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Unity
Unity, Vol. 1: Matar a un Rey
Han creado un ejército. A Toyo Harada, el hombre más peligroso del mundo, lo domina el miedo, algo que nunca creyó que fuera posible. A medio mundo de distancia ha surgido un nuevo poder que amenaza con acabar con la civilización moderna, así que para prevenir el inminente cataclismo, Harada va a fundar el grupo más implacable que el mundo jamás haya conocido: UNITY. Su misión: derrotar a la amenaza responsable de la destrucción del MI-6, de la aniquilación de un mundo alienígena y de la invasión de Europa del Este… Deben derrocar al rey guerrero que porta el arma más poderosa del universo… ¡Deben matar a X-O Manowar! Este tomo recopila los números 1 al 4 de UNITY.
112 pages, Paperback
Published October 5, 2015
134 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
August 1, 2019
This story rocked my socks off, as the kids these days say. <--Trust me. I'm hip with the teen lingo.
Ninjak is still my favorite, but Livewire stood out as a character I can't wait to read more about!
Oh, and not surprisingly, Eternal Warrior was my least favorite Unity teammate. I'm still just finding him to be a blah sort of guy. I know, I know...I should read some of the earlier stuff with him in it, but I haven't been able to find any of those runs at my library yet.
Ok, so the gist is that Aric (X-O Manowar) found the descendants of his Visigoth people on the Vine planet, rescued them, put them on a spaceship, brought them back to Earth, then plopped down in the middle of Romania (I think) and declared it to be their home.
Of course, all the countries are freaking the fuck out & THERMONUCLEAR WAR is on the way. <--enter Matthew Broderick to save the day!
Alright, no. But that would have been cool.
So, what really happens is that Tony Harda decides to save the world from Aric and brings in these guys to kick the shit out of him. And it works! Sort of.
Lots of fun!
Definitely recommended for fans of this universe.
Ninjak is still my favorite, but Livewire stood out as a character I can't wait to read more about!
Oh, and not surprisingly, Eternal Warrior was my least favorite Unity teammate. I'm still just finding him to be a blah sort of guy. I know, I know...I should read some of the earlier stuff with him in it, but I haven't been able to find any of those runs at my library yet.
Ok, so the gist is that Aric (X-O Manowar) found the descendants of his Visigoth people on the Vine planet, rescued them, put them on a spaceship, brought them back to Earth, then plopped down in the middle of Romania (I think) and declared it to be their home.
Of course, all the countries are freaking the fuck out & THERMONUCLEAR WAR is on the way. <--enter Matthew Broderick to save the day!
Alright, no. But that would have been cool.
So, what really happens is that Tony Harda decides to save the world from Aric and brings in these guys to kick the shit out of him. And it works! Sort of.
Lots of fun!
Definitely recommended for fans of this universe.
July 6, 2022
A very cool team adventure.
DC and Marvel may have the $$$ and the history of superhero teams like Justice League, The Avengers and The X-Men, but Valiant has again provided a very good source of indie competition.
I was just talking to Joey in my favorite comic shop, Murfreesboro’s Grand Adventures, and we both dig Valiant’s WAY cool universe and world building.
Matt Kindt and a team of talented illustrators have described a Valiant world where Aric the Visigoth from Dacia has decided that a few hundred years are not enough to dilute his claim to the land that is now Romania and besides that, he’s X-O Manowar so waddaya gonna do about it?
Toya Harada, Valiant’s answer to Lex Luthor and Max Eisenhardt, creates a team of superheroes to DO SOMETHING and what comes next is a no holds barred, cage match of AWESOMENESS.
Good fun, good writing, and great action.
DC and Marvel may have the $$$ and the history of superhero teams like Justice League, The Avengers and The X-Men, but Valiant has again provided a very good source of indie competition.
I was just talking to Joey in my favorite comic shop, Murfreesboro’s Grand Adventures, and we both dig Valiant’s WAY cool universe and world building.
Matt Kindt and a team of talented illustrators have described a Valiant world where Aric the Visigoth from Dacia has decided that a few hundred years are not enough to dilute his claim to the land that is now Romania and besides that, he’s X-O Manowar so waddaya gonna do about it?
Toya Harada, Valiant’s answer to Lex Luthor and Max Eisenhardt, creates a team of superheroes to DO SOMETHING and what comes next is a no holds barred, cage match of AWESOMENESS.
Good fun, good writing, and great action.
November 3, 2018
So I heard that this is a great book for Valiant fans and it’s written by one of my favorite authors. I finally tried it and am glad I did!
What’s it about?
Toyo Harada sets up a team of superheroes to attack X-O Manowar. That is really all I can say without spoilers (hell, that might even be a tad spoilery).
Pros:
The story is pretty interesting. If you’re into superhero stories it will probably be interesting to you, if not then you won’t enjoy this very much, it doesn’t really have much more to the storyline than superhero adventure but hey, I think superheroes are fun so I found the story of their adventure to be interesting.
The artwork is fantastic. I know I’ve said it so many times but Valiant doesn’t settle for sloppy artwork, the art in every Valiant comic I’ve read is amazing!
The characters are very cool. Toyo is interesting, I can’t say much about him without spoiling the book. Ninjak is pretty bad-ass, he’s not as quippy as usual in this book but still pretty awesome. Eternal Warrior seems pretty cool. Livewire is pretty awesome in this volume. I’ve seen her in other books before but she wasn’t that interesting, sort of generic. In this volume we learn more about her and she takes a good portion of the spotlight so now I find the character more interesting. X-O Manowar is also pretty cool.
There’s a lot of great superhero action throughout. This whole book is very intense. As someone who tends to like the darker side of comics a bit more I was pleased by the surprising amount of superhero related gore (not for kids or people who mind bloody comics).
This book is much more suspenseful than I would expect from a little book about a team of superheroes. There were a few predictable moments but some moments that really surprised me.
The end includes a little preview for volume 2 which is cool.
Why not 5 stars?
This book can be confusing at times. I mostly understood it and one of the things that confused me in the beginning of the book was cleared up by the end of it. Still, there’s still some stuff that’s confusing and/or doesn’t make much sense.
Overall:
This book is very good. I was not quite expecting it to be this great because before reading I was a fan of only one of these characters (Ninjak) but as usual, Kindt knows how to give us an interesting and exciting Valiant story so I’m very pleased with this one.
If you’re a fan of Valiant or even just a fan of superheroes looking to try something new this is a pretty good pick.
I’d recommend it.
4/5
What’s it about?
Toyo Harada sets up a team of superheroes to attack X-O Manowar. That is really all I can say without spoilers (hell, that might even be a tad spoilery).
Pros:
The story is pretty interesting. If you’re into superhero stories it will probably be interesting to you, if not then you won’t enjoy this very much, it doesn’t really have much more to the storyline than superhero adventure but hey, I think superheroes are fun so I found the story of their adventure to be interesting.
The artwork is fantastic. I know I’ve said it so many times but Valiant doesn’t settle for sloppy artwork, the art in every Valiant comic I’ve read is amazing!
The characters are very cool. Toyo is interesting, I can’t say much about him without spoiling the book. Ninjak is pretty bad-ass, he’s not as quippy as usual in this book but still pretty awesome. Eternal Warrior seems pretty cool. Livewire is pretty awesome in this volume. I’ve seen her in other books before but she wasn’t that interesting, sort of generic. In this volume we learn more about her and she takes a good portion of the spotlight so now I find the character more interesting. X-O Manowar is also pretty cool.
There’s a lot of great superhero action throughout. This whole book is very intense. As someone who tends to like the darker side of comics a bit more I was pleased by the surprising amount of superhero related gore (not for kids or people who mind bloody comics).
This book is much more suspenseful than I would expect from a little book about a team of superheroes. There were a few predictable moments but some moments that really surprised me.
The end includes a little preview for volume 2 which is cool.
Why not 5 stars?
This book can be confusing at times. I mostly understood it and one of the things that confused me in the beginning of the book was cleared up by the end of it. Still, there’s still some stuff that’s confusing and/or doesn’t make much sense.
Overall:
This book is very good. I was not quite expecting it to be this great because before reading I was a fan of only one of these characters (Ninjak) but as usual, Kindt knows how to give us an interesting and exciting Valiant story so I’m very pleased with this one.
If you’re a fan of Valiant or even just a fan of superheroes looking to try something new this is a pretty good pick.
I’d recommend it.
4/5
January 16, 2014
This is how you write a superteam, even if it takes on X-O Manowar, the linchpin character of the Valiant Universe, it wins and even takes his armor away.
For almost two issues, Liverwire was the most powerful being on earth, having claimed the X-O Manowar armor and her own psiot powers of teletechnopathy. Even though she surrenders the armor here, her linkage with the alien armor unlocked the full potential of her powers; so much so that she realized that she made a mistake handing the armor to Harada. It's what she and her team needs to correct in the next issue.
Merged review:
This being a monthly crossover book, the reader wouldn't expect any status shaking event, especially if it affects the main titles of the characters. That is however what the reader knows Marvel or DC does with their books. This is the Valiant Universe and they do things differently here.
Everything that happens here matters. If ever, the events here only cemented Harada's status as a world class villain. It gave Livewire a power boost that could be enough to tip the balance in case the world has to face the threat of Harada head on. It cemented the new lineup of Unity, with X-O Manowar replacing Harada. Unity has become Valiant's Avengers and the way the reader sees it, there are going to be a lot of potential epic storylines down the road.
Merged review:
The only Valiant book I follow from the publisher's recent resurrection is Archer and Armstrong but the promise that this is a good entry point for new reader into the Valiant Universe was too good pass up.
The first issue as an excellent entry point delivered as promise. I don't have to read the other books that lead to this new series; a useful infographic guide was provided as an informative recap page.
What is not to love about this book? It is a team of Valiant' heavy hitter against its most powerful character. The arrival of Aric the Visigoth and his superpowered X-O Manowar armor fulfills the threat his presnece brings. He invades Romania, which was formerly Dacia, the Visigoth homeland and the world reacts. This prompts the military intervention of Russia and the specter of a nuclear conflicts stirs Toyo Harada to form a strike team to bring the fight to the armored barbarian.
This book has promise and I eagerly await the second as Aric easily dispatched Harada's first reaction team without breaking a sweat.
Merged review:
Just when you thought that this new superteam of disparate egos were beaten, it changes gears and brings the fight to X-O Manowar. This books is fulfilling the promise it had in the first issue. With the world's most powerful psiot Toyo Harada in the field with the Eternal Warrior and Harada's rebel protege, it's Valiant's big guns against its biggest gun.
I didn't see that ending and it looked like the tide has turned or is it?
For almost two issues, Liverwire was the most powerful being on earth, having claimed the X-O Manowar armor and her own psiot powers of teletechnopathy. Even though she surrenders the armor here, her linkage with the alien armor unlocked the full potential of her powers; so much so that she realized that she made a mistake handing the armor to Harada. It's what she and her team needs to correct in the next issue.
Merged review:
This being a monthly crossover book, the reader wouldn't expect any status shaking event, especially if it affects the main titles of the characters. That is however what the reader knows Marvel or DC does with their books. This is the Valiant Universe and they do things differently here.
Everything that happens here matters. If ever, the events here only cemented Harada's status as a world class villain. It gave Livewire a power boost that could be enough to tip the balance in case the world has to face the threat of Harada head on. It cemented the new lineup of Unity, with X-O Manowar replacing Harada. Unity has become Valiant's Avengers and the way the reader sees it, there are going to be a lot of potential epic storylines down the road.
