X-O Manowar #12 discussion

[erwinrafael]

Well, before everything else, let me say CONGRATULATIONS VALIANT! This issue marks the end of your first full year.

Back to the issue at hand, this is less action-oriented compared to the previous issue. I love the progression of the story, specially the development with Dalgan in the second half of the issue. I hope Venditti would give Aric more character moments in the future. Here he seems to have a one-track mind so I would not mind Aric having a more rounded character as the series progresses.

Cary Nord has decidedly changed his art style for Planet Death compared to By The Sword. And it fits the darker and more violent tone of this story. The inks are really heavy. I love the unpolished quality of the panel borders. I still prefer the slicker Nord and Gaudiano duo because Nord's art looks better when he puts in the details through pencil rather than inks. And his use of wide gutters in this issue are a bit...funky. Hehehe

I am pretty sure we will have a really good issue next time. The pieces are in place. And we'll get to see these!





Can't wait!

[Dr. Solar]

This book was great! Again, not what I expected to see. I was pretty surprised.

My hope is that we'll see Aric lead a revolution, with the slaves becoming free.

My fear is that we'll see Aric lead a revolution, with the slaves becoming dead.

[MarrowMan]

If what I think happens, happens, (in subsequent issues) Aric will have lost his people TWICE and will be very (x 10 billion) angry.

[Paradigm38]

I agree with all of the above (nice, huh?). I was just happy to see some thoughtful thinking from our hero and a lot of chatter too.

[BugsySig]

This was one of my favorite XO issues to date. There were several times I thought the issue was wrapping up and then it would continue. Definitely not a quick read this month

I'm not sure Aric will lose his people again...the next arc has him returning to Earth looking to reclaim his ancestral homeland in Central Europe. I doubt he would do that if he didn't have his people to love there.

And Happy Anniversary VALIANT!

[Scott M Davis]

This was great. Depsite being exposition heavy, it all worked and wasn't hinder at all. This would have been a third issue story at Marvel or DC to pad out the trade. But Venditti nailed it. Kudos man..

Now I love Nord's artwork, his Conan was the bomb!, but alot of art felt super rushed and muddy from the inker. Some panels over inked and over coloured and I couldn't tell what exactly was in the panel.

Otherwise, totally loved it and enjoyed it.

A well deserved 4/5.

I hope the next few issues are balls to the walls action.

[BugsySig]

This was great. Depsite being exposition heavy, it all worked and wasn't hinder at all. This would have been a third issue story at Marvel or DC to pad out the trade. But Venditti nailed it. Kudos man..

Now I love Nord's artwork, his Conan was the bomb!, but alot of art felt super rushed and muddy from the inker. Some panels over inked and over coloured and I couldn't tell what exactly was in the panel.

Otherwise, totally loved it and enjoyed it.

A well deserved 4/5.

I hope the next few issues are balls to the walls action.

Nord is inking his own pencils. Some panels may be a little rushed because of that, but the uncolored pages look great in general. Coloring is still a problem, though there were some better spots in this issue (the opening with Aric on the hill was colored well).

[Scott M Davis]

This was great. Depsite being exposition heavy, it all worked and wasn't hinder at all. This would have been a third issue story at Marvel or DC to pad out the trade. But Venditti nailed it. Kudos man..

Now I love Nord's artwork, his Conan was the bomb!, but alot of art felt super rushed and muddy from the inker. Some panels over inked and over coloured and I couldn't tell what exactly was in the panel.

Otherwise, totally loved it and enjoyed it.

A well deserved 4/5.

I hope the next few issues are balls to the walls action.

Nord is inking his own pencils. Some panels may be a little rushed because of that, but the uncolored pages look great in general. Coloring is still a problem, though there were some better spots in this issue (the opening with Aric on the hill was colored well).

Yea, it was right in the middle, when the vinemen retrieved Aric. I am sure this will be all fixed for the trade. its a minor quibble though. Still a good read.

[manga4life]

Okay, I couldn't hold out until my Friday trip to grab issue #12 and I went to my LCS just a little whole ago and picked this issue up (along with Bloodshot #10).

