Valiant Entertainment; $3.99 each

As part of their large Armor Hunters crossover event, Valiant’s X-O Manowar is featured in their ongoing Unity and the Armor Hunters mini-series. One place you won’t find Aric of Dacia, at least at present, is in his own title, the ongoing, monthly X-O Manowar. In a bold move – even with a writer as capable as Robert Venditti has proven himself to be on this series – Valiant has turned the title over to the backstory for the Armor Hunters, particularly Reebo (also known as Prime) and Malgam, who we first met in X-O Manowar #23’s “Prelude to Armor Hunters – Part 1.

Teamed with artist Diego Bernard (Eternal Warrior), Venditti introduces a group of powerful, committed warriors who are dedicated to eradicating the pestilence of armor such as the Manowar from the galaxy. And that’s regardless of whether or not the wearer thinks it’s a problem or not.

The story of the event thus far has contained all manner of broad (yet cryptic) hints about the origins of the armor and why Aric’s relationship with it might be particularly special, but this part of the story is told with a focus on those who see it as nothing but a threat, one that has toppled world after world.

Beautifully illustrated, the story demands the reader’s attention; this is no light-weight read. The story has been clearly thought out and it’s brilliantly executed.

Also, while we’re not the biggest fans of variant covers, we have to give a big nod to Valiant for the chromium covers. Sure, we just about hated the gimmick in the 1990s, but if you can’t do a chromium cover to kick off a series called Armor Hunters, when can you?