X-O Manowar #15 discussion

[tchalla8]

OK, just got through reading X-O #15, and I absolutely loved it. Not high on action, but GREAT characterization all the way around, and I love the way they're setting up this next arc. And Gilad's appearance...just his presence...it's so good and so appropriate, and it makes me that much more eager to read his own title in a few months. The fact that there is a previous relationship between Aric and Gilad from Gilad's days fighting for the Visigoths adds so much to the depth of the characters and what they're saying, and I commend the team for having the foresight to put that in place all the way back at the beginning. It's nice to see someone who has some advantages on Aric. He's not infallible and all-knowing, and I'm glad they acknowledged that. Gilad is much wiser and has seen more than Aric, and that came across well in their exchange.

And while I like Nord, I'm one of the few that actually prefers Garbett's work to Nord's, so it was a welcome sight for me to see.

Terrific issue all the way around, and waiting for the pay off of this next month is going to be a long wait.

Well done!

[Zaphod]

oh that is great, someone's gonna be maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!

or just pleased as punch to get a shoutout

[Zaphod]

And while I like Nord, I'm one of the few that actually prefers Garbett's work to Nord's, so it was a welcome sight for me to see.

Terrific issue all the way around, and waiting for the pay off of this next month is going to be a long wait.

Well done!

This is the most pressing point I wanted to make with this issue. I really liked what Nord was doing at the start of this series. The last arc I disliked quite a lot due to the art. Garbetts cleaner style is much more enjoyable.

Bold of Aric to just bring the ship down and seek to claim Rome as his. These large, world changing events are things that really do need to ripple into other titles if this is a "shared universe" imo.

Was that Neville freaking out and telling everyone to run when the impossibly huge space shift came down from Space?

I also enjoyed Aric and Gilad knowing each other, it makes their clash all the more personal. It also gets me excited for the Eternal Warrior book.

[BugsySig]

This issue was tha shiznit! Loved it...From Aric's speech to his convo with Gilad...awesome. And I enjoyed Garbett's work here as well. I'd love to see him on a regular title, but he kicks *SQUEE* as a fill-in.

Also, was this the Sven that Alexander was speaking to back in an earlier issue? Would make sense for a Vine planting to be working at an ET surveillance base.

[SJS4]

Loved this issue for the most part. Garbet's art is really good but i do miss Nord's work.

Loved having Gilad make an appearance and also loved that it referenced his appearance in X-O #1, but god i soooooooooo hope VEI gets rid of the dark blue onesy. Way too superhero-ish and reminds me of the baby blue onesy from VH1.

[erwinrafael]

Loved this issue for the most part. Garbet's art is really good but i do miss Nord's work.

Same here. Garbett's art is clean. But it is not bold. No risk-taking, no experimentation.

[Baramos]

And while I like Nord, I'm one of the few that actually prefers Garbett's work to Nord's, so it was a welcome sight for me to see.

Terrific issue all the way around, and waiting for the pay off of this next month is going to be a long wait.

Well done!

This is the most pressing point I wanted to make with this issue. I really liked what Nord was doing at the start of this series. The last arc I disliked quite a lot due to the art. Garbetts cleaner style is much more enjoyable.

Bold of Aric to just bring the ship down and seek to claim Rome as his. These large, world changing events are things that really do need to ripple into other titles if this is a "shared universe" imo.

Was that Neville freaking out and telling everyone to run when the impossibly huge space shift came down from Space?

I also enjoyed Aric and Gilad knowing each other, it makes their clash all the more personal. It also gets me excited for the Eternal Warrior book.

He was claiming "Dacia", that's mostly modern day Romania. That city was Bucharest.

I too really liked this issue, I like when comic books are willing to do big, world-changing events like this and examine the ramifications of certain "what-if" concepts like an "alien" force taking over a small Eastern European country. Reminds me a lot of what Cable was trying to do in "Cable & Deadpool".

[jmatt]

Fantastic issue all around. Great art, dialogue and plot.

Aric's plan is bold, it's nice to see the story take a potentially world changing turn. In VH1, Aric and the armor always operated on a smaller stage. But it looks like he's gonna be a headline event around the world with VEI. When he spoke about a land for "my people", I felt a similarity to the creation of Israel.

[grendeljd]

Great issue. Anyone saying Aric has no character at this point is not paying attention. He hasn't learned to grow beyond his headstrong ways yet, as Gilad had to point out to him. Loved that whole conversation, there was an epic feel to this understated meeting of two of the great characters in the VU. Really got a strong sense of their history together, and the impact of the very different paths their lives have taken.