First off, what a breathtaking cover. Seriously, this has to rank among one of the most stunning covers I've ever seen on a comic book! The interior art this month was better than last month, but not as good as it was toward the beginning of the series. It wasn't bad though. The writing was absolutely stellar, though! I really like this new girl who was helping Aric out and the Priest got even more brownie points from me for being an awesome supporting character, I really like him quite a bit. I'm betting the next issue will be the big action issue that we're all thirsting for, Aric should get his armor back and then all hell will probably break loose, if it doesn't happen in issue #13 than it will in #14 for sure.

Fun issue this month, the story is progressing nicely and the Vine Priest is becoming one of my favorite supporting characters at the moment. This new Vine helper seems cool too!

[pixierosa]

A very good X-O issue. Some action but included much needed insight into the Vine culture and the age old issues between military might/right and faith. Enjoyed the expansion of the priest's storyline and was pleasantly surprised by Dalman. Thought it would be the religious order, not a religious soldier, that changed the tide.

Enjoyed the little details like old blanket. Made it much more real for Aric and to us. These are not Aric's people though - they are the product of many generations of living under Vine rule. Let's hope that stories of the old ways have survived if Aric's new tribe is to survive the upcoming purge. I think this is a possibility since the priest said the guards only patrolled outside the human walls - not within. So in theory, they could have continued to share history and save their original culture without subterfuge.

Once again, Aric is a hothead. He is easy to predict, and that will continue to be his downfall. I hope that we will see a bit more thinking ahead on his part other than the "hulk smash" routine. I enjoyed seeing his more human side when he let down his guard around the woman who reminded him of Deidre.

Do you think she and the others were really captured by Romans (we didn't get to see this) or by Vine?

[caniac]

The revolution is coming. The priest was great...civil war is on the bring I believe and the humans will be caught in the middle. I think Aric is coming around to the fact that some vine revere him. It was so good but it was too short IMO...but I always think that. How quickly will Shanahara seek out Aric?... I though it was awesome when he was bowed to in front of the woman. Great issue and cover!

[SJS4]

Really loved this issue. Nord remains my favorite artist at VEI (Garcia is a close second) and Vendetti is putting together a really great story. Cannot wait for next issue!

One thing that caught my eye, btw, was that Aric was overpowered this issue by the Vine. Some folks had complained in previous issues that he might be too powerful but that doesn't appear to bethe case.

[caniac]

One thing that caught my eye, btw, was that Aric was overpowered this issue by the Vine. Some folks had complained in previous issues that he might be too powerful but that doesn't appear to bethe case.

Good point

[BugsySig]

Really loved this issue. Nord remains my favorite artist at VEI (Garcia is a close second) and Vendetti is putting together a really great story. Cannot wait for next issue!

One thing that caught my eye, btw, was that Aric was overpowered this issue by the Vine. Some folks had complained in previous issues that he might be too powerful but that doesn't appear to bethe case.

One has to wonder how much Shanhara's state of mind may be influencing Aric's abilities...She revealed to Gafti how to destroy the fleet, perhaps because she did not want to see the Human race destroyed. But if she feels the same toward the Vine, maybe she isn't allowing Aric access to her full capabilities...Food for thought.

[Ramses818]

I had to get my XO fix today also! The cover is my FAVORITE one so far. The story was awesome. Cary's work was not up to par in the middle. I also like the political thread. I mean while the army and the priests argued the leaders already had a back up plan! Since the vine can share space and communicate I found it even more interesting that these guys all gathered together decided what to do. If you can communicate from any where you would never put all your leaders in one place so there has to be something to this. I loved the story. I needed this story because it felt like I could read the last couple issues in minutes, and there was little to nothing to discuss, this issue was very juicy! Ok I will wait till more people read this issue before I comment more.

[jmatt]

Great issue. The cover is amazing, I picked up two copies and shunned the kinda ugly 1:20.

The plot thickens with some Vine characters siding with Aric simply because the armor chose him. And while I find it inconsistent that the armor can wipe out an entire armada in 5 minutes but can be pinned down by a few Wolf class armors, it's nice to see that it's not entirely invincible.

I'm trying to not think too hard about the time dilation issues in the book because I'm not sure there's consistency there. Are we to assume this colony of Visigoths has been laboring on Loam through generation after generation for 1600 years? I don't have a problem with that, I just want to understand.

[BugsySig]

Great issue. The cover is amazing, I picked up two copies and shunned the kinda ugly 1:20.

