X-O Manowar #12 Review

X-O Manowar #12
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Ryan Bodenheim
Colourist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: Valiant

A review by Josh Rose

Aric has been stripped of his armour and left for dead in the desert. Meanwhile his former friends who staged a coup, are discussing what to do next, and the bounty hunters are wondering what to do with the armour. X-O Manowar #12 is the lead up to Aric’s final showdown with the Bounty Hunters who deposed him.

I realize now that Matt Kindt has been building to this very moment. The moment when Aric stops treating his armour, Shanhara as a tool and accepts her as part of him. This makes me wonder what Kindt has waiting in store for us now that the two are in sync. Kindt also laid out a bit of foreshadowing. I’m curious if its part of the reason why Aric left Earth in the first place.

A lot of artists have made Shanhara look similar to Iron Man’s armour. Chunks of solid metal just flying around when Aric dons it. Ryan Bodenheim makes it look more akin to the Venom symbiote, almost liquid. He also does a great job making Aric look absolutely weathered after surviving on his own in the desert. Andrew Dalhouse’s colours as always are formidable! The opening page with Aric sitting at a small pond with several moons in the sky would be nothing without his light pinks and blues; it looks stunningly realistic.

The Verdict:
Buy It! X-O Manowar #12 is the climax of this current story arc, when Aric realizes just how much he needs the X-O Manowar armour. It’s also loaded with armour-less fights, and a big reason why you don’t just try on Shanhara for kicks.