Being one of if not the most powerful characters in the Valiant Comics universe may sound great, but in reality, it comes at a price. That’s what writer Dennis “Hopeless†Hallum set out to do in the newest story in “XO Manowar #1†with artists Emilio Laiso and Ruth Redmond. Aric of Dacia is having a hard time living in the 21st Century.
He may be saving the world from evil aliens, but his heroics are considered an everyday nuisance to the general public because he causes a ton of destruction. He tries to fit in but there’s always the constant threat of an attack. It’s not unusual to see superheroes interact with everyday people, but it’s rare to see a realistic scenario. Here, we see what happens if a superhero interacts with people in real-life: they will be viewed as a pest because their battles cause damage to infrastructure and traffic that lasts for hours. This is something that has only been explored in parodies and to see it done in a serious story is great.
Another positive is how the story portrays how a Classical Era person would survive in the modern era: he would need help from someone to explain things. Shanhara, XO Manowar’s built-in AI, is that help and it explains things like basketball in the most hilarious way possible (calling “Magic†Johnson a magician for example.) Of course, a joke can only go so far as Aric has to adapt to life in the modern era or else the joke will stop being funny. The artwork is the tp notch stuff you expect from Valliant.
The characters look amazing, the backgrounds look like a ton of care has been put into them and the colors are well used. It’s hard to find a negative in any art Valiant makes.   “X-O Manowar #1†has a great idea going for it but the joke has to stop somewhere or else it’ll go stale combined with Valiant’s awesome art.
Leave a Reply