X-O Manowar has reached his 25th issue! That’s fantastic news, as the series had done an excellent job bringing back the character from the 90’s and making him interesting to boot. How’s the anniversary issue? Is it good?
X-O Manowar #25 (Valiant Entertainment)
This issue is a prelude, so it’s not only setting things up for the big story coming, but it’s also making readers familiar with the character. That’s cool by me, but with so many artists and writers on one book there’s a good chance it’s not all great. It’s also very possible it’ll feel unbalanced and more likely to fail in part. Made up of 10 different segments, let’s dive into this one.
Love that robot machine thing.
The first section is written by Robert Venditti and drawn by Bryan Hitch. It’s quick little moment for Manowar as he says goodbye to his father. It sure looks great, but it doesn’t add much to the character. The next section is written again by Venditti and closes in on the villains of the upcoming story. They are collecting Manowar armors and it appears they are doing so because they hurt the cultures they reside in. Hmm, interesting, but there’s some art jargon in here about aliens and culture I have no idea about. It’s a bit confusing to be honest, but it is cool to see the villains written as heroes. The remaining bits are filler, at least when it comes to the overarching story. We have Owly, the iconic kids comic hero, getting the armor. It’s cute but throwaway material. Then there’s a short with Manowar and Shadowman having some brews. It’s sort of comical, but again, filler and meh material. The rest of the book is character bios and pinups.
The art is all over the place in this book, but overall it’s good. It doesn’t ever get sloppy or feel rushed, but then again we don’t have a single segment lasting more than five pages. Overall it’s a good representation given the material.
Plus your name was Mopp…
Is It Good?
Because there’s so little prelude story and so much filler it’s hard to recommend this book. In large part it feels like a book to fill a month so they can have more time fleshing out and finishing the big story that’s coming. Overall it’s skippable because it adds nothing to the story.
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