The plot thickens with some Vine characters siding with Aric simply because the armor chose him. And while I find it inconsistent that the armor can wipe out an entire armada in 5 minutes but can be pinned down by a few Wolf class armors, it's nice to see that it's not entirely invincible.

I'm trying to not think too hard about the time dilation issues in the book because I'm not sure there's consistency there. Are we to assume this colony of Visigoths has been laboring on Loam through generation after generation for 1600 years? I don't have a problem with that, I just want to understand.

I think that is the gist more or less. The priest says they were a small group, but reproduced over the generations. They were not exactly his people, but kept some of the culture (like the blanket logo).

Specifically, the Priest referred to those they replaced with plantings, but there had to be some adults or the culture wouldn't have been passed down.

We also know they took some Romans (like the girl who talks to Avagis when Alaric invades Rome). So they could be mixed in as well as several other cultures. (I wonder how Aric would react if he knew there were still Romans to kill? )

[Nurples]

I love the new Valiant (and the old stuff, too), and especially X-O, but the art was atrocious in this issue. I liked Nord's Conan work, and his work on the majority of this series, but this was plain terrible and really distracted me from the writing.

[Carson]

Glad to see XO get his *SQUEE* kicked. I was worried that after Gafti destroyed the entire fleet the armor was becoming too omnipotent. Good to see it does have limits.

[bygranddesign]

I thought this issue, art, story, dialogue, was consistently good throughout.

This is good epic storytelling. We are in the meaty part of the story where we are learning the history of this world, understanding all the players and the stakes involved, possible love interest(?) and ending on the "kill all the humans" cliffhanger..

I thought Nord's art was very good throughout ... the colors are sometimes muddy but overall I enjoyed the coloring on this issue.

The Priest continues to be an interesting and enjoyable character ... and really gives you a different perspective on the Vine. Aric seems to be one note at times but provided some interesting insight on his thinking when it comes to the armor and God ..etc. I found it also interesting that he could speak Vine without the armor

I do have a few minor quibble's though .. The Priest explain's to Aric that his Visigoth people live on the 2nd and 3rd page and then has to explain again a couple of pages later when Aric thinks the girl is his wife - it felt a little disjointed.

And the visigoth girl character is seen in the beginning and then the end with Aric ... seems like she might be important moving forward, I wish we could have learned her name.

Overall very strong issue and can't wait for next month (08/10)
The cover 10/10 - incredible!

[BugsySig]

I do have a few minor quibble's though .. The Priest explain's to Aric that his Visigoth people live on the 2nd and 3rd page and then has to explain again a couple of pages later when Aric thinks the girl is his wife - it felt a little disjointed.

Try explaining time displacement to a time displaced Visigoth warrior who's in the middle of invading an alien planet sometime...I bet it takes you more than one try

[Carson]

I do have a few minor quibble's though .. The Priest explain's to Aric that his Visigoth people live on the 2nd and 3rd page and then has to explain again a couple of pages later when Aric thinks the girl is his wife - it felt a little disjointed.

Agreed. I thought, "didn't he just tell Aric that?" flip back a couple pages "yep, sure as hell did!"

[bygranddesign]

Agreed. I thought, "didn't he just tell Aric that?" flip back a couple pages "yep, sure as hell did!"

Yep, i did the same. These little mistakes here and there are a bit bothersome but it happens.

I do have a few minor quibble's though .. The Priest explain's to Aric that his Visigoth people live on the 2nd and 3rd page and then has to explain again a couple of pages later when Aric thinks the girl is his wife - it felt a little disjointed.

Try explaining time displacement to a time displaced Visigoth warrior who's in the middle of invading an alien planet sometime...I bet it takes you more than one try

LOL .. good point!

[Savant]

I love the new Valiant (and the old stuff, too), and especially X-O, but the art was atrocious in this issue. I liked Nord's Conan work, and his work on the majority of this series, but this was plain terrible and really distracted me from the writing.

I thought the previous issue's art was sub-par, but the artwork in X-O #12 was more than satisfactory. *shrug*

[Johnny America]

I was fully expecting this issue to a full blown destruction filled invasion of the Vine home world. Then they go and completely flip the script on me. I am very pleased with this change. I love curveballs in story telling! I also love the cover. It is one of my favorites. I am always partial to Aric fighting Vine though since Valiant sent this little gem to me