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X-O Manowar (2017)
X-O Manowar, Volume 4: Visigoth
From SOLDIER to GENERAL to EMPEROR...to OUTCAST!
Aric of Dacia’s bone-crushing climb to the throne of an alien world earned him scores of allies…and a legion of scorned enemies. Now, stripped of his crown and cast out of his kingdom, the man known as X-O Manowar must return to his roots as a sword-wielding warrior of Earth if he is to survive the relentless band of intergalactic bounty hunters that have been hired to kill him cold. But with few places left to turn, could the last Visigoth’s best hope be the all-powerful…but insidious…weapon he once swore away: the X-O Manowar armor?
X-O MANOWAR’s whirlwind first year in the Valiant Universe comes to a climax here in a bold new volume from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY, Mind MGMT) and explosive artist Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead)!
Collecting X-O MANOWAR (2017) #11–14.
Aric of Dacia’s bone-crushing climb to the throne of an alien world earned him scores of allies…and a legion of scorned enemies. Now, stripped of his crown and cast out of his kingdom, the man known as X-O Manowar must return to his roots as a sword-wielding warrior of Earth if he is to survive the relentless band of intergalactic bounty hunters that have been hired to kill him cold. But with few places left to turn, could the last Visigoth’s best hope be the all-powerful…but insidious…weapon he once swore away: the X-O Manowar armor?
X-O MANOWAR’s whirlwind first year in the Valiant Universe comes to a climax here in a bold new volume from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY, Mind MGMT) and explosive artist Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead)!
Collecting X-O MANOWAR (2017) #11–14.
112 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2018
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30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 30, 2019
And we’re off to a crossover event, so I’m stepping off this ride.
Overall, a bit disappointing of an ending to this story. It started off incredibly strong. But I’m glad Kindt did wrap it up! I think these first four volumes make for a quick, fun read!
Overall, a bit disappointing of an ending to this story. It started off incredibly strong. But I’m glad Kindt did wrap it up! I think these first four volumes make for a quick, fun read!
September 25, 2018
More of the same and then absolutely frustrating cliched and gender specific resolution to a mystery since issue 1.
World: The art is okay, it doesn’t reach the hights of arc one but it’s okay, just okay. The world building here is spotting and choppy once again. The story moves fast so there are huge chunks of world building that just happen off panel and readers just need to accept it, no matter how logical it is. The end of the Gorin (I know it’s a nod to Gor) story is aight, it reminded me of an episode of Clone Wars for some reason.
Story: The story moves choppily fast and once again basic emotions are the order of the day with large pieces of world and consequences just happening off panel. It’s what I’ve come to expect from Kindt’s writing but then we finally get the reveal of why Aric left Earth and when we go back we see the consequences and it frustrates me so much that Kindt went to the ‘blame the female character and have the broody man’ route. It’s 2018, really are we going to do that? Especially when Saana started as a token female in Venditti’s run and by the end was such a force in her own right, it’s so out of character that it angers me that this is the half assed reason we get from Kindt and as I said the end...the reveal...ridiculous (Let’s not forget how loyal Aric was to her throughout his time on Gorin). Lazy writing.
Characters: Aric is fine but the broodying and the reason to leave and the stuff with Saana is frustrating to say the least. It feels like 90s comic books again where the male is slighted and we feel bad for her and the female is villified what the fuck is this? Venditti finally made Saana something more and also left with the daughter, where is she? Argh I don’t even want to talk of the characters right now. I hate it when writers just use half assed excuses to write off previous runs (just like Soule did with Daredevil) it is that hard to write a logical and realistic way to resolve issues? Is a writer’s job not to write a good tale?
Argh!!!!!!
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is okay, it doesn’t reach the hights of arc one but it’s okay, just okay. The world building here is spotting and choppy once again. The story moves fast so there are huge chunks of world building that just happen off panel and readers just need to accept it, no matter how logical it is. The end of the Gorin (I know it’s a nod to Gor) story is aight, it reminded me of an episode of Clone Wars for some reason.
Story: The story moves choppily fast and once again basic emotions are the order of the day with large pieces of world and consequences just happening off panel. It’s what I’ve come to expect from Kindt’s writing but then we finally get the reveal of why Aric left Earth and when we go back we see the consequences and it frustrates me so much that Kindt went to the ‘blame the female character and have the broody man’ route. It’s 2018, really are we going to do that? Especially when Saana started as a token female in Venditti’s run and by the end was such a force in her own right, it’s so out of character that it angers me that this is the half assed reason we get from Kindt and as I said the end...the reveal...ridiculous (Let’s not forget how loyal Aric was to her throughout his time on Gorin). Lazy writing.
Characters: Aric is fine but the broodying and the reason to leave and the stuff with Saana is frustrating to say the least. It feels like 90s comic books again where the male is slighted and we feel bad for her and the female is villified what the fuck is this? Venditti finally made Saana something more and also left with the daughter, where is she? Argh I don’t even want to talk of the characters right now. I hate it when writers just use half assed excuses to write off previous runs (just like Soule did with Daredevil) it is that hard to write a logical and realistic way to resolve issues? Is a writer’s job not to write a good tale?
Argh!!!!!!
Onward to the next book!