Merged review:
The only Valiant book I follow from the publisher's recent resurrection is Archer and Armstrong but the promise that this is a good entry point for new reader into the Valiant Universe was too good pass up.
The first issue as an excellent entry point delivered as promise. I don't have to read the other books that lead to this new series; a useful infographic guide was provided as an informative recap page.
What is not to love about this book? It is a team of Valiant' heavy hitter against its most powerful character. The arrival of Aric the Visigoth and his superpowered X-O Manowar armor fulfills the threat his presnece brings. He invades Romania, which was formerly Dacia, the Visigoth homeland and the world reacts. This prompts the military intervention of Russia and the specter of a nuclear conflicts stirs Toyo Harada to form a strike team to bring the fight to the armored barbarian.
This book has promise and I eagerly await the second as Aric easily dispatched Harada's first reaction team without breaking a sweat.
Merged review:
Just when you thought that this new superteam of disparate egos were beaten, it changes gears and brings the fight to X-O Manowar. This books is fulfilling the promise it had in the first issue. With the world's most powerful psiot Toyo Harada in the field with the Eternal Warrior and Harada's rebel protege, it's Valiant's big guns against its biggest gun.
I didn't see that ending and it looked like the tide has turned or is it?
May 15, 2022
This is the first comic I've read in over 20 years, so I was excited to see what this was all about, and I wasn't disappointed with what I found.
This was so much fun with non-stop action, great characters and an exciting story line. It had me hooked from the moment I read the first line.
Will definitely be reading more of this!
This was so much fun with non-stop action, great characters and an exciting story line. It had me hooked from the moment I read the first line.
Will definitely be reading more of this!
March 2, 2014
Aric has annexed part of Romania for his people and called it New Dacia. With the Vine spaceship he and his Visigoth brethren arrived in and Aric’s Manowar armour, the governments of the world are worried this is the precursor to an alien invasion. As the Russian army approaches, Toyo Harada - the world’s most powerful psiot and head of the Harbinger Foundation - assembles a team of heroes to defeat Aric once and for all: Gilad Anni-Padda the Eternal Warrior, Amanda McKee aka Livewire, and Ninjak. This is the Valiant Universe’s Event series, Unity!
Unlike the bigger superhero comics publishers Marvel and DC, Valiant’s big superhero event story is actually quite readable - that might be because they have a far more limited cast of characters than either of the Big 2 whose Events inevitably become oversaturated with superhero action. But Unity’s still got plenty of epic action scenes.
Harada sends a team of HARD Corps-esque soldiers to go up against Aric, there’s shenanigans in space and then under the sea, lots of superhero fighting among the characters, and a decent twist at the end. It’s suitably big and actiony, but it’s just not that involving for the reader.
Part of the reason why is that I don’t really know who I’m supposed to root for - most of them are heroes/good guys. I get that Aric shouldn’t take land by force, but I don’t really see him as the bad guy - maybe that’s the point, I’m supposed to want Aric to win? He’s just a man trying to do right by his people and is taking back land that was his peoples’ a couple thousand years ago. And, besides, Harada, I don’t get why Eternal Warrior, Livewire, and Ninjak are involved. Ninjak because of money, sure, but the others? I’m not really rooting for them to beat Aric either, plus Harada is just a psycho. The real enemy seemed to be the Russian army who were way too trigger-happy with their nukes - they should’ve all teamed up to take them out!
The dialogue is serviceable but not great - I’ve never been convinced that Matt Kindt’s a brilliant writer. He’s competent and can plot fine, but his writing has never stood out as anything special. If you’re not sure who Livewire is - and, seeing as she’s the only one without her own series, you might not be - Kindt has her tell the reader her powers. In every scene she appears in. Seriously, every time we see Livewire she immediately has to say “If it runs on electricity, I can talk to it, I can hear it, I can control it”. I get it. Stop telling me every single time!
Then there’s the food critic turned war reporter/blogger, Renee Rousseaux, who happens to be in Romania when things kick off. One minute she’s reviewing food, the next she’s the only person in the world reporting on this madness. Really, there are no professional war correspondents reporting on this? It’s got to be some random food blogger who happened to be there? It’s kind of a massive story, you’d think more reporters would be in on it!
Unity Vol 1 isn’t a bad book but it’s not great either. As an Event, it tells a large, sprawling story with some decent set pieces and some good moments but, as none of the main characters do anything besides fight one another and tell the reader their powers/motivations every chance they get, it’s difficult to get swept up in the story or care about any of the cast. It’s a moderately entertaining superhero book that’s at least better than any DC/Marvel Event of the last few years simply by virtue of telling its story straightforwardly and restraining its issue count/tie-ins to a minimum.
Unlike the bigger superhero comics publishers Marvel and DC, Valiant’s big superhero event story is actually quite readable - that might be because they have a far more limited cast of characters than either of the Big 2 whose Events inevitably become oversaturated with superhero action. But Unity’s still got plenty of epic action scenes.
Harada sends a team of HARD Corps-esque soldiers to go up against Aric, there’s shenanigans in space and then under the sea, lots of superhero fighting among the characters, and a decent twist at the end. It’s suitably big and actiony, but it’s just not that involving for the reader.
Part of the reason why is that I don’t really know who I’m supposed to root for - most of them are heroes/good guys. I get that Aric shouldn’t take land by force, but I don’t really see him as the bad guy - maybe that’s the point, I’m supposed to want Aric to win? He’s just a man trying to do right by his people and is taking back land that was his peoples’ a couple thousand years ago. And, besides, Harada, I don’t get why Eternal Warrior, Livewire, and Ninjak are involved. Ninjak because of money, sure, but the others? I’m not really rooting for them to beat Aric either, plus Harada is just a psycho. The real enemy seemed to be the Russian army who were way too trigger-happy with their nukes - they should’ve all teamed up to take them out!
