damage to their ship and a new story element is introduced.
This story was a very exciting and crazy issue, when Aric arrives on Earth he is greeted by an armed response by the Italian authorities and the air force and we get to see a lot more of what the Manowar suite can actually do. Some amazing art work is provided by Cary Nord and she illustrated some remarkable flying and action sequences, I really enjoyed Aric going head-to-head with a fighter jet as he expressed his desire the find the Roman Empire and his wife. There wasn’t much chance to for character development due to the sheer amount going on in this issue but that didn’t take anything away from the overall story.
We also get see more of the Vine (the alien race who captured Aric) and more specifically Admiral Xylem, Commander Trill, and the temple priest who are shown repairing their ship whilst discussing the Manowar suit and its importance to their race. Later in this issue we are presented with a mystery in New York which has really intrigued me and shows a link to bigger picture. I won’t ruin it for you if you intend on picking this up and believe me you should.
Valiant have shown they are a comic book company full of great characters, amazing stories and beautiful artwork since their relaunch in May and their flagship title; every issue has been consistently unbeatable.
Mark Brassington 