Is It Good? X-O Manowar #20 Review

A comic book tie-in is like getting an additional episode added to a TV show to flesh out the ancillary characters. Case in point, Valiant Entertainment’s X-O Manowar, which gives us the moments that occurred just after the cliffhanger in Unity #2. Problem is, tie-ins sometimes read like fluff that never needed to be created in the first place. Let’s give this puppy a chance either way though: is it good?

X-O Manowar #20 (Valiant Entertainment)

Missed our review of the last issue? Click the link.

If you didn’t read Unity #2 you will be completely lost entering this issue. Not much explanation is given aside from the summary page of course, but the jist is X-O has had his armor taken by a group of ragtag “good guys.” He’s now the weakest he’s been since he was captured by aliens thousands of years ago. Whatever will he do?

SPOILER ALERT.

The plot of this issue is funny in that X-O is laying on the ground in pain for the entirety of it. This makes the issue more about the armor than about the man, but it’s neat to see his unfailing patience and courage to wait out his armor deprivation. This gives the other characters plenty of time to express their feelings and for writer Robert Venditti to explore the dynamics between them. This issue also spends quite a bit of time building up a Russian attack that is imminent. Unfortunately that makes this installment feature a lot of waiting around for things to happen. It’s clearly filling in a gap that Unity #3 will explain in a panel or two. That means much of this story is filler. Rut roh.

Artist Cary Nord keeps things interesting, which is saying a lot considering it’s mostly talking heads in this issue. There is a piece with the suit attacking its current wearer with some nice special effects, but for the most part Nord doesn’t have much to do this issue.

Yah yah, you coward.

6.5

• Art keeps the boring premise alive
• Some good dialogue

• Not much here besides character dev of characters I’m not familiar with

Is It Good?

A very skippable tie-in due to it not adding much to the story as a whole. Generally there’s good dialogue and art, but it’s not sustainable when nothing much happens.