The dialogue is serviceable but not great - I’ve never been convinced that Matt Kindt’s a brilliant writer. He’s competent and can plot fine, but his writing has never stood out as anything special. If you’re not sure who Livewire is - and, seeing as she’s the only one without her own series, you might not be - Kindt has her tell the reader her powers. In every scene she appears in. Seriously, every time we see Livewire she immediately has to say “If it runs on electricity, I can talk to it, I can hear it, I can control it”. I get it. Stop telling me every single time!
Then there’s the food critic turned war reporter/blogger, Renee Rousseaux, who happens to be in Romania when things kick off. One minute she’s reviewing food, the next she’s the only person in the world reporting on this madness. Really, there are no professional war correspondents reporting on this? It’s got to be some random food blogger who happened to be there? It’s kind of a massive story, you’d think more reporters would be in on it!
Unity Vol 1 isn’t a bad book but it’s not great either. As an Event, it tells a large, sprawling story with some decent set pieces and some good moments but, as none of the main characters do anything besides fight one another and tell the reader their powers/motivations every chance they get, it’s difficult to get swept up in the story or care about any of the cast. It’s a moderately entertaining superhero book that’s at least better than any DC/Marvel Event of the last few years simply by virtue of telling its story straightforwardly and restraining its issue count/tie-ins to a minimum.
March 20, 2019
Unity is a odd thing. I feel like it wants to be something like Justice League or Avengers but doesn't really want to follow their footsteps so it tries to have our heroes at each other's throats and the results are...mixed.
So the main character here is XO without a doubt. Aric is the strongest of this group of "heroes" and that's saying something with both Ninjak and Toyo on the team. After Aric single handily disposes of the first Unity team up the newly formed one attacks him. However, with Livewire attacking him internally and everyone else with their weapons/fist, will they be able to stop him?
Good: The art is mostly pretty solid. Some great sweeping shots of action and deaths. I also think the idea of having all these people come together to stop another hero could have been played out but the idea itself worked for most part.
Bad: NO clear direction here. Nobody really sticks as a team after issue 3. Issue 4 feels like a gigantic rush to get rid of a certain member to make room for another. It's pacing goes from extremely slow and wordy to fast paced action without balance. The characters don't all click here.
Overall, it's okay. I can't say I was super impressed with this. I hope volume 2 improves on it. A 2.5 out of 5.
So the main character here is XO without a doubt. Aric is the strongest of this group of "heroes" and that's saying something with both Ninjak and Toyo on the team. After Aric single handily disposes of the first Unity team up the newly formed one attacks him. However, with Livewire attacking him internally and everyone else with their weapons/fist, will they be able to stop him?
Good: The art is mostly pretty solid. Some great sweeping shots of action and deaths. I also think the idea of having all these people come together to stop another hero could have been played out but the idea itself worked for most part.
Bad: NO clear direction here. Nobody really sticks as a team after issue 3. Issue 4 feels like a gigantic rush to get rid of a certain member to make room for another. It's pacing goes from extremely slow and wordy to fast paced action without balance. The characters don't all click here.
Overall, it's okay. I can't say I was super impressed with this. I hope volume 2 improves on it. A 2.5 out of 5.
June 26, 2017
Pretty Cool
I enjoyed it. I think I may want to read more Valiant comics. It's something a little different from the normal Marvel and DC fare. Recommended.
I enjoyed it. I think I may want to read more Valiant comics. It's something a little different from the normal Marvel and DC fare. Recommended.
May 7, 2021
I've not really delved into Valiant comic books, but this wasn't a bad read. It gets you up to speed on the characters and their importance, as a new superteam unite to stop X-O Manowar, an ancient warrior wielding a high-tech suit who came to Earth, intent on reclaiming land for his people. The art is very well realised, and you're made to understand each of the characters, and I was on-board for following them. I like how the story attempts to make us understand each character and their position, so it wasn't a typical "Unite the team to stop the bad guy" tale. My main issue was how the story felt a bit too ordinary, playing it a tad safe, while also skipping over key moments in a rushed manner. It's a shame, but it has my interest to try more Valiant runs.
July 13, 2020
What an event! I love how this infuses the awesome Valiant cast I’ve grown to love with real world geopolitics. The scope is epic, and the showdowns are monumental.
Toyo vs X-O is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. These are juggernauts, and it’s enhanced by some truly unexpected moments from Livewire and The Eternal Warrior.
I liked this even better than Harbinger Wars. If the first two Valiant crossovers are this good, then Armor Hunters is gonna be fucking baller. Can’t wait!!!
Toyo vs X-O is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. These are juggernauts, and it’s enhanced by some truly unexpected moments from Livewire and The Eternal Warrior.
I liked this even better than Harbinger Wars. If the first two Valiant crossovers are this good, then Armor Hunters is gonna be fucking baller. Can’t wait!!!
April 6, 2020
Good, interesting. Dark.
October 9, 2022
Only good because of X-O.
December 3, 2018
It's some difficult to try something like the JLA or The Avengers with an Universe like Valiant's.
But this story is one of the best exercises of an introduction. You don't need to know who are X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Toyo Harada or Livewire. Matt Kindt is gonna tell you who they are, and the story will put you inside this universe with an adventure that is gonna capture you forever.
I warn you: If you read this, be sure you'll be reading a lot of Universe Valiant series.
Here, we find a political conflict related to the visigoth origins of Aric (X-O Manowar). But there'll be more than a superhero action against a new country. Harada has his own agenda, and Unity will be a group absolutely different respect we found in a first moment. And you're gonna love it! Because it will be inevitable.
