X-O Manowar #13 discussion thread

[lorddunlow]

Well, unlike you guys, I am getting exactly what I expected out of Planet Death, which is a big action story.

+1

[Paradigm38]

An action story... AND some cool new aliens =) flying bat thingies, mole-peeps, etc... Aric leading/slaying a full alien army is going to be the shizznit!

[Zaphod]

The fact that 1,500 years past for Aric before he returned to earth via space ship and that he travelled to Loam via space ship, perhaps this is what leads us to the 4001 timeline and the Unity crossover, as Aric ends up in the 4001 future of Earth when he returns to earth (not alone?)

[BugsySig]

The fact that 1,500 years past for Aric before he returned to earth via space ship and that he travelled to Loam via space ship, perhaps this is what leads us to the 4001 timeline and the Unity crossover, as Aric ends up in the 4001 future of Earth when he returns to earth (not alone?)

It would be a nice twist if that is the case but we don't know it until after his encounter with the Eternal Warrior.

[erwinrafael]

The fact that 1,500 years past for Aric before he returned to earth via space ship and that he travelled to Loam via space ship, perhaps this is what leads us to the 4001 timeline and the Unity crossover, as Aric ends up in the 4001 future of Earth when he returns to earth (not alone?)

Personally, I hope we do not revisit the 4001 timeline if it will not serve a purpose in V-Ditti's intended direction. VEI should not try to tie in too much to VH1 and just let the creators tell the best stories that they can tell.

[erwinrafael]

Well, unlike you guys, I am getting exactly what I expected out of Planet Death, which is a big action story.

+1

+2

[chriskay99]

Good issue but I kinda felt it was a little thin on plot advancement. Really loved the page showing the other alien races and Nord's artwork in general. Looking forward to the rest of this arc!

[erwinrafael]

Next issue, faceoff! (I will just put urls, not the images themselves for those who wouldn't want to see Nord's pages in advance)

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9822_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9473_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 5289_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Johnny America]

Next issue, faceoff! (I will just put urls, not the images themselves for those who wouldn't want to see Nord's pages in advance)

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9822_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9473_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 5289_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is going to be awesome!

[jmatt]

Well, unlike you guys, I am getting exactly what I expected out of Planet Death, which is a big action story.

I agree completely. It's a great issue, all-around.

[myron]

Next issue, faceoff! (I will just put urls, not the images themselves for those who wouldn't want to see Nord's pages in advance)

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9822_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9473_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 5289_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cool beans.

those are awesome

[Big Red]

Another great issue.

I love this book.

I hope some of Aric's people (particularly the girl) survive this storyline and make it back to earth with Aric.

I hope Aric's two Vine allies survive as well. I love this variation from VH1. In the original Valiant, all of the spider aliens hated Aric. It's cool to see a few (including Alexander) take Aric's side.

[Dallow Spicer1]

Another solid, enjoyable issue from VDitti. Maybe didn't have some of the plot twists previous issues had but it felt like a necessary issue setting up a Planet Death finale! Great to see the Vine continue to be fleshed out as multi dimensional, as with all societies you get conflicting opinions so this makes sense.

Art was more consistent throughout this issue too which was great too!

3/5

[grendeljd]

I thought Cary's self-inked style really hit it's stride this issue, there was a solid consistency to it throughout the issue. Lots of great visual moments & excellent facial expressions sprinkled in.

I also enjoyed the story a great deal, and I'm very curious as to how this is going to wrap up next month.

[erwinrafael]

More Cary Nord uploaded art for next issue. Click only if you want to see the preview.

http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 9348_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 4035_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 0413_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Beautiful. But I now see the problem with this style by Nord. It's a style that works well in black and white. Not really in colored form.

[erwinrafael]

Am I the only one who finds the black and white version more stunning than the colored one?





And I am not blaming Moose Baumann this time. It's more of Nord's inking style being more fit for black and white art.

[BugsySig]

Am I the only one who finds the black and white version more stunning than the colored one?





And I am not blaming Moose Baumann this time. It's more of Nord's inking style being more fit for black and white art.

Yeah, I've blamed Moose before, but the colors here were just fine. Of course, I almost always prefer the black and white versions of the art.

[Knightt]

The art in this issue looks like a pice of dog$#!t that got ran over by a truck. If you compare X-O Manowar #1 to this steaming pile, you see why Valiant came out of the jump-start with enough bang to make people stand up and take notice. Now, it's just sloppy and slipshod.

Maybe someone with long term vision will stop charging me and others standard prices for substandard art. Seriously, the panel that reads, "You come here seeking slaughter--" is hardly worth your money. I sure don't feel its worth my money. Many other panels in this issue are just as bad (IMO).

I realize you don't really start making money in any endeavor like this until around the five year mark but don't p!$$ down my back and call it rain. I'll even give Valiant a hand here... Stefano Gaudiano, get him back to inking Cary Nord's pencils before Nord ends up ruining the book.

[erwinrafael]

The art in this issue looks like a pice of dog$#!t that got ran over by a truck. If you compare X-O Manowar #1 to this steaming pile, you see why Valiant came out of the jump-start with enough bang to make people stand up and take notice. Now, it's just sloppy and slipshod.

