X-O Manowar #5 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking

 

X-O Manowar #5 Pre-Order Cover by Christian Ward

Sometimes, you're drawn to a particular artist, even if you don't know why. Penciler Emilio Laiso is one of those talented people for me. I'm not entirely sure why I find his work so powerful.

 

Some of it stems from with the way Emilio evokes the era of X-O Manowar that I love so much. For 1990s Valiant fans, it's the middle period after Jim Shooter left, and before Birthquake imbued the series a more 90s Image Superhero appeal. After a flurry of writers came and went, colorist Jorge Gonzalez stepped up to helm Aric's ship. 

For a couple glorious years, Jorge Gonzalez steered X-O Manowar as the series writer. In fact, if you refer to my August 8, 2021 post Those Amazing X-O Manowar Creators, you'll see that Jorge not only wrote the scripts, but he also colored the cover and interior art for much of that era. An amazing X-O Manowar creator, indeed.

Perhaps I'll finish my list of the 90s X-O Manowar series credits, if for no other reason than to chart the entirety of Jorge Gonzalez's contributions. But alas, I digress.

 

There's a sense of beauty in Emilio Laiso's work in X-O Manowar. While not robbing Aric of his manliness, Emilio finds a way to soften the overall look, and help it appeal to a wider audience.

His images are just so pleasing to look at.

His characters' emotions also shine through, regardless of circumstance. They ably reveal mood, stress, and nuance.

 

Perhaps some of what I find beautiful and pleasing in Emilio Laiso's X-O Manowar series derives from a sense of symmetry. Compare the above scene, in which the nanite swarm attacks Aric on the sea floor, with the scene below in which the water shoots into the air as Troy Whitaker rescues our hero from the ocean depths.

In both cases, the imagery reminds me of something growing and alive, such as a plant or tree.

This time out, Emilio is aided by Raffaele Forte. Study the images above and below, and tell me Raffaele didn't substantially contribute to them with his inking.

Go on, I dare you.

 

All the reasons I've listed should convince you how much Emilio Laiso's penciling and Raffaele Forte's inking contribute to X-O Manowar #5. But when all of those reasons have been discussed and argued over, one fact remains. 

Emilio Laiso & Raffaele Forte help us care about our hero, Aric of Dacia.

 

In the end, that's good enough for me.

Dragon Dave