*************
Es difícil intentar algo como la JLA o Los Vengadores con un universo como el de Valiant.
Pero esta historia es uno de los mejores ejercicios para una presentación. No necesitas comocer quiénes son X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Toyo Harada o Livewire. Matt Kindt te va a explicar quiénes son, y la historia te meteré dentro de este universo con una aventura que te cautivará para siempre.
Os lo advierto, Si leéis esto, os aseguro que leeréis un montón de series del Universo Valiant. Porque será inevitable.
But this story is one of the best exercises of an introduction. You don't need to know who are X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Toyo Harada or Livewire. Matt Kindt is gonna tell you who they are, and the story will put you inside this universe with an adventure that is gonna capture you forever.
I warn you: If you read this, be sure you'll be reading a lot of Universe Valiant series.
Here, we find a political conflict related to the visigoth origins of Aric (X-O Manowar). But there'll be more than a superhero action against a new country. Harada has his own agenda, and Unity will be a group absolutely different respect we found in a first moment. And you're gonna love it! Because it will be inevitable.
*************
Es difícil intentar algo como la JLA o Los Vengadores con un universo como el de Valiant.
Pero esta historia es uno de los mejores ejercicios para una presentación. No necesitas comocer quiénes son X-O Manowar, Eternal Warrior, Ninjak, Toyo Harada o Livewire. Matt Kindt te va a explicar quiénes son, y la historia te meteré dentro de este universo con una aventura que te cautivará para siempre.
Os lo advierto, Si leéis esto, os aseguro que leeréis un montón de series del Universo Valiant. Porque será inevitable.
June 23, 2018
This was great. X-O Manowar has rescued a tribe of Visigoths that were imprisoned by aliens centuries ago. He returns them to Earth and their homeland. The problem being, their homeland is now present day Romania which Aric basically conquers for he and his people. The world isn't standing for it, and the only option available is nuclear, which could render the world a wasteland. So Toyo Harada assembles a team to defeat Aric. The original attack doesn't go well, so we end up with Harada, Ninjak, the Eternal Warrior and Livewire as a team going in to defuse the situation and defeat X-O Manowar. Along the way, they realize Harada is more of an enemy than Aric.
This was just very well done and the art by Doug Braithwaite is probably the best I've ever seen from him. Hopefully the quality of this series is consistent and future volumes are at least near this good. (Shadowman tanked bad near the end of the run, hope that doesn't happen here.)
This was just very well done and the art by Doug Braithwaite is probably the best I've ever seen from him. Hopefully the quality of this series is consistent and future volumes are at least near this good. (Shadowman tanked bad near the end of the run, hope that doesn't happen here.)
June 19, 2017
I will be the first to admit that I honestly never really got into the Valiant comics -- with the exception of "Faith," of course. But I received this book as part of a Comic Bento box quite some time ago, and while going through the Kindle Worlds page, decided it was time to give it a read.
While it isn't one of my top comics, it is an enjoyable one and that's mainly due to Livewire, who doesn't even join the story until the second issue in the trade.
The artwork is top notch and the writing is sharp. I just wish the story were a tad bit stronger. It almost felt as though it wrapped itself up far too quickly. There wasn't enough time for these characters to truly earn their growth at the end.
All in all, a comic worth reading if you have the time.
While it isn't one of my top comics, it is an enjoyable one and that's mainly due to Livewire, who doesn't even join the story until the second issue in the trade.
The artwork is top notch and the writing is sharp. I just wish the story were a tad bit stronger. It almost felt as though it wrapped itself up far too quickly. There wasn't enough time for these characters to truly earn their growth at the end.
All in all, a comic worth reading if you have the time.
April 21, 2017
For an event book, done well.
World: The art is good for a Valiant book, I've grown to expect a certain level of quality and color for their books and this is at the top tier of their stuff. Still lacking in facial expressions and detail but it's still good. The world building is fantastic if you've read all the main Valiant books since the reboot, which I have, it calls back to Harbinger, Eternal Warrior and XO Manowar making this event have a lot of weight. The world building as I said calls back to those series but also moves the world forward for all those titles making for real consequence in the event which other event titles from other publishers weak as a result (I'm looking at you Marvel and DC).
Story: The story is solid because it's slow and does not rely on explosions and fights to tell the story, sure there is a lot of that too. The story is about context and looking at the Valiant Universe at large and as a result I liked the slower pace. The story matters and the pieces moved in place matters and when the turn happens in the middle of the story about the "King" they are going to kill it made sense. I think if you read the other books you will find much more enjoyment here as a standalone it is a bit weak in context. As I said I enjoyed it, I liked how much time we had to talk about the situation and the stakes and the end was fast and rushed but also good. I am not in love with Livewire.
Characters: A lot of time for character development which is insane because for 4 issues there was a lot. The slow nature of this event and the priority of character development over explosions made this great. Livewire got a lot of development as did Aric and Harada. It was really good.
A slower event that had actual consequences made this an event book I really enjoyed. Without the background from all the Valiant books I read I think the rating would have been different.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is good for a Valiant book, I've grown to expect a certain level of quality and color for their books and this is at the top tier of their stuff. Still lacking in facial expressions and detail but it's still good. The world building is fantastic if you've read all the main Valiant books since the reboot, which I have, it calls back to Harbinger, Eternal Warrior and XO Manowar making this event have a lot of weight. The world building as I said calls back to those series but also moves the world forward for all those titles making for real consequence in the event which other event titles from other publishers weak as a result (I'm looking at you Marvel and DC).
