After an adventure in space, X-O Manowar, the ancient barbarian in the armor of Iron Man, returns to Earth in a new series published by Bliss editions. But how can we return to everyday life when we understand nothing about the complexity of the modern world?
A difficult return of X-O Manowar
After a disastrous adventure in space, Aric of Dacia returns to our blue planet. This Visigothic barbarian projected into the present still wears the alien armor of the vine people making him X-O Manowar, one of the most powerful men in the universe. More than ever, it seeks to make good triumph and punish the powerful. If you read the previous sentences, you may feel like you have to spend hours of reading before making this series your own. This is not the case at all. As is often the case with Valiant/Bliss, each new series is easily accessible for a novice reader. A short text at the beginning of the volume traces the origin of this hero and the main issue of the series. A Frankenstein-style scientist sums up X-O Manowar's problem in two sentences: the hero "saves the day. Pisses off the whole world. »
A superhero in Ukraine
This new series is more in the contemporary context: X-O Manowar wants to stop the civil war in Ukraine by forcing both sides to negotiate but will his direct action be beneficial? A billionaire explains the dangers when a foreign power intervenes in a conflict whose stakes it does not understand. The screenwriter presents in a few sentences the context seen from the West. We can, of course, make the connection with American foreign policy. New screenwriter Dennis Hopeless also has the courage to offer a very different tone. He brings a lot of humor by the words of the armor. Indeed, the screenwriter changes the relationship between Aric and his armor. Shanhara is no longer a simple tool but she talks and far too much according to X-O Manowar. It does not always agree with its wearer and no longer hesitates to make it known. It feels like witnessing a household scene in a comedy. The armor is a collaborator of Aric. While since the first volume Aric is totally unsuited to modernity, Shanhara understands all the subtleties including jokes. She advises him to integrate. Indeed, Aric no longer lives outside society but in the middle of a city. X-O Manowar is therefore closer to Marvel's superheroes by this mix between superheroic action and everyday life. However, he is still an outcast because the entire neighborhood is suspicious of his power. He wants to do good around him but through clumsiness, lack of empathy or selfishness, he offends others and ends up alone. 
The other great quality of this revival are the drawings of Emilio Laiso. The Italian designer offers very complex layouts and his very dynamic framing makes reading very pleasant. The colors of Ruth Redmond are also very successful. It is certainly very colorful but this explosion of bright colors is totally in line with the themes of the series between humor and action. This new series on X-O Manowar proposed by Dennis Hopeless and Emilio Laiso is a great success by offering a new tone. The new, more local direction of the hero and the humorous tone are totally convincing. Even if it is very fleeting, the presentation of Aric's physical disability (he lost a hand) is innovative. If this presentation of X-O Manowar intrigued you, I can not advise you enough to go back in time by the complete and then the next series of Matt Kindt.
