X-O Manowar 3: Planet Death

Comic Info

X-O Manowar (3) #10

Reprints X-O Manowar (3) #9-14 (January 2013-June 2013).  Aric has been pushed to the limit.  After discovering his friend Gafti has been used by the Vine, Aric decides to take his war directly to the Vine.  Travelling to the planet of Loam, Aric vows to stop the Vine once and for all.  Aric discovers that he is not alone in his battle and that he is gaining followers.  When he discovers that descendants of his people survive on Loam, Aric realizes the battle is personal.

Written by Robert Venditti, X-O Manowar Volume 3:  Planet Death is a Valiant Comics superhero comic book collection.  The trade paperback collects two runs of the series and is a follow-up to X-O Manowar Volume 2:  Enter Ninjak.  The first storyline “Prelude to Planet Death” ran in X-O Manowar (3) #9-10 with art from Trevor Hairsine and the second storyline “Planet Death” ran from #11-14 with art by Cary Nord.  X-O Manowar (3) #14 also featured one of Valiant’s 8-Bit covers to tie-in with the release of their downloadable game Harbinger Wars:  Battle for Las Vegas with an homage to Metroid.

X-O Manowar is a fun comic that hopefully will catch on.  In a world dominated by Marvel, DC, and Image, Valiant’s relaunch is one of the more interesting stories of the comic market.  With solid stories like X-O Manowar 3:  Planet Death, it deserves a chance.

X-O Manowar #14 (8-Bit Cover)

This collection essentially wraps up the first arc of the series.  It brings the story full circle and has Aric not only avenging his people, but reunited with his clan.  The prelude has some nice moments with Aric confronting his friend Gafti (and Gafti’s ultimate sacrifice), and it does propel the character to really seek out revenge.  The second story explores the bond between Aric and the armor (Shanhara) and builds the idea that Aric is almost godlike.

The only faults with X-O Manowar are structure based.  Like many series, I feel this story probably could have been told a bit tighter.  It isn’t as drawn out as some series, but Venditti probably could have shaved off an issue…maybe even two to get the story tighter and even more solid.  The other slight problem is that it is still difficult to distinguish the Vine.  They all look alike.  I would have liked more named Vine members like Alexander Dorian in the second story.  I look forward to future stories and see the tale move past the Vine onto something new.

X-O Manowar continues to be one of the better reads on the market.  With an interesting character and decent story arc, the book kind of reminds me of the current incarnation of Prophet…but more action and fighting based.  X-O Manowar 3:  Planet Death should be checked out for fans of barbarian and space fantasy…it is a worthy ride.  X-O Manowar 3:  Planet Death is followed by X-O Manowar 4:  Homecoming.

Related Links:

X-O Manowar 1: By the Sword

X-O Manowar 2:  Enter Ninjak