Story: The story is solid because it's slow and does not rely on explosions and fights to tell the story, sure there is a lot of that too. The story is about context and looking at the Valiant Universe at large and as a result I liked the slower pace. The story matters and the pieces moved in place matters and when the turn happens in the middle of the story about the "King" they are going to kill it made sense. I think if you read the other books you will find much more enjoyment here as a standalone it is a bit weak in context. As I said I enjoyed it, I liked how much time we had to talk about the situation and the stakes and the end was fast and rushed but also good. I am not in love with Livewire.
Characters: A lot of time for character development which is insane because for 4 issues there was a lot. The slow nature of this event and the priority of character development over explosions made this great. Livewire got a lot of development as did Aric and Harada. It was really good.
A slower event that had actual consequences made this an event book I really enjoyed. Without the background from all the Valiant books I read I think the rating would have been different.
Onward to the next book!
April 15, 2014
It's worth noting that I read this and X-O Manowar vol. 5 simultaneously, and had I not, there would be clear and distracting gaps in the story. That's the nature of crossovers though, and as far as those go, this is one of the best ones I have ever read.
Unity, Valiant's own Justice League, launches in this book, out of the events of X-O Manowar. The two match up wonderfully in both tone and world building. Kindt's writing is solid. He has a firm grip on the characters he's handling, but really shines in a few very clever, seemingly minor plot details that enrich the story deeply. Doug Braithwaite is on pencil duty here, and as always he knocks the ball out of the park. Everything feels mythological under his art, and that's exactly how these big pantheon superhero books should feel. Livewire has a satisfying conclusion to a long gestating personal arc, and I'm wonderfully excited to see the Valiant U deal with the fallout of the events contained here. The whole Valiant line is worth reading from issue one, and Unity is a welcome latecomer to the party.
Unity, Valiant's own Justice League, launches in this book, out of the events of X-O Manowar. The two match up wonderfully in both tone and world building. Kindt's writing is solid. He has a firm grip on the characters he's handling, but really shines in a few very clever, seemingly minor plot details that enrich the story deeply. Doug Braithwaite is on pencil duty here, and as always he knocks the ball out of the park. Everything feels mythological under his art, and that's exactly how these big pantheon superhero books should feel. Livewire has a satisfying conclusion to a long gestating personal arc, and I'm wonderfully excited to see the Valiant U deal with the fallout of the events contained here. The whole Valiant line is worth reading from issue one, and Unity is a welcome latecomer to the party.
June 4, 2021
The whole thing with Romania seemed half-baked from the beginning. Aric's people never seemed to be more than a few dozen in number, hardly worth an international incident which also felt almost non-existent. Still, the comic excels at battles between superhumans. It's great to see a guy fly straight through the hull of a ship or through a wall.
Aric has managed to protect his people and claim Romania as his own. The world is brought to the brink of nuclear war, but Toyo Harada may be able to stop it by using Ninjak and a group of psiots.
Aric has managed to protect his people and claim Romania as his own. The world is brought to the brink of nuclear war, but Toyo Harada may be able to stop it by using Ninjak and a group of psiots.
August 12, 2014
Valiant's somewhat lame attempt to crate their own Justice League. Not entirely necessary as a separate volume, this story could have fit into any one of these solo books or as a crossover and come off even more cohesive.
Although I've loved almost everything Valiant has done to date, the one thing they just haven't gotten right is XO, and even here, it just isn't right. There's just so little sense of purpose that I find it hard to care.
Anyway, this isn't a necessary volume, so if you're pressed for time, just skip it and read Harbinger Wars instead.
Grade: C
Although I've loved almost everything Valiant has done to date, the one thing they just haven't gotten right is XO, and even here, it just isn't right. There's just so little sense of purpose that I find it hard to care.
Anyway, this isn't a necessary volume, so if you're pressed for time, just skip it and read Harbinger Wars instead.
Grade: C
May 23, 2015
with this I am done with anything xo manowar. while the artwork is decent and some of the characters have decent attributes and abilities, I just think the writing is terribly stupid. I gave it more than enough chance I think.
February 26, 2018
I’ve been reading a lot of Valiant comics lately, mainly because they are free with either Kindle Unlimited or Prime membership or they were FCBD samples and other such comics.
So I’m coming into this from a very broken up history of the series. It seems like Valiant has created a single universe in which all their heroes live, not unlike Marvel has done.
So what I thought were disparate comic series are all actually interconnected. But by doing this it also makes things a tad confusing for a reader who is new to the world.
In this comic we have a new super hero team called Unity. They are made of up psiots that Harada has put together to serve him and his interests. In this series Manowar has returned to earth and brought his people with him. They have conquered Romania and made that their home. However Russia didn’t take too kindly to their territory being overthrown and a person of his power landing in their backyard. They throw everything they have at Manowar and come up short. Harada sends in his team before Russia decides to use their ultimate weapon and nuke the place out of existence.
This is a pretty good series, I enjoyed reading it and it put in clips (one or two pages of miscellaneous other comics) of other comics that helped fill in some background. So even though it was jarring to see a completely different art style all of a sudden, it helped fill in the blanks where the blanks needed filling in rather than leaving the reader confused as to who or what this new person or situation was.
I found the writing to be pretty good and the artistry in general was really good too.
It is available DRM Free via Comixology.
So I’m coming into this from a very broken up history of the series. It seems like Valiant has created a single universe in which all their heroes live, not unlike Marvel has done.
So what I thought were disparate comic series are all actually interconnected. But by doing this it also makes things a tad confusing for a reader who is new to the world.
In this comic we have a new super hero team called Unity. They are made of up psiots that Harada has put together to serve him and his interests. In this series Manowar has returned to earth and brought his people with him. They have conquered Romania and made that their home. However Russia didn’t take too kindly to their territory being overthrown and a person of his power landing in their backyard. They throw everything they have at Manowar and come up short. Harada sends in his team before Russia decides to use their ultimate weapon and nuke the place out of existence.