Garbett's work is excellent in the issue - loved the two page spread of all the space debris. I also thought it was cool to see that the various world governments are scrambling to try and salvage it already. Hope to see this referred to elsewhere again.

Aric leading his people from Loam to Earth is a bit of an echo of his storyline in the original unity, when he established a kingdom in the Lost Land. Very curious to see if this will tie into the upcoming event, despite the assertion that it'll be a different story this time out. I think it's going to be a great arc regardless, and I have a foreboding sense that it will only end in tragedy.

[pixierosa]

I agree with everyone's liking of the relationship between Aric and EW and the richness that it brings the story. Excellent. Not to be a total girl here, but... I also thought it was interesting that Deidre was freed and waited for Aric for many years. I wonder what happened to her. I've been slightly annoyed that after all the ballyhoo Aric raised about getting his wife back, he fairly easily moved on to the first woman he met. Sincerely hope that hearing she waited everlong for him served as a kick in the nads. (Woman POV ).

As for Aric, he's everything Gilad claims. So headstrong, with the self-righteousness of a child, that he doesn't see that what he's doing to the people of Budapest is exactly what he says happened to his own people.

More continuation of the theme of super-powers but not heroes. This human, very grey area, is one reason why I like Valiant's titles so much.

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Alright, forget Planet Death. The last 8 or 9 pages of this issue were friggin' amazing! Gilad and Aric talking, fighting was incredible. Done with such tension. I really found the tension palpable, waiting to see what was going to happen next.
Lee Garbett is a BEAST! No disrespect to Cary Nord, but I have preferred Garbett's work on X-O every time he draws an issue. I know the month just started, and I haven't read Q&W #1 yet, but this is probably going to be best issue of the month. LOVED THIS ISSUE!

Oh, and Colonel Sven? Hah! And loved the old school homage with X-O over a realistic "photo image" over Europe.

[chriskay99]

One of the best issues of X-O yet! Really loved the slow build of the issue. Especially after all of the action that took place during Planet Death (and even the preceding issues), it felt good to kind of step back and really deal with Aric and his place now on Earth. All of the stuff with him in the museum was great and the Gilad/Aric conversation was killer. I'm a fan of Garbett's work so glad to see him do more for VEI.

Also loved Shanhara getting in to the background of the last panel. Bring on the smackdown next issue!

[Bone-A-Fach-ee]

Garbett's work is excellent in the issue - loved the two page spread of all the space debris. I also thought it was cool to see that the various world governments are scrambling to try and salvage it already. Hope to see this referred to elsewhere again.

And I enjoyed Garbett's work here as well. I'd love to see him on a regular title, but he kicks *SQUEE* as a fill-in.

Also, was this the Sven that Alexander was speaking to back in an earlier issue? Would make sense for a Vine planting to be working at an ET surveillance base.

And did anyone else stop to think.... Who sent Gilad? I mean, how did he wind up with the duty of confronting Aric. Did Gilad know that it was even going to be Aric before he stepped into that museum?

Again, just so awesome!

[Bl00dsh0t]

Garbett's work is excellent in the issue - loved the two page spread of all the space debris. I also thought it was cool to see that the various world governments are scrambling to try and salvage it already. Hope to see this referred to elsewhere again.

And I enjoyed Garbett's work here as well. I'd love to see him on a regular title, but he kicks *SQUEE* as a fill-in.

Also, was this the Sven that Alexander was speaking to back in an earlier issue? Would make sense for a Vine planting to be working at an ET surveillance base.

And did anyone else stop to think.... Who sent Gilad? I mean, how did he wind up with the duty of confronting Aric. Did Gilad know that it was even going to be Aric before he stepped into that museum?

Again, just so awesome!

Thats one of the keys to this arc imo - what is Gilad doing there? I haven't read how his arc ended in A&A so not sure if that transpires directly to his arrival to confront Aric?

[BugsySig]

Garbett's work is excellent in the issue - loved the two page spread of all the space debris. I also thought it was cool to see that the various world governments are scrambling to try and salvage it already. Hope to see this referred to elsewhere again.

And I enjoyed Garbett's work here as well. I'd love to see him on a regular title, but he kicks *SQUEE* as a fill-in.

Also, was this the Sven that Alexander was speaking to back in an earlier issue? Would make sense for a Vine planting to be working at an ET surveillance base.

And did anyone else stop to think.... Who sent Gilad? I mean, how did he wind up with the duty of confronting Aric. Did Gilad know that it was even going to be Aric before he stepped into that museum?

Again, just so awesome!

