X-O Manowar #9 Review

 

X-O Manowar #9 Cover A by Rahzzah

We left X-O Manowar #8 with Troy Whitaker displaying his new nanite-powered suit, directing the Singularity that controls New York City. The helmet utterly transforms his features. Flames rise like horns. His eyebrows arc up. His chin piece suggests a goatee. Even his skull seems to swell, pushing away the dark bangs that normally cover his forehead.

In X-O Manowar #9, Troy does what he always does. As a public benefactor, he explains how much he has helped people, and will continue to contribute to their lives. He is, above all things, an influencer.

Meanwhile, Aric hangs from a tree, and young Desmond, who stole his mother's car in X-O Manowar #1, points out that Troy is acting unethically.

In previous X-O Manowar series, Aric has tried--and failed--to hold a family together. On the planet Gorin, he even tried to unite three warring nations, only to see them turn against his rule. So in the first issue of this series, we saw him reject all worldly values of success. 

He rejected Shanhara's arguments that he needed money, or that public perceptions were as important as actually helping people. Looking back on those early issues, it's interesting to note that Shanhara and Whitaker espoused similar values. Perhaps that's why Shanhara was so open to letting Troy tinker with her source code.

All along, Shanhara and Whitaker seemed partners in trying to convince Aric to embrace their astute, contemporary outlook. Yet, the stubborn fighter that he was, Aric resisted. Throughout this series, he has acted first and foremost to help ordinary, everyday people. Now in X-O Manowar #9, shorn of Shanhara, his first thoughts are still geared to protecting others.

Troy Whitaker may believe that manipulation and control are the best ways to usher in a new and better tomorrow. He opened up his luxury home to a homeless woman, and offered her all the resources at his command to help her complete her mission of fixing Tina and Desmond's car. He even rebuilt her neighborhood in Harlem after Aric's battle with the Ukrainian warlord Yakiov.

Yet in X-O Manowar #9, it is Aric the woman sides with, not Troy. She identifies with Aric's values, and rejects Troy's.

Writer Desmond Hopeless Hallum has mused on how we relate to each other through the media in this series. He's also pointed out how much we stand to benefit by accepting others for who they are. In X-O Manowar #9, all those themes come down to one thing: believing in your friends.

After his failures to use Shanhara to achieve his objectives in previous series, Aric chose to take a step back in this one. Like most of us, he's not as intelligent as Troy Whitaker. Still, accepting that you don't know everything, and committing yourself to a  life of helping others, seems far wiser than trying to force or manipulate them into accepting your vision.

While Aric isn't the smart, rich, upwardly-moving socialite that we find so easy to admire, when the situation demands it, he can reason effectively with others. Still, in his heart, he is a soldier. He'll demonstrate both qualities in this climactic issue.

After exploring the relationship between Shanhara and Aric in a new and appealing way, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum brings Aric and Shanhara's conflict with Troy Whitaker and the Singularity to a close. He spins this final, bittersweet tale with the able assistance of penciler and inker Emilio Laiso, colorist Ruth Redmond, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. 

 

Through their combined efforts, I'm left wanting more. Not just more stories about Aric, but also about those who welcomed him into their lives, and supported Aric in his recent endeavors. Many thanks to the creators, and all the good folks at Valiant, for bringing us such a fun, entertaining, and thought-provoking X-O Manowar series.

Dragon Dave

X-O Manowar #9 Penciling & Inking

 

X-O Manowar #9 Cover B by Michael Cho

In X-O Manowar #9, penciler & inker Emilio Laiso shows us how the Singularity can transform our world. While the nanite swarms typically manifest like foliage or crystals, these hordes or invasive microscopic machines can take on any form. This includes viewscreens that can carry Troy Whitaker's message to every corner of New York City.

If you can zoom into this picture, do so. Compare Whitaker's face on the various viewscreens. Some of them look a little different to me, as if taken from a slightly different camera angle.

Emilio certainly drew a lot of observers into the above scene. Most don't show any shading. Yet the man who is closest to us, over to the right, has been inked in.

