These two Prestige Format comics collect the entire 6-issue X-O Manowsr mini-series, three issues in each book. This series had an inconsistent schedule, which had put me off picking it up monthly, even with X-O being my favorite Valiant Universe hero. Now that Alien Books is publishing Valiant comics, I quickly snatched up these “floppy-collections” so I could finish this series.
Unconquered starts with Aric saving the Earth from an asteroid on a direct collision course. The impact of the asteroid damages Aric’s X-O armor, which weakens both him and Shanhara. Shanhara, the sentience in the X-O, determines that the asteroid wasn’t meant for Earth, but them, as it was created and not natural.
While trying to heal on a frozen moon, they are attacked and captured by the Novus Romamus, the descendants of the Romans captured with Aric by the Vine. When Aric escaped, the Romans rose up and took several Vine ships and began conquering other worlds in the name of the Roman Empire. Eventually, it became the Novus Romanus and now wanted to tame the X-O armor and use it to create more armors and conquer more of the galaxy.
While “captured” by the Novus, Aric is able to make new allies, especially among the enslaved. He begins a relationship with the Novus’ Seer, the Soothsayer, and a rivalry with the Novus’ champion, who wants the X-O armor, but also needs Aric for her own revenge. Together, Aric and his harem also discover that the engine of the ship is an alien Geomancer. With the Geomancer’s help, Aric and his allies are able to free the slaves and destroy the Vine ship, but now has drawn the ire of the Novus Emperor.
I really loved this mini-series! I wish it wasn’t a mini-series, as the story could have had more time to breathe. Aric accidentally creating the Space Roman Empire is pretty inspired. This has been the first X-O series since Venditti’s run that I’ve enjoyed. The story is fun and gives the Valiant Universe a new cosmic villain with ties to Earth. If I had one nitpick with the story, it would be that we get another Geomancer used as a power source. In Rai, New Japan was powered by Earth’s Geomancer, but that series takes place centuries in the future, so the events of this series could inspire Geomancer use in the future. What this series really has is its outstanding art! At times, I forgot I was reading an X-O comic and not an issue of Heavy Metal magazine. While there’s no nudity or sex in this series, there is a lot of sexual tension between Aric and the Soothsayer. In fact, the Soothsayer is portrayed as very distracting, which is intentional, as Shanhara doesn’t trust her but knows Aric is attracted to her, which impairs his judgment. I really liked this series and can’t wait for the next mini, but now I’m afraid that nothing will compare to Liam Sharps’ artwork!
I Got Issues... 