Thats one of the keys to this arc imo - what is Gilad doing there? I haven't read how his arc ended in A&A so not sure if that transpires directly to his arrival to confront Aric?

I would think we will get a flashback or discussion answering that question in the next issue. There obviously is a bit of time that took place between the ship landing and Aric & Gilad's confrontation.

[VEI Reborn]

How does this book keep getting better and better? Awesome stuff!!

[Captain Craig]

OMG This title was already head/shoulders my favorite title AND Eternal Warrior one of my top anticipated characters to get a solo is here!!!

I will say if you're just an action junkie and not vested in the characters this may not be a jumping on point for you.
If however, characterization and watching an arc build to a logical climax(yes I'm assuming but really now?) intrigues you THEN PICK THIS ISSUE UP----NOW!!! The issue modestly seems to jump around a short span of time but works really well.

The issue opens strong, leaves a few questions and ends with a tease of what is to come....testosterone fueled release coming up.

What made Aric go to that museum? So the ship lands, he addresses the Visigoths, then goes there? Why?
How did Giliad know to go there? Was he in the area, saw the ship? Does he have US military contacts that sent him?

I throughly and whole heartedly enjoyed the man-to-man conversation from a place of respect.

I admit I thought the issue would be half full of just panel after panel for 4-6 pages of Aric & Giliad throwing down. How refreshing to be wrong and get more depth out of each character. Couldn't help but notice Shanahara lurking in the last panel!!

This is probably the 2nd or 3rd best single issue to date imo of the whole Valiant relaunch.
Shadowman #0
Archer & Armstrong #10
X-O Manowar #15

I could flip those but still, strong issue, STRONG!!

[hawkeyeps]

Great issue, really enjoyed Lee Garbett's art.

Something I noticed when I got the 1:20 on Wednesday, the 1:20 is Ladronn and the 1:50 is Kotaki.

They are reversed on the covers page here at VFans and it threw me for loop for a minute I was like "did I just get a 1:50 for $12?"...no such luck though I'm pretty sure the Ladronn is the 1:20, still glad to grab it for $12 though

[jmatt]

I also thought it was interesting that Deidre was freed and waited for Aric for many years. I wonder what happened to her.

It being a comic, I immediately wondered if she is somehow still alive. Perhaps grabbed by the Vine subsequent to the events we've seen to date, or sumpn.

[bribri]

Quick question about variants for this issue. The main website seems to have the images for the Ladronn and Kotaki variants switched (one can see the Ladronn signature on the one labeled as "Kotaki"). Regardless, does anyone know the ratios? Is it 1:20 and 1:50? If so, which is which?

[Captain Craig]

I'm not a variant cover collector. Space is limited and to have multiple books that ONLY have a different cover seems a waste of space&money if done regularly for the top 6 publishers who routinely do variants. Marvel, DC, Dynamite, IDW, Valiant, Zenoscope etc

That said if I could get the 8-bit variants for a decent price of the Valiant titles that would be the one exception I'd make.

[hawkeyeps]

Quick question about variants for this issue. The main website seems to have the images for the Ladronn and Kotaki variants switched (one can see the Ladronn signature on the one labeled as "Kotaki"). Regardless, does anyone know the ratios? Is it 1:20 and 1:50? If so, which is which?

Fixed, thanks Greg

Ladronn is 1:20 and Kotaki is 1:50.

[Donovan]

Best issue of X-O Manowar to date. The body language in Garbett's drawings of Gilad and Aric in the second half of the book are fantastic, and really help tell the story.

[Zaphod]

Thats one of the keys to this arc imo - what is Gilad doing there? I haven't read how his arc ended in A&A so not sure if that transpires directly to his arrival to confront Aric?

he is the fist and the steel of the Earth, I'd imagine what Aric is trying to do the Earth is not happy about and sent him to stop Aric. Eternal Warrior in this iteration of VEI is also partially his own Geomancer. I preferred it when Gilly was reliant on his direction as provided by the Geomancer.

[BugsySig]

Thats one of the keys to this arc imo - what is Gilad doing there? I haven't read how his arc ended in A&A so not sure if that transpires directly to his arrival to confront Aric?

he is the fist and the steel of the Earth, I'd imagine what Aric is trying to do the Earth is not happy about and sent him to stop Aric. Eternal Warrior in this iteration of VEI is also partially his own Geomancer. I preferred it when Gilly was reliant on his direction as provided by the Geomancer.

It has been established that Gilad has worked for/with MI:6 before, so its very possible he was sent there by some law enforcement or international agency...or he saw Aric on TV and went there on his own.