A mother great Valiant launch. The art is top notch and the story draws the reader right in. Will definitely read the rest of the series

This was a cool discovery for me from the folks at Valiant Comics. Aric of Dacia lived during the times of the Roman Empire on Earth. He was a warrior, so great a warrior than an alien race noticed his skill in war. The aliens kidnap him and made him into a slave. He escapes and then bonds with the X-O Manowar armor, a powerful weapon. He returns to Earth, but by now, it is our present time. That's the background. Our story opens years later. Aric has a new quiet life in a farm in some far off world, a new mate, and is trying to forget his past. However, war is not done with him. An alien army conscripts him, and he becomes a soldier once more, a fearsome one.


This comic grabs you from the start. There is a text prologue to give you the basics, and then we jump right into Aric's new life. Peace does not last long for him. Once he gets drafted, the fast pace and action do not stop. It is a fast and entertaining read with a good story. The strong art brings the story to life with good detail and color.


This is one to pick up. It is a comics title that is easy to get into, a rarity these days. It also recalls the spirit of adventure tales like Conan the Barbarian. If you enjoy that, you will likely enjoy this too. A pity this volume only had the first three issues. I wanted to keep on reading, so I will be seeking the rest of the series out.


This is a good selection for libraries with graphic novel collections.

'X-O Manowar Volume 1: Soldier' by Matt Kindt and Tomas Giorello follows a soldier who doesn't want to fight anymore. Will he get that chance?

Aric of Dacia was born in the time of the Roman Empire. Now he is far from that time and planet. He is known as Aric of Earth. He wants to live at peace and raise crops. He wants to never use the X-O Manowar armor ever again, but when he is captured and forced to fight against impossible odds, he might have to rethink that. He and his fellow prisoners are given impossible objectives which will surely kill them. Can Aric rise above this and survive?

I wasn't familiar with this character, but I had no problem jumping right into the story. The backstory wasn't included, but it was enough to know the character. Matt Kindt's plot is very good. Tomas Giorello's art is fantastic. I had fun reading this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Valiant Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

SO-SO
I previewed the first two and a bit issues of this comic as part of my new quest to learn about the Valiant Universe. While Tomás Giorello's art is stunning, the story didn't grip me the way I wanted it to. Despite the offworld setting that I assume divorces it from previous X-O Manowar volumes, it doesn't strike me as a good jumping on point for new readers as most of the emotion feels rooted in Aric's backstory. Recommended to established fans instead.

I began reading X-O Manowar comics back in the early 1990s when Valiant first opened its doors. I loved the concept (ancient warrior in alien armor), enjoyed the stories, and found the art to be great. I can’t say I stuck with the comic through its whole run back then, but I still have several years worth of X-O comics in my collection.

Fast forward. X-O Manowar is back (again), so I decided to give this new version a go. And I have to say I liked it. Maybe not as much as the first one all those years ago, but enough that I will probably pick it up again in the near future.

Aric of Dacia has retired. Free from his past. Free from the armor. And determined to live a simple, uncomplicated life on a strange, alien world far from earth.

But Aric attracts violence, and so he finds himself conscripted into an alien army, marched off to a war he knows nothing about and cares about even less. But his warrior instincts kick in, and soon he comes to the attention of the commander who sees in this alien a means to snatch victory from certain defeat. The suicide mission given to our hero forcing him to turn back to the armor he longed to be rid of.

Naturally, this story is heavy on the fighting and combat and light on the characterization. Aric does have a few moments of introspection, but X-O Manowar doesn’t really strive to be thought provoking. Instead the plot is straight forward action. Which is fine, since that is fit Aric’s nature and the situation he finds himself in.

As for the art, it was great. I thought it captured the strange feel of an alien world, portrayed the hectic nature of combat well, and was just cool to look at.

To sum up. X-O Manowar is a good comic. Entertaining story. Great art. Loads of action and combat. Sure, the plot didn’t stray from the tried-and-true, but it was still a fun scifi romp that I’d recommend others give a try.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

X-O Manowar (2017) Volume 1: Soldier by Matt Kindt is another example of what makes Valiant one of the better comic book publishing houses around today. There is such a commitment to the integrity of the character and the story; it is unyielding to the trends of the marketplace. That may have hurt them from time to time, but overall it has resulted in some of the best comic book stories you may have never read.

Aric of Dacia was born under the rule of the Roman Empire and was taught the art of war from an early age. It was during this time he was abducted by an alien race and forced into slavery. He escaped from bondage with the aid of a weapon of immense power. The X-O Manowar armor. With the armor he returned to modern day Earth.