In the next panel, I like the body language of the police officer on the left. Leaning back, with his hand on his hip, you can guess what he thinks about Troy Whitaker.

 

Perhaps I'm wrong about the nanites forming TV monitors on the crowded street and in the police station. Still, I don't remember a big flatscreen TV hanging on the side of the building (and over an apartment window) in the basketball court.

I don't know if the idea of showing the basketball court came from Emilio Laiso or writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum. But as this is where this series began, with Aric and Desmond playing basketball, it's nice to see it again.

I'm glad to see that the basketball board Aric wrecked, and the metal supports he bent in X-O Manowar #1, have been replaced. (Yes, even if those funds came from Troy Whitaker).

Lastly, I thought I'd share with you the way the Singularity has transformed Whitaker's robots. Formerly they sported a sleek design and gleaming blue paint. What do you think of them now?

On the one hand, they look somewhat crystalline, and look kind of cool. At the same time, they also remind me of a fruit or nut that has been attacked by an insect or disease, and warped its original appearance. I'm particularly fixated on the hands, which now resemble claws.

Attack of the Robot Crabs! 

X-O Manowar Versus MechaCrabzilla!*

The Day the Earth Stood Still...and the Giant Robot Crabs Took Over!!!

 

"No, don't be silly," Troy Whitaker would doubtless say. "They're only here to protect you all."

Dragon Dave

*Or should that be MechaCrabOWar?

X-O Manowar #3 Preview Pages

X-O Manowar #3 Cover A by Christian Ward

 

With the upcoming issue #9 promising to be the triumphant climax of writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum and Emilio Laiso's epic run, I thought I'd take a look back at X-O Manowar #3 this weekend. This story picks up on the famous Mount Me'e in Hawaii. (At least, it's famous in the Valiant Universe). Anyway, it's angry, and Troy Whitaker, Aric's new Public Relations Manager, has ordered him to quiet the volcano's little tantrum. 

Enjoy!

 

As you can see, X-O Manowar #3 also gives us our solitary peek into General Yakiov's base of operations in the Ukraine, before he decided he was fed up with Aric's interference in his country's affairs, and decided to take the fight to X-O's hometown. Personally, I'm still not sure what to think about Yakiov, are you? But then, anyone who would dump hundreds of old tube TVs on Aric just to deliver a simple message definitely has issues.*

Also, with the singularity taking over New York City in issue #8, I should also mention that part of it--a nanite swarm--makes it's first appearance in this issue. So that's another reason to check out X-O Manowar #3 again.

Dragon Dave

*See X-O Manowar #2

X-O Manowar #8 Review

 

X-O Manowar #8 Pre-Order Cover by Dave Johnson

In X-O Manowar #8, writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum ramps up the stakes for Aric of Dacia, his alien armor Shanhara, his adopted home city of New York City, and our modern world that he's vowed to protect. With our 5th Century Visigoth seemingly out of the picture, it's time for young Desmond Morris to rise up and defend New York City. Cut off from her armor, Shanhara counsels and guides him as he combats his fear.

Desmond may have lived with billionaire Troy Whitaker for a few months. He may owe the rebuilding of his neighborhood to the technological innovator. But now he realizes that Troy, a smart and visionary benefactor, is behind the singularity's attack on New York.

In Human terms, Troy Whitaker may be a genius. Yet everything the man touches, or seeks to improve, ends up strikingly different than before. Compare the way the singularity now manifests in New York City with how it looked on the floating mountains of Tibet in X-O Manowar #6. Penciler Emilio Laiso and inker Raffaele Forte portray this new, improved singularity not as thriving plant life, but all straight lines and sharp edges.

Desmond could have climbed down from the roof and rejoined his mother in their apartment. But Shanhara has a bead on Aric's location. So Desmond takes a deep breath, and ventures into the singularity-dominated streets.

While much of X-O Manowar #8 follows Desmond's hunt for Aric, Shanhara also reveals a secret history. She tells of battles she waged from within the armor during the events in X-O Manowar #5, 6 and 7. Doctor Tomorrow penciler and inker Jim Towe brings these sequences to life, aided by X-O Manowar stalwart colorist Ruth Redmond. 

