X-O Manowar Vol. 3: Planet Death TPPublisher: Valiant
Release Date: September 2013
Price: $14.99
Creators: Robert Venditti, writer; Trevor Hairsine and Cary Nord, artists
Format: 144 pgs., Full-Color, Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-9393-4608-7
Age Rating: Teen +
ICv2 Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
The re-launch of the various Valiant titles has led to some unusual and interesting work, with this perhaps most unusual of the bunch. The central character is a 5th-century Visigoth in an advanced alien suit of power armor. This volume is the one that really justifies that strange plot device.
At around the time of the fall of Rome, aliens visited Earth, kidnapped a sampling of people and left alien agents in their place. This led to a Visigoth nobleman being united with legendary armor, a religious artifact of the aliens.
The story in this volume is about him fighting back against the aliens, both on Earth and after taking the fight to the home world of the aliens. While much of the story follows trite story lines, the artwork is excellent and the story has enough twists to distinguish it from most of the other "Let's fight back against impossible odds and incompetent alien overlords" stories out there. The religious subplot is interesting, as the audience realizes that the armor is like Excalibur and the Holy Grail all in one, and follows its own rules that may not mesh with those of the religion itself. The story is still sometimes difficult to believe, especially with a central character whose only concept of strategy or tactics consists of attacking head-on. He seems a bit dim, militarily.
Not great literature, but a good SF adventure for teens and up. There's a lot of violence, with a small part of it rather gory.
--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.