But that was long ago and Aric has tired of war and battle. He has left Earth and the begun a new life as a farmer on a faraway world. With the armor put aside he believes he has found peace. But war once again finds him and he is taken into slavery to fight for a new and tyrannical regime. The peace Aric has sought eludes him and once again he takes up the armor and once again he becomes a weapon of power. They thought they could control him and make him battle for them but they were terribly wrong. Aric was a weapon, but now he is the embodiment of war.

Created in 1992 by Jim Shooter, X-O Manowar is a character that is far to intricate for the larger publishing houses to carry and is one of those brilliant and detailed characters that can only come from an independent publisher.

Soldier is a good starting point for new readers to get to know Aric and with such strong writing and classic artwork, one they will not only follow but hunt down back issue tales!

A really good comic!

As a comic book fan, I thought maybe this would be a neat starting point for this character, but to me, it seems like there is a lot more in the past that should be explained before diving into this book. Granted I only read one issue, but I couldn't really get a grasp for the character. Plus, this book was a bit too gruesome for me. The art was well done, but I think I'm done with this story for now.

This is a war. That is it. Aric of Urth is taken from his home on this strange planet and sent to war. Why? Who knows? The Planet, somewhere in space. How did Aric get there? No idea. It is just war. It’s well drawn, but not well written. There is not really a storyline yet. But at the same time, I don’t care to read any more of it either.

Added Goodreads
Added Litsy

This is only the first 65 pages of the book. It stops 2 issues and 5 pages in.

Damn you, Matt Kindt! I swear it feels like I've enjoyed every book I've read from him so far. This takes Aric of Dacia away from Earth and out of the X-O armor (at least for a little while). The world that they've settled on is war torn and Aric ends up being conscripted. This book is great because it captures the feel for the character both in and out of battle. While he has tried to put aside the armor and take up farming, he isn't quite able to avoid it entirely. Aric is also a great strategist. He sees the looming battle and prepares accordingly. Once he is involved in the war, that same tactical mind is put to use to keep himself and his comrades alive.

The art is lovely. The world imagined here is beautiful and almost starkly barren. This contrast works nicely. The battle scenes get a bit confusing, but that seems to mirror the uncertainty and chaotic nature of the war. Even though I didn't get to read the whole story, I am hooked on the new chapter of this hero's story.

This volume does depart from previous Valiant books in that it only contains three issues. While I am disappointed with that, the change fits with the strength of this story. I will definitely pick up a copy of this one.

This should have been subtitled, “They just keep pulling me back in. . .”
A seemingly immortal human with magic armor is tired of fighting and goes off to another planet, finds himself a woman, and tries to be a farmer, only to get forcibly drafted into the local war. When he not only survives being cannon fodder but achieves the mission’s objective, he gets sent on a suicide commando raid by a jealous superior.
I don’t know if it was brains or experience, but it’s easy to see how he survived the first battle. . . not that the battle was easy, of course. My other thought was that the visuals were a lot less bloody than usual for such scenes; not complaining, just noticing.
In the end I didn’t see much that was original here. Even the main character looks like a Viking berserker. And the introduction of his support team came too fast, all at once; had no idea who was who, and other than the woman it didn’t get any better during the raid.
The artwork frequently has the characters without pupils, and it’s creepy and disconcerting.
Unlike most collections, this one doesn’t include the whole story, so of course it ends in a cliffhanger.
2.5 pushed up to 3/5

A part review, due too us getting a part of the book only - it looks very good but it is just a

This was actually my first non Marvel/DC comicbook ever (I think), so it was both weird and exciting. It was a pretty solid start, but since I'm not familiar at all with the world and the characters I could have used a bit more world and character building. I did, however, find myself drawn both to the characters and the story as well as the world the story is set in, and -given the chance- I believe I will be reading more of this universe soon enough. Also, the art was just straight up gorgeous!

This is a cool graphic novel with lots of violence and action.Looking forward to more!

Great addition to the X-O Manowar series finds Aric living a peaceful life on his own amongst a planet of blue people but although he seeks a life of peace, war finds him and he seeks the strength and protection of the armour he has shunned.

When he is conscripted his talents and skills catch the eyes of the commanding officer and Aric is sent on a dangerous and destructive mission and the armour goes with him.

As usual it is a good storyline, lots of fighting and great art. Thoroughly enjoyable for fans of Aric.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.