Advance Review: X-O Manowar #4

X-O Manowar #4
"Then and Now"
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Cary Nord
Inker: Stefano Gaudiano
Colourist: Moose Bauman

The flagship title of the new Valiant Universe continues this week as Aric of Dacia finds himself faced with an armed response to his sudden arrival in the modern age. Robert Venditti and Cary Nord’s relaunched X-O Manowar series has been excellent so far, and from an action perspective, this issue once again delivers as Aric shows off what the Manowar armor can do when faced with modern military hardware. 

Storywise, Venditti continues to develop the schism within the Vine as the religious and military factions disagree about what to with our time-displaced protagonist. We also get to see a meeting between the Vine admiral and what I’m assuming are the descendants of the Vine babies we saw in Issue #1; a scene that seems to be sowing seeds of unrest among the Vine’s sleeper agents that have been stationed on Earth.

Despite how great it was to see the Manowar armor in action again, I found the scenes between the Vine factions in this issue to be the most intriguing. As antagonists, The Vine are a vast improvement over the Spider Aliens  from the original series, as their motivations are not completely black or white( or even really all that known to us, yet) and their culture is much more nuanced. I feel like we still have a lot to learn about this alien race, but Venditti is keeping the real progression of his story a secret, as small layers are revealed to us issue by issue.

If I have one minor gripe with this issue, it is this: when Aric rips the pilot of the Eurofighter out of his jet and demands he tell him where the Emperor is, he speaks to the pilot in English and the pilot responds IN ENGLISH. First of all, they are in Italy, and the pilot is Italian, ergo, they should be speaking Italian. Secondly, Aric of Dacia is a Visigoth. His language predates English by more than a thousand years! I'll have to re-read the first few issues and see if there was any indication that the armor was working as a translator, but as I was reading this issue this really bugged me. 

This is extremely nitpicky, I know. I should be able to use my suspension of disbelief when reading a comic about a barbarian in power armor fighting aliens, but in the original series they made a big deal out of the fact that once he entered the modern era, Aric had to actually learn how to read and speak English. He was an uncultured, violent, illiterate barbarian. In this issue, the helmet transmits 16 centuries of human history directly into Aric’s brain. Boom. I can assume, therefore, that it is also acting as a universal translator, but personally, having the character adapt so quickly to the present day makes him less interesting. 

Granted, in this new series Aric seems to have been branded a terrorist for the incident in Rome, so it remains to be seen exactly how adjusted Aric becomes. 

Some readers might find the pacing of X-O Manowar to be too decompressed, since very little has happened so far beyond the book’s initial premise, but I feel like with every issue of this series I have gotten my money’s worth in entertainment value. There is a really nice balance in this series between plot, character development, action and exposition. It feels very deliberately paced, and though some might find that frustrating, to me it's an indication that the series is building towards something. 

This is definitely a series that will read better once it has been collected in a trade paperback or hardcover collection, but each issue has done a great job in packing a ton of action into the book, interesting details about the aliens, the armor, and Aric himself to bring you into the world of the story, and just enough of the plot to keep things intriguing and leaving you wanting more.

The Summer of Valiant is almost over but this series shows every indication that it will continue to improve as the year continues. Since these first four issues have basically just retold the origin of X-O Manowar, I am really excited to see where the book goes from here. 

Advance Review: Harbinger #3

Harbinger #3
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artists: Khari Evans & Lewis Larosa
Colours: Iain Hannin
August 15, 2012
Valiant

The first two issues of Harbinger have been very good at establishing Peter Stanchek as a character and  setting up the events that have created both his personality, and the world around him. These issues have introduced readers to the modern life of a psychologically unstable youth with incredible psychic abilities, and we have seen first hand what can happen when he uses those powers irresponsibly.

Issue #3 finally introduces us to the Harbinger Foundation, to Toyo Harada and his vision of the world, and to what happens when a young harbinger like Peter Stanchek is discovered by Harada and his vast international network.

Joshua Dysart has done an excellent job in updating Harbinger to fit our modern context, a period of 21st century late-capitalism, when corporate control over our daily lives far exceeds government intervention. When Peter snidely remarks to Harada that he wasn't aware he was escaping his life on the run just to work for a corporation, Harada tells Peter matter of factly, "we're not a corporation Peter, we're a culture," and it struck me as the single-most insightful thing I've read in a comic book in months, if not this year.

More than any other writer currently working for Marvel or DC, Dysart seems to appreciate just how outmoded the old paradigm of the individual vs. the corporation is in a world where corporations like Apple and Google control not only the dissemination and consumption of mass media, but are incorporated by individuals as defining factors of their personalities. These companies influence more than our lives, they influence how we think about ourselves, the construction of our very identity, and conversely, how we relate to other people with similar brand identifications. Apple and Google know that they have become lifestyle brands, and Dysart knows this as well.

Dysart and Evans recognize the impact these kinds of corporations have had on our society since the initial Harbinger series, and it shows in their representation of Harada and his network of corporate interests, from his goal of species cohesion (which sounds vaguely like Rupert Murdoch's crypto-fascist delcaration of "all media are one") to the branding of the world's most popular search engine as "Toyo." This series has officially raised the bar for any comic book series looking to tackle the individual vs. the corporation story.

Clearly, this is thought-provoking stuff, but is it any fun to read? Thankfully I can say without reservation that yes, this book is full of excitement and this issue gives us a real taste of the kind of full-on psychic battles I'm sure we'll be seeing more of as this series progresses. Khari Evans art has been improving with each issue, and this issue reached the highlight of the series thus far when he depicted a fight between an angry Peter and the assistant instructor of the Harbinger school.

It was a short, but satisfying battle between two psychics, and I can't wait to see more combat like this in upcoming issues.The action was flashy and electric but maintained a level of plausibility throughout, and it was easily more engaging than any fight between Marvel's heroes that I've read lately.

I should also mention that Lewis Larosa's art, seen in the flashback scene depicted in this preview, is a sight to behold. It fits the tone of Dysart's writing so well in this scene, and I hope that he continues to be a part of this book because I want to see more art this good.

Which brings me to another point, which I'm sure you'll hear from other writers: this is how a comic book about teenagers with powers should read. There hasn't been a New Mutants, Teen Titans, or equivalent teenage superhero book this good in years.

If you ever liked the concept of teenagers learning to use their powers responsibly and have taken that premise seriously, then you need to read Harbinger.

As a fan  of the original series from the 90s, I was cautiously optimistic that this reincarnation would live up to its predecessor, but if this series continues to be this good I am confident in saying that the new Harbinger will surpass the original in terms of overall quality.

This is a thought-provoking, frequently challenging work of art that like another comic I'm really enjoying these days, Saga, makes just about everything else in the mainstream comics biz look like it was produced by rank amateurs.

There is so much more I want to say about this book, but I want you to discover it for yourself. If you've held off on Valiant or this series so far, head to your local comics shop this Wednesday or go to Comixology and buy the first three issues of this series right now.

If you enjoy mature stories in realistic settings that deal with contemporary issues like the ones I've described above, then you will love Harbinger.

Don't make me use my mind powers on you.