Shanhara's version of events may not paint Troy Whitaker as wholly evil. Sadly, it appears he has acted in a duplicitous manner all along. Befriending Aric, and gaining access to Shanhara, were just steps toward his goal to upgrade human civilization.

When someone is as successful as Troy at accumulating money, power, and influence, what could be more natural than to wonder what he could do, if he alone steered humanity's course into the future?

The way Troy harnesses the singularity for his own ends reminds me of how Aric attempted to take control of Planet Gorin in writer Matt Kindt's previous X-O Manowar series. Aric--the son of a tribal king--and Troy--an industrial leader--share the belief that one wise and powerful person should rule the masses. 

 

Troy Whitaker could offer much technological advancement to humanity. Still, consider his promises in the above panel with how he uses the singularity to limit the freedom of New York City's citizens in the panel below.

X-O Manowar #8 offers readers an unprecedented insight into Shanhara, the sentient consciousness that inhabits Aric's powerful, alien armor. It also reveals the astounding way in which Troy Whitaker would use the singularity to steer mankind toward an upgraded tomorrow. 

This issue fuses golden age Science Fiction stories of a Jetsons-like future with newer ideas on how humanity might attain that, such as nanotech and the singularity.

 

For all its grand ideas, and its portrayal of future marvels, X-O Manowar #8 remains a very human story. It's the story of all of us, and for all of us. It's a story that asks what could we all accomplish, if we would only cast aside self-doubt, and truly, genuinely believe in ourselves.

Dragon Dave

X-O Manowar #8 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking Part 2

X-O Manowar #8 Cover B by Christian Duce

 

While much of X-O Manowar #8 concerns Desmond's interactions with the Hive Mind's attack on New York City, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum weaves a second plot strand into his narrative. For this sequence, Shanhara relates to Desmond what exactly happened to her during Aric's underwater battle with the nanite swarm in X-O Manowar #5. Thankfully, Shanhara relates her story to us visually, and those panels are penciled and inked by artist Jim Towe.

 

The way Jim captures scenes, and relates them to us in their simplest form, is immediately evident. The youthful vibe he portrayed in his earlier Valiant series, Doctor Tomorrow, is also apparent. 

 

 

Jim's style may seem less involved than X-O Manowar readers are used to. Still, as you can see from this flashback sequence, he throws an interesting perspective on that underwater battle. We're not used to viewing Aric from inside the armor, or how the sentient entity called Shanhara views her 5th Century Visigoth warrior.

 

 

Prior to the launch of X-O Manowar #1, then-Senior Editor Heather Antos promised readers that this new series would make it clear how very different X-O Manowar was from other comic book heroes-in-armor-suits. In X-O Manowar #8 she and Dennis Hopeless Hallum certainly delivered, courtesy of penciler and inking Jim Towe. 

Thanks for stepping in and bringing Shanhara's story to life, Jim! 

Dragon Dave

P.S. Yesterday I stated that penciler Emilio Laiso and inker Raffaele Forte only did the first few pages of X-O Manowar #8. After reading the physical book, as opposed to the lettermarked review copy, I now believe Emilio and Raffaele covered the entirety of Desmond's scenes. Read the issue, and decide for yourself.

X-O Manowar #8 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking Part 1

 

X-O Manowar #8 Cover A by Rahzzah

As with Javier Pulido in Ninjak #4, Emilio Laiso does the first few pages of X-O Manowar #8, then steps aside for someone else to take over the penciling and inking. Emilio has done such a beautiful job on this series, bringing a welcome softness to the overall look of the book, as well as imbuing all the characters with warmth and personality, that it's hard to contemplate him leaving. But the Previews website lists him as the artist for X-O Manowar #9, so hopefully that's correct, and he'll be back to complete this series.

Fingers crossed, Emilio Laiso fans!

