X-O Manowar #2 Review

X-O Manowar #2
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: David Sharpe
Publisher: Valiant

A review by Josh Rose

The barbarian with alien armor has left Earth in search of a better, more peaceful life. It doesn’t last very long when Aric of Dacia is conscripted into an alien war, and forced reunite with the X-O Manowar armor to ensure surviving an upcoming mission into enemy territory. But that’s not all… His armor has become sentient. X-O Manowar #2 sees Aric, who has spent the better part of his life fighting for his people, now bitter, angry, and tired of all the fighting. And he blames the armor for attracting the endless violence. The Armor points out (because it’s sentient now and can talk back) that everything they’ve done, the good, the bad and the ugly, has been done together. Nonetheless, Aric is refusing to don the X-O Manowar armor. From here on, Aric is going to war as a man.

Matt Kindt is really taking Aric of Dacia to a whole new place, and really exploring the barbarian with futuristic technology concept in way that hasn’t been quite explored yet: His relationship with the armor, while also taking Aric back to his barbarian roots. The armor has helped him fight killer robots and an endless number of alien invaders. Its helped him cope with leaving Earth and returning home when hundreds of years have passed during his absence. Who is Aric of Dacia without the X-O Manowar armor?

From the city structures and ships, to monstrous aliens and Kirby-esque computers, Tomas Giorello has done an amazing job merging science fiction and fantasy. Some of the aliens look comparable to trolls from the Lord of the Rings, with their glowing eyes and drooling jowls. The panel layout also does an amazing job highlighting the action sequences, and intense emotional scenes like the opening double page spread which gives you that feeling like its the calm before the storm.

The Verdict
Buy It! I cannot recommend X-O Manowar #2 enough. This is a story that’s friendly to new readers and reintroduces the fan favourite character to longtime readers with a fresh new take. Its an epic, all-out Earthman versus the space goblins slugfest complete with emotional drives. If you’re into space adventures, war stories, or sword and fantasy, this is the book that you need to pick up.