Looks like things have taken a turn for the worse for our Visigoth soldiers “X-O Manowar #2.†This time we get a more out of the story than the previous comic.
In this issue Aric and his men are now enslaved by the aliens and are forced to do farm work, a task that the men deem to be below them. Aric must now find a way to escape and get back to defending his people from the Romans. We do get a little more information on the aliens and what kind of creatures they are. Although the idea that it takes Aric years to devise a plan of escape instead of weeks seems a bit off. The Romans could’ve killed off all the Visigoths in that time.
One other negative thing this comic does is that it cuts off Aric’s hand. That is one of the oldest and most overused clichés in the book. It also looks like it doesn’t slow down Aric one bit.
Besides that little hiccup, the story is starting to pickup somewhat and the excitement that was in the first issue is here. Seeing how Aric’s plan take fold is nicely done in an exciting manner and does not seem forced or idiotic. It’s also nice to see how these 5th century warriors handle aliens with technology that is light years ahead of what they are used to. They can hold their own pretty well considering.
The art is still as strong as it was in the first issue. One notable example is the garden where the captors are forced to work. The characters are drawn with dark and bland colors while the items in the colors are bright and colorful. Colorist Moose Baumann did a fine of making these two color schemes that don’t usually work together work together.
The story of “X-O Manowar #2†is an improvement over the first issue. We get to learn more about the aliens and get to see some 5th century warriors do some fighting against aliens. Despite some hiccups like the lost limb and the plan taking years to come up with, this story is still worth continuing.
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