 

 

I love how Emilio draws this panel. He captures a slice of the 9 to 5 office worker's life, in which white collar workers look out through the plate glass windows and see their world erupting in chaos. It's one of those scenes we see a lot in cinemas, where ordinary life is suddenly shattered by a huge storm, or dinosaurs, or giant robots rising from the ocean and striding through the streets. 

Imagine workers in London, England, watching from the Post Office Tower, or the Gherkin building, as the giant dinosaur in Savage #1 strode through the streets, smashing cars underfoot, and finally grabbing Big Ben and ripping it off the ground to swing like a Cricket Bat. This time, it's not Professor Nealon who's responsible for the attack, but Troy Whitaker.

 

One of the things that intrigues me in X-O Manowar #8 is how young Desmond holds the Shanhara orb. He's come to know this alien consciousness that inhabits Aric's armor over a many months--perhaps as much as a year at this point. Due to what happened to Aric at the end of X-O Manowar #7, the orb may contain the last of Shanhara's essence.

Yet he cradles her. He lifts her up, making his hands a pedestal for her. She may have become his friend, but his hands resemble those of a supplicant, or a person in awe of someone much greater--and more powerful--than himself.

Which is, of course, exactly the case.

 

Emilio drew Desmond gazing upon Manhattan as the Hive Mind's attacked. Now we see the results: New York City better resembles an alien planet. This panel reminds me of a scene from one of Stephen R Donaldson's timeless novels, in which Thomas Covenant returns to a fantasy land he thinks he knows, only to see it erupt before him, with months of plant growth occurring in minutes. 

In X-O Manowar #8, penciler and inker Emilio Laiso shows us how ordinary people react to the extraordinary, how much Desmond loves Shanhara, and how a world we think we know can--in an instant--become foreign and unrecognizable. Well done, Emilio!

Dragon Dave

P.S. I need to add that Raffaele Forte inked Emilio's pages for X-O Manowar #8. So every line or inked-in shadow you see, that's his work too. Great job, Raffaele!

X-O Manowar #7 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking

 

X-O Manowar #7 Cover A by Rahzzah

In X-O Manowar, artist Emilio Laiso is back to do both penciling and inking again. And boy, did he take on a lot of work in this panel. Look at all the people he drew! Everyone's clustered on the steps of this building, listening to Troy Whitaker's press conference, or reporting for their media outlets. 

I'll bet Emilio's kicking himself right now for not stipulating he gets paid per character he draws, rather than per page!

 

In this next panel, we see how the appearance of the nanite swarm in the sky above Manhattan has drawn some of the attention away from Troy Whitaker. I also like how Emilio has shifted camera view so we see what appears to be a matching water fountain on the far side of the staircase. 

I understand that MJ Kim worked hard to integrate specific New York City landmarks into her series The Visitor. I wonder if this is an actual building, or if Emilio has invented this impressive entryway.

In this next scene, I'm intrigued by these two little portions of hair that fall onto Desmond's forehead. With the way that his mouth hangs open, as well as the shadow overtaking his lower jaw, this portrait almost takes on a horrific aspect. 

You can certainly see he's scared. I like how he's reaching out to grab the blue device he uses to communicate with Shanhara. His first instinct is pick her up, and carry her off to get help.

I'm most intrigued by this last panel. At the epicenter of the nanite swarm, the atmosphere surrounding X-O Manowar is so dense it takes on the appearance of an ocean. In a scene eerily similar to his undersea battle in X-O Manowar #5, he plunges into the Hive Mind. 

In this viscous environment, Aric leaves bubbles in his wake, and Shanhara seems to deform.

In X-O Manowar #7, Emilio Laiso's haunting scenes reveal the gravity of the danger facing Aric, Shanhara, New York City, and perhaps the entire world. Well done, Emilio! 

Dragon Dave

X-O Manowar #6 Review Part 2

X-O Manowar #6 Pre-Order Cover by Jeff Dekal

 

In X-O Manowar #6, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum, penciler Emilio Laiso, inker Raffaele Forte, colorist Ruth Redmond, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou explore the relationship between Aric of Dacia, the sentient armor named Shanhara, and the other people who have become part of their extended family. This includes billionaire Troy Whitaker, Desmond and his mom, and a local homeless woman.