This is a pretty good series, I enjoyed reading it and it put in clips (one or two pages of miscellaneous other comics) of other comics that helped fill in some background. So even though it was jarring to see a completely different art style all of a sudden, it helped fill in the blanks where the blanks needed filling in rather than leaving the reader confused as to who or what this new person or situation was.
I found the writing to be pretty good and the artistry in general was really good too.
It is available DRM Free via Comixology.
May 8, 2017
[This review covers both X-O Manowar Volume 5 and Unity Volume 1]
Fresh off his return to Earth after saving his people from the Vine, Aric of Dacia has annexed Bucharest and wrecked global politics. Along come Unity, the Valiant universe's Avengers, to save the day.
Lead by Toyo Harada (the most untrustworthy person this side of Donald Trump), the team consists of Livewire, the Eternal Warrior, and Ninjak - you don't get guns bigger than that. But of course, this isn't as straight forward as you might expect. The fight against Aric is only the tip of the iceberg in this crossover, and lead to both a shocking plot twist and a new status quo for Aric himself on the other side.
The artwork in Unity itself is by Doug Braithwaite, and is lovely. There's an ethereal quality to his work (that isn't present in the pencils in the back of the book, so hats off to the colourist) but it's a great visual and he has an eye for interesting camera angles, especially in the claustrophobic confines of the Vine ship. The X-O issues are by Cary Nord, with finishes by Vincente Cifuentes, and they look...weird. The first issue is totally odd, with a really washed out colour palette, and the others all feel slapdash too. Nord's not been my favourite artist on X-O, but he's making a case for least favourite very clearly here.
This is a crossover that impacts both titles, and I really wouldn't recommend reading one without the other. Unity feeds directly into the X-O story, and the X-O story itself gives some much needed back-story that makes everything even more impactful.
Fresh off his return to Earth after saving his people from the Vine, Aric of Dacia has annexed Bucharest and wrecked global politics. Along come Unity, the Valiant universe's Avengers, to save the day.
Lead by Toyo Harada (the most untrustworthy person this side of Donald Trump), the team consists of Livewire, the Eternal Warrior, and Ninjak - you don't get guns bigger than that. But of course, this isn't as straight forward as you might expect. The fight against Aric is only the tip of the iceberg in this crossover, and lead to both a shocking plot twist and a new status quo for Aric himself on the other side.
The artwork in Unity itself is by Doug Braithwaite, and is lovely. There's an ethereal quality to his work (that isn't present in the pencils in the back of the book, so hats off to the colourist) but it's a great visual and he has an eye for interesting camera angles, especially in the claustrophobic confines of the Vine ship. The X-O issues are by Cary Nord, with finishes by Vincente Cifuentes, and they look...weird. The first issue is totally odd, with a really washed out colour palette, and the others all feel slapdash too. Nord's not been my favourite artist on X-O, but he's making a case for least favourite very clearly here.
This is a crossover that impacts both titles, and I really wouldn't recommend reading one without the other. Unity feeds directly into the X-O story, and the X-O story itself gives some much needed back-story that makes everything even more impactful.
February 20, 2020
Unity (the whole series, not just this volume) is an odd duck. It's production values are top-shelf and the writing is never bad, but it's also never great.
The characters are either undeveloped or underdeveloped, storylines take sudden sidesteps into books that are not included in these collections (some left jarringly incomplete in these volumes), and it makes arbitrary inclusions.
Harbinger and Archer & Armstrong were and remain much better Valiant titles. They have the production values of Unity, but the writing, editing, and structure are all better, and you care more about the characters.
Livewire felt like the character we'd be riding along with but she is continually sidelined for half-assed portrayals of the other characters. After an initially strong opening, she quickly becomes little more than support and in this lies the truth of the whole series. Even Ninjak and Gilad - who serve as the base of the actual field team most of the time - are appallingly thin. Remember that I say this as I talk about superheroes in a comic book about beating up robots and mad scientists.
Unity has its moments and it really does try to show the complexity of a powerful, prominent super team. Valiant never shies from geopolitical complications as story drivers and in that, it does well. But even being a big team book doesn't save it from the need to slow down and focus a bit.
I am up to...volume 5? I will finish it because it's still pretty fun overall, but in the end, I expected more from it after Harbinger and Archer & Armstrong.
The characters are either undeveloped or underdeveloped, storylines take sudden sidesteps into books that are not included in these collections (some left jarringly incomplete in these volumes), and it makes arbitrary inclusions.
Harbinger and Archer & Armstrong were and remain much better Valiant titles. They have the production values of Unity, but the writing, editing, and structure are all better, and you care more about the characters.
Livewire felt like the character we'd be riding along with but she is continually sidelined for half-assed portrayals of the other characters. After an initially strong opening, she quickly becomes little more than support and in this lies the truth of the whole series. Even Ninjak and Gilad - who serve as the base of the actual field team most of the time - are appallingly thin. Remember that I say this as I talk about superheroes in a comic book about beating up robots and mad scientists.
Unity has its moments and it really does try to show the complexity of a powerful, prominent super team. Valiant never shies from geopolitical complications as story drivers and in that, it does well. But even being a big team book doesn't save it from the need to slow down and focus a bit.
I am up to...volume 5? I will finish it because it's still pretty fun overall, but in the end, I expected more from it after Harbinger and Archer & Armstrong.
February 20, 2021
One of my least favorite editorial decisions in comic reading is when a crossover is collected across multiple titles, and isn't collected in a logical reading order. This volume of X-O Manowar is intended to be read in tandem with Unity, Volume 1: To Kill a King. I think you're intended to start with Unity #1, then read X-O Manowar #19, then go back and forth until the conclusion of this trade. It's a hassle. But if you read just this collection, there are huge gaps in the story that would make it a frustrating read.