Maybe someone with long term vision will stop charging me and others standard prices for substandard art. Seriously, the panel that reads, "You come here seeking slaughter--" is hardly worth your money. I sure don't feel its worth my money. Many other panels in this issue are just as bad (IMO).

I realize you don't really start making money in any endeavor like this until around the five year mark but don't p!$$ down my back and call it rain. I'll even give Valiant a hand here... Stefano Gaudiano, get him back to inking Cary Nord's pencils before Nord ends up ruining the book.

Wow, so only clean inks are good art. Joe Kubert and Kelley Jones must be *SQUEE* too.

Ladies and gentlemen, *SQUEE* art:

[400yrs]

I loved the art in this issue, but I do have to admit that that panel did bother me as well as another panel in the book.

[erwinrafael]

My only problem with the panel is the fingers.

Cary is attempting a shot like this:



But drawing it just like that is a bit static as you can see from the picture. So Cary used action lines and some blurring effects to convey the motion which is like a long-exposure photo:







That is how I saw that pic.

[BugsySig]

If you don't like the art from Cary, try out some other Indy books from small publishers. 3/4 of the books I've read from Dynamite have had complete garbage art.

[Knightt]

Wow, so only clean inks are good art. Joe Kubert and Kelley Jones must be *SQUEE* too.

Ladies and gentlemen, *SQUEE* art:

Thank you for totally nailing it. You've got one... ONE good panel on the entire page and how you go from a buff Aric to a skinny as hell long jumper is beyond me. A little consistency goes a long way. At this point, one is not entirely sure that is actually Aric in the final frame. Of course it is as the loin cloth match and the armor is cruising in from the background but there should be NO QUESTION as to who this is and frankly the body types do not match. Rarely do the body types match in the entire issue but this must be the new trend in comics because if you have seen the recent Age of Ultron drawn by Bryan Hitch... it looks like he is on a serious dose of black tar heroin and nobody in the QC department is checking his work. The entire mini-series is disappointing to look at. I hope Hitch didn't get paid for this work and there is a plan to have a real inker get back on task with X-O.

This is a great case in point where a guy who does great work with pencils should be mandated by federal law not to touch the ink brush.

Many other panels in this issue are just as bad (IMO).

And there is a reason we use "IMO" on this board... uh, it is an acronym for "In My Opinion".

[Dallow Spicer1]

Wow, so only clean inks are good art. Joe Kubert and Kelley Jones must be *SQUEE* too.

Ladies and gentlemen, *SQUEE* art:

Thank you for totally nailing it. You've got one... ONE good panel on the entire page and how you go from a buff Aric to a skinny as hell long jumper is beyond me. A little consistency goes a long way. At this point, one is not entirely sure that is actually Aric in the final frame. Of course it is as the loin cloth match and the armor is cruising in from the background but there should be NO QUESTION as to who this is and frankly the body types do not match. Rarely do the body types match in the entire issue but this must be the new trend in comics because if you have seen the recent Age of Ultron drawn by Bryan Hitch... it looks like he is on a serious dose of black tar heroin and nobody in the QC department is checking his work. The entire mini-series is disappointing to look at. I hope Hitch didn't get paid for this work and there is a plan to have a real inker get back on task with X-O.

This is a great case in point where a guy who does great work with pencils should be mandated by federal law not to touch the ink brush.

Many other panels in this issue are just as bad (IMO).

And there is a reason we use "IMO" on this board... uh, it is an acronym for "In My Opinion".

I understand what you mean Knightt with the 'IMO' but this is also a 'discussion' forum so exchanges of views are valid? I think the criticism of the art is a little harsh, the 2 frames you refer to have Aric at different body angles so I wouldn't necessarily say the body shapes are different. I'm happy with the art overall, at least it doesn't look like a generic Marvel comic.

Anyway, as long as discussions are in a good natured spirit it's all good. You're bashing erwinrafael but he was bashing me for something the other week, we all want the best Valiant comics and it's ok to disagree...'IMO'

[Knightt]

I didn't bash anyone. It may be that erwinrafael is the original poster but that does not mean that I am bashing 'him'. I'm not sure exactly where you get that. (and I don't really care, just saying)

I'm not all giddy as a school girl that Valiant is back. In my opinion, the art is substandard and if Valiant is constantly being told "this is great stuff", they will think they are doing a good job. In my opinion, the art in X-O Manowar #13 is terrible and part of the reason is letting Nord ink his own stuff. For me, issue #1 was stellar and I thought an apparent standard had been set and again, I think that X-O Manowar #13 is substandard.

I gave the Shadowman #0 issue my best ever possible review, so it's not like I am a Valiant hater and I have not been on the message board for over (or damn near) 10 years now chatting about Valiant and now great I thought it was (and sometimes/mostly is).

People don't like my harsh review of the art in X-O Manowar #13... maybe people should think, "wow, Knightt really doesn't like the art in X-O Manowar #13" and maybe Valiant will read this and tell Nord to step it up a notch and earn all of his paycheck. I mean, the covers to Valiant comics are fantastic... for the amount of money I pay each month for every title and pullbox variant, in my opinion it is not much to ask for art that is consistent from an experienced artist.