X-O Manowar #19

X-0 Manowar has been struggling to find an anchor since the Planet Death story arc. The book was stalling plot functions in a pretty intense manner. Fortunately, Unity was the white knight in shining armor that really shook up the core of the Valiant Universe at large. Over the past couple of years something has been concretely building for a substantial amount of time. Making the lead character of this comic an anti-hero, then forming a league of assassins with the sole purpose of taking him down, has really shaken the book up to it’s very core. This also leads the book in the weird position of tying into the Unity book without stepping on it’s toes. This could mean that series writer Robert Venditti is going to take things slow plotwise until that main story wraps up with the character. It would be ideal if he was writing both titles, to get some added cohesion into both stories, but Matt Kindt is tackling Unity with a steady script.

 

Aric of Dacia has a gigantic mess on his hands in the form of what remains of the Visigoth people. This problem has persisted for sometime now. Venditti does a great job scripting a confrontation that has a semblance of finality that seems like it was finally move things forward in an interesting manner. The opening scenes with Ninjak are written in a beautifully elegant manner, that shows why the scribe was just the man for this job. The main character shedding the armor, was symbolic of how this issue actually felt for readers. This installment feels a much needed release for the series at large, and the end seems to clearly shift focus for the readers. It also has me hoping that Venditti will be the one to launch a Ninjak solo series, but his schedule will likely not allow for it. This pillar of the Valiant Universe is heading for some big changes, this issue seems to take another step towards a new era for Aric. The Harbingers will be an interesting addition to the comic in the coming issues.

 

Unfortunately with a project over at the big two, series regular Lee Garbett is leaving the book. Cary Nord does a good job taking his place, and delivering some extremely stylish art fit for a king like Aric of Dacia. The coloring takes center stage here, with an extremely muted tone. The artist is tackling the inking and colors of the story, which makes the comic seem unique to only him. Some could see the switch as jarring, which it certainly is. At a certain point comic books need to be looked at objectively of the art that came before, by those standards Nord delivers some really solid line work here, the art has an undeniably epic feel that makes a tie-in book seem more important than it actually is. The artist also does a great job really nailing the facial expressions. There are very few backgrounds in this comic, which is definitely going to turn some heads. Storytelling may also be lackluster at certain moments. Once again though, there is enough technical elements here to adore the pencil work of Nord, yet it is also hard to stomach after the wonderful pencils of Garbett.

This may not be the perfect comic book, but it is an extremely good one. Nord and Venditti tackle the new era of this series with grace.