I didn't realize this when I was reading it, as I read this Before X-O Manowar, Volume 5: At War with Unity, and was confused when characters referenced important storybeats that didn't exist in this book. Don't make the same mistake I did.
I mentioned in my review of the other half of this crossover, this event isn't a good intro to the Valiant Universe or to X-O Manowar, but it is a strong intro book for Unity.
Toyo Harada, who's been a main character in Harbinger and Bloodshot showed up in this book, and his role means that I have wildly misorganized my shelf for how to read this universe. If you are reading those series, you want to read this Before Harbinger, Volume 6: Omegas.
I didn't realize this when I was reading it, as I read this Before X-O Manowar, Volume 5: At War with Unity, and was confused when characters referenced important storybeats that didn't exist in this book. Don't make the same mistake I did.
I mentioned in my review of the other half of this crossover, this event isn't a good intro to the Valiant Universe or to X-O Manowar, but it is a strong intro book for Unity.
Toyo Harada, who's been a main character in Harbinger and Bloodshot showed up in this book, and his role means that I have wildly misorganized my shelf for how to read this universe. If you are reading those series, you want to read this Before Harbinger, Volume 6: Omegas.
July 14, 2019
There are stakes in the Valiant Universe. Heroes make rash decisions (like taking over countries) and there are geopolitical ramifications. Not everyone is friends and not everyone is entirely good or evil. That's maybe the point. These heroes upset the apple cart--it's not the status quo at the end of the story.
X-O Man of War reclaims his ancestral country--this doesn't sit well with Russia (and the world); as such attack teams such as the Hard CORPS are sent after him.
Valiant upends convetion; instead of Unity being like its predecessor (about shifting multiversal variants) this is about a team.
X-O Man of War reclaims his ancestral country--this doesn't sit well with Russia (and the world); as such attack teams such as the Hard CORPS are sent after him.
Valiant upends convetion; instead of Unity being like its predecessor (about shifting multiversal variants) this is about a team.
April 16, 2020
One of the great things about reading through the entire Valiant catalogue, in order, is that you get see big payoff moments that have been building in other series. Unity Vol 1 provides one of those moments.
It's nice to see a superhero team put together for a practical reason, as a natural result of things that have transpired in the Valiant universe so far.
Ond small complaint, perhaps, is that Aric makes too much of an about-face at the end of this volume.
The art work is great and, while I knew Matt Kindt was involved in some of the books in the Valiant universe, I didn't know he got involved fairly early on with this book. A pleasant surprise.
It's nice to see a superhero team put together for a practical reason, as a natural result of things that have transpired in the Valiant universe so far.
Ond small complaint, perhaps, is that Aric makes too much of an about-face at the end of this volume.
The art work is great and, while I knew Matt Kindt was involved in some of the books in the Valiant universe, I didn't know he got involved fairly early on with this book. A pleasant surprise.
August 30, 2021
As someone with zero knowledge of this cast, other than their names, this was surprisingly easy to follow. Superhero/antihero X-O Man o' War is a Visigoth abducted by aliens; returning home with his people he's reclaimed the ancient Bulgarian homeland of his people. Russia sees this as a threat, and Man o'War is dangerous enough they're ready to go nuclear.
Enter the shadowy telekinetic and schemer Harada, who sends a team against Man O' War ... and they all die. So he sends a name team: Ninjak, Livewire, Eternal Warrior and himself.
Well executed, but nothing I haven't seen before. 2.5 stars.
Enter the shadowy telekinetic and schemer Harada, who sends a team against Man O' War ... and they all die. So he sends a name team: Ninjak, Livewire, Eternal Warrior and himself.
Well executed, but nothing I haven't seen before. 2.5 stars.
October 30, 2017
Really good. Better if read in tandem with X-O Manowar Vol. 5: At War With Unity.
The art's kind of grungy, but it goes with the story well enough.
The pitting of the most powerful weapon in the Valiant Universe (the Manowar armor) against the most powerful super-person (Toyo Harada) seems only natural.
The Eternal Warrior comes back, so his brief appearance in X-O Manoway Vol. 4 makes more sense.
Livewire and Ninjak return.
Aric learns a lesson or two, as does Livewire.
And things get political.
The art's kind of grungy, but it goes with the story well enough.
The pitting of the most powerful weapon in the Valiant Universe (the Manowar armor) against the most powerful super-person (Toyo Harada) seems only natural.
The Eternal Warrior comes back, so his brief appearance in X-O Manoway Vol. 4 makes more sense.
Livewire and Ninjak return.
Aric learns a lesson or two, as does Livewire.
And things get political.
May 30, 2019
I recognize that reading this title without reading any other books in the Valiant Universe is somewhat akin to watching Avengers Endgame without watching any of the previous MCU movies. That being said, nothing in this book spoke to me. I don't care about any of the characters, I never cared about the stakes for the Earth, and I was completely uninterested in the outcome. I feel like there should have been something here to draw me into the Valiant Universe, but after reading this, I still have no interest in these comics.
February 26, 2020
Better than Civil War, but burdened with the same problems.
If you're not a Valiant fan already, don't start here. In this story, X-O Manowar is presented as a villain. The super team assembled to take him out quickly become more problematic than Eric and the amount of montage-style side-switching gets a bit wonky. Now, if you are already a Valiant fan... great read! The drama of your favorite superheroes fighting each other and the eventual cognitive dissonance that emerges works even better than the total confusion of the first Civil War storyline in Marvel.
If you're not a Valiant fan already, don't start here. In this story, X-O Manowar is presented as a villain. The super team assembled to take him out quickly become more problematic than Eric and the amount of montage-style side-switching gets a bit wonky. Now, if you are already a Valiant fan... great read! The drama of your favorite superheroes fighting each other and the eventual cognitive dissonance that emerges works even better than the total confusion of the first Civil War storyline in Marvel.
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