 

Interaction with the nanite swarms, as well as Whitaker's continual programming and upgrading attempts, have certainly changed Shanhara. Desmond adored the way Shanhara allowed him to play the latest video games. Still, he's always seen her as a person and a friend. 

Now, like Aric, he's not quite sure what to think of her.

 

 

We also get to see Desmond's mom again. She's mainly there as a support for Desmond in this issue. Given the way she decided to share her home with Aric in X-O Manowar #1, I had expected her to play a more active role in Aric's life. 

After living with Troy Whitaker while Shanhara healed and their building got rebuilt, she's starting to look real comfortable with Troy. 

 

We caught a brief glimpse of their homeless friend in the last issue. I get the sense Whitaker is supplying her with all the parts she needs to repair the family car. She's not present in X-O Manowar #6, so presumably, she's still working on that. 

Hopefully, she's now got a roof over her head, and eating three meals a day.

 

We also get another look at these blue balls in X-O Manowar #6. When Shanhara communicated with Troy on his yacht through one in an earlier issue, I wondered if the genius inventor had somehow extruded part of the X-O Manowar armor to make it, much as Aric broke off part of Shanhara in the previous series. 

Now, I'm thinking if Desmond has one, then these blue balls are probably just something Troy made. He did make his billions as a technological innovator, after all.

 

Ultimately, Shanhara dominates this issue. Despite Troy Whitaker's insistence to Aric that Shanhara is just a machine, he constantly interacts with her. He even refers to her as "the ol' girl" in this issue. After a glance into his past in the last issue, I wonder if, despite Troy's facade, he's always seen her as a real person. 

Could all these upgrades--supposedly for Aric's benefit--really be about his desire to control the living, growing, and sentient Shanhara?

I'll leave you to make your own decision on that, when you read X-O Manowar #6. 

Dragon Dave

 

 

X-O Manowar #6 Review Part 1

 

X-O Manowar #6 Cover B by Chris Johnson

In X-O Manowar #6, writer Dennis Hopeless Hallum, penciler Emilio Laiso, inker Raffaele Forte, colorist Ruth Redmond, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou continue to explore the relationship between 5th Century Visigoth warrior Aric of Dacia, and the sentient armor named Shanhara. After centuries of seeing herself as merely a suit of armor, she has even developed a new way of envisioning herself.  

But then, all of the characters in this series adapt to changing circumstances, and in relation to each other--especially Shanhara--as the self aware armor heals and adjusts to this next phase of her life.

Meanwhile, Troy Whitaker is using his billions to speedily rebuild all the damage Yakiov and his troops did to Desmond's neighborhood in Harlem, New York,

 

By now, Whitaker seems to have emerged as a real standup guy, helping Aric to develop Shanhara's abilities while defending Earth against any and all threats. He's certainly taken good care of all the people in Aric's life. 

 

 

So why do I still not trust him? 

As for our hero Aric, he's not sure he can rely on Shanhara anymore. His relationship with her has not come without cost, but after the traumatic events in the last series, he seemed to have finally made his peace with her. Now, with her changing so dramatically...

 

Normally, Aric doesn't believe in caution or retreat. He fights every battle as if it's his last.

 

But after the way Shanhara fell apart in X-O Manowar #5, and Shanhara has trouble getting back up to speed in this issue, Aric pulls back. Ironically, it is now Shanhara that pushes him on, and throws him into a situation that may be beyond him.

 

 

We haven't seen Whitaker's robots for awhile. In this issue, we spot one working in his laboratory. Later, we see what these growing nanite swarms have done to another of his creations.

Is the robot being controlled by the nanite swarms? Or, like Shanhara, has the nanite swarm helped it achieve sentience?

 

Troy Whitaker remarks early on in this issue that these nanite swarms will be the death of him. I wonder if his words will prove prophetic? 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see as this intriguing series continues.

Dragon Dave