X-O Manowar #5

X-O Manowar #5

Valiant Entertainment 2021

Written by Dennis Hopeless Hallum

Illustrated by Emilio Laiso

Coloured by Ruth Redmond

Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

The epic saga of Aric of Dacia, aka X-O MANOWAR, as he battles an unknown nanite monstrosity that is devouring the earth. Will our hero out of time finally evolve into the warrior of the future or will X-O Manowar drown with their past?

Originally Aric was one of my least favourite characters in the valiant universe but with the company’s rebirth and what has been done with him he’s managed to become one of the best characters in my humble opinion. This series really manages to keep Aric on earth and has him becoming almost an Anti-Hero through his association with Troy. I still don’t like Troy and he’s really up to no good and using Aric for his own purposes while not revealing much of plans for what he is up to. He’s no good, he’s no good, he’s no good, baby he’s no good. It is precisely for this reason that we keep coming back too, because we want to see what happens when the truth is revealed and how Aric is going to react to that when it happens. I’m excited beyond belief for this series and I get that excited chill every time I see it on my list for the week.

I am absolutely thrilled with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter. This brings their personalities to the forefront and gives us such a great look at who they are. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we’re sucked into this world like we’re in the grip of an octopus and it feels like a warm welcoming hug.

The way that we see this being structured and how we see the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. What I love about these layers, or avenues, is that we see how well they move the story forward, spotlight characterisation and reveal some great plot twists all of which adds this great depth, dimension and complexity to the book. The way everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here are absolutely, completely and utterly delightful. The linework is clean, crisp and strong so that with the varying weights and techniques being utilised to spotlight this level & quality of detailed work we see is phenomenal. The creativity and imagination on display is awe inspiring, the underwater life is particularly among my favourite things. The way that we see backgrounds utilised throughout is nicely rendered, we could definitely use more in my opinion, and how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificent. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is brilliantly rendered. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a brilliant eye for how colour works.

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This is really one of the strongest books being put out on stands today. It is the consistent level and quality of storytelling that makes this as good as it is. With some spectacular writing and strong interesting characterisation wrapped up in these beautiful interiors make me want to see more and more of Aric and his adventures. This is why we love comics pure and simple.