Now that Aric has established his new country for his people inside Bucharest, Romania, he must neutralise the growing concern from world governments at this sudden annexation. But dissent begins to grow in his ranks as, while Aric's mind might still be in the 5th century, he and his people are firmly in the 21st century and toiling in the fields pales in comparison to a trip to the local supermarket. And a shady organisation begins picking off Aric's much put-upon people... In the opening scene of this issue, Robert Venditti takes us back to Aric's youth before all the alien abduction craziness began, and he was just a kid living in 380AD with his Visigoth parents Rolf and Inga. I liked this sequence a lot as it does some excellent character building - we find out the origins of Aric's insistence on picking this specific land to be his new home and why he refers to it by the old name for his country, Dacia, and it also establishes his character's philosophical outlook of fighting first, asking questions later. The issue contains little action but sets up and develops a lot of interesting story threads for Aric to deal with, nearly all of them - in an interesting twist - requiring him to do more than strap on the Manowar armour and meet the threat head on. Aric's mindset is still very much rooted in the past and hasn't adapted to the ways of convenience we in the 21st century take for granted. For example if we need bread, we don't need to grow wheat in a field, reap it, grind it, cook it, and make it into bread - we simply go to the shops! Aric's people discover this fact for themselves which looks set to scupper his plans for a harmonious New Dacia society. Alexander Dorian, who made a brief cameo at the end of the last issue, returns in this issue to discuss with Aric terms of asylum in the US for him and his people if only they leave this New Dacia madness behind. Aric, however, stays true to character and rebuffs Dorian's offer in a foolhardy show of pride just as the issue closes with armoured men with guns and shiny helmets showing up - nothing goes smoothly for old Aric does it?
Robert Venditti continues to make X-O Manowar a fresh, exciting and intelligent comic book series that's as brilliant as it is in #17 as it was in the first issue, and this comic leaves you wanting more as soon as you close it. Lee Garbett's art is as superb as it always is and matches Venditti's fast, smart script in every aspect. X-O Manowar #17 is another fine issue in an excellent series.
X-O Manowar #17 by Robert Venditti and Lee Garbett is out now