4. X-O Manowar #18 By Robert Venditti And Lee Garbett (Valiant)
X-O Manowar #18 concludes its latest story arc in preparation for next month's Unity Event which will cast Aric and Shanhara, the sentient Manowar armour, against Valiant's first superhero team-up. Aric has freed his fellow surviving visigoths from enslavement by the alien Vine, taken them on one of their ships back to Earth, and annexed a part of modern day Romania ,which was once Visigoth land called Dacia in the time of the Romans. But his actions are considered an act of war and the Vine spacecraft has alerted Russian military to stave off this unexpected threat. Also, people think Aric and his fellow Visigoths, while appearing human, could be aliens in disguise they did arrive in an alien vessel and their leader is flying around in an alien suit, right? And there's dissent in the ranks as 21st century convenience disrupts Aric's antiquated ideas for rebuilding their old lives. The story arcs up 'til now have been about humans fighting aliens but this recent one has focused on Aric's integration into 21st century society and his battle to live once more, as he wants, amongst other humans. Unfortunately, he's gone about it in his usual block-headed way, fighting everyone at every turn without understanding the complexities his actions have wrought. Writer Robert Venditti explores all of the angles in this story from this larger plot to the smaller ones where Aric faces resistance from Volo, a fellow Visigoth who objects to being ruled by a King and working in a field for food when supermarkets full of produce exist. It was surprising to read the opening sequence too when I hadn't even considered how the locals would've viewed the sudden spaceship and its (seemingly) human crew settling nearby - it shows how much thought and effort Venditti's put into this story. But while this issue contains some great story points, it's mostly about the action as the military try to eliminate the Visigoths once and for all. Given the sophistication of 21st century people against 5th century people, you'd think it'd be a bloodbath, especially as Aric is drawn away by an airborne threat, but Venditti gives these survivors some credit and they manage to pull off one hell of an unexpected defence! X-O Manowar is a brilliant series because Venditti is such an impressive and talented writer. He's brought imaginative storytelling and quality writing to each issue and they've been a joy to read. This story arc ends with a satisfactory finale which also neatly sets up Unity next month I only wish Venditti were writing that title too. X-O Manowar #18 is another triumphant issue in the best series Valiant is currently publishing.