September 20, 2021
Epic and tragic. Aric just can’t catch a break! Beautiful art, and a story I’m highly invested in.
Like the last Harbinger volume, this also teases HWII at the end. This upcoming event has the feel of a biggie, and I’m very excited to read it.
But even moreso, I’m incredibly eager for more of this Matt Kindt X-O run!
Like the last Harbinger volume, this also teases HWII at the end. This upcoming event has the feel of a biggie, and I’m very excited to read it.
But even moreso, I’m incredibly eager for more of this Matt Kindt X-O run!
December 12, 2018
Where do you go when you've reached the top? Back to the bottom. Gorin turns against Aric, and forcibly removes him from the throne - but did they really need to, when Aric knew he wasn't very good at the job already?
I think the main problem with this volume is that it falls into the trap of 'this could have been resolved with a conversation'. Aric literally says 'I'd have stepped down if you'd asked' at one point, which renders the three issues previous kind of moot. There's some nice action, and I really like Ryan Bodenheim's very clear, concise style - it reminds me of Joe Eisma at points - and the idea that Aric's year would end this badly does ring true with the character and how he's inserted himself into Gorin's society, but it does feel like a shame.
The last issue is basically a coda to the past 14 issues, as well as a trip across the stars to bring Aric back home with some lovely Ariel Olivetti artwork, a palette cleanser between bigger arcs.
Not entirely a success, but not a bad ending to the last year of stories - it just takes a while to get somewhere we could have gotten to a lot faster.
I think the main problem with this volume is that it falls into the trap of 'this could have been resolved with a conversation'. Aric literally says 'I'd have stepped down if you'd asked' at one point, which renders the three issues previous kind of moot. There's some nice action, and I really like Ryan Bodenheim's very clear, concise style - it reminds me of Joe Eisma at points - and the idea that Aric's year would end this badly does ring true with the character and how he's inserted himself into Gorin's society, but it does feel like a shame.
The last issue is basically a coda to the past 14 issues, as well as a trip across the stars to bring Aric back home with some lovely Ariel Olivetti artwork, a palette cleanser between bigger arcs.
Not entirely a success, but not a bad ending to the last year of stories - it just takes a while to get somewhere we could have gotten to a lot faster.
December 16, 2018
Volume 4 took a bit of a turn for me. I want to start with the art. I wasn't a huge fan of the art team this time around. The first few volumes tended more toward a realistic style and were just gorgeous. This time the art steps back a little. It's brighter and less defined (if that makes any sense). Perhaps it is meant to follow Aric's mental state as the series progresses. It got darker and darker until this volume. So maybe I just convinced myself that it was really well done, but the line work didn't do much for me anyway.
Then there is the story. Man, I felt like this was a huge payoff for this arc of Aric's story on planet Gorin. We finally get to see what caused Aric to leave Earth. Others might find it cliché or some such. It fits Aric's personality perfectly though. I'm a little disappointed that we won't get to see more of Gorin (for now at least, who knows what Valiant will decide to do in the future). The other big takeaway from this book is the development of the relationship between Aric and Shanhara. They are so connected that it is cool to see them coming back together.
Then there is the story. Man, I felt like this was a huge payoff for this arc of Aric's story on planet Gorin. We finally get to see what caused Aric to leave Earth. Others might find it cliché or some such. It fits Aric's personality perfectly though. I'm a little disappointed that we won't get to see more of Gorin (for now at least, who knows what Valiant will decide to do in the future). The other big takeaway from this book is the development of the relationship between Aric and Shanhara. They are so connected that it is cool to see them coming back together.
April 29, 2018
The final chapter in this X-O Manowar arc ends with a thud. There's some nice art in issues 11, 12 and 13, but everything is anti-climactic. I just don't have any investment in the bounty hunters despite a whole issues setting them up.
Also, issue 14 is just terrible. The art is in a heavily photo referenced digital style that I just detest and it's a really dull story that just brings X-O back to Earth for a crossover.
Also, issue 14 is just terrible. The art is in a heavily photo referenced digital style that I just detest and it's a really dull story that just brings X-O back to Earth for a crossover.
June 10, 2018
This series was pretty descent. It reminds me a lot of the meta barons. It’s only worthwhile if you read all 4 volumes and they are each $10. But the guy literally takes over a planet single-handedly so they is come cool stuff going on. His story is picking back up on earth in the new harbinger wars.
April 21, 2019
Visigoth (#10-14). Matt Kindt's X-O Manowar run really picks up speed in this final volume of his Planetary Romance arc, as we learn why Aric left Earth and bring things together on a distant planet. It's a very satisfying story that both closes up our plot lines and puts together all the puzzle pieces in a believable way [4+/5].
April 20, 2018
An enjoyable read. It feels like it all finished up too quickly given the epic scope of the story though.
July 12, 2018
The volume that brings Aric's alien saga to an end and sets up the next chapter.
July 24, 2019
Another incredible offering from Valiant.
July 12, 2020
I don’t like the art and I don’t like what the writer is doing with the character. It could have been good if we knew why.
May 10, 2021
Just when I think the series has lost me, they bring Olivetti back for the art in the last issue of this collection and... they pull me back in!
January 6, 2025
Matt Kindt finishes his space opera arc and we get some of the backstory of Aric. The art remains standard for the title.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews