X-O Manowar Vol. 4: Homecoming

Aric has returned to earth after liberating the rest of the human slaves from Loam in the Planet Death storyline.  They have landed right in the middle of Eastern Europe where Dacia used to exist. Tensions are building throughout this book as this event is the inciting incident that sets up the new team book Unity.  The biggest reveal in this book is that Gilad the Eternal Warrior was there with Aric in the very beginning when the Visigoths were facing off against the Romans & there little exchange in the museum is very cool.  It just goes to show how compact & shared the Valiant Universe is.  Up to this point in the Valiant Universe X-O Manwar has now faced off with both Ninjak & the Eternal Warrior.  While the other books have also crossed over a little Archer & Armstrong crossing over with the Eternal Warrior & soon Bloodshot; meanwhile Harbinger has only crossed over with Bloodshot but will soon be connected to everything else through Unity.

X-O Manowar Vol. 3: Planet Death

The big event sized story of X-O Manowar is here in Planet Death.  Aric has discovered the invasion force of the Vine in orbit around Earth.  Not only does the Shanhara make short work of the invasion fleet but instead of waiting for the Vine to reorganize another offensive Aric the Visigoth sets out for Loam the Vine's homeworld taking the fight to them.  During the story we discover the origin of the Vine as a race & the origin of the armor.  Aric uses the suit to free all of the slaves of the Vine from different planets & unite them as a revolt against the Vine capital.   With the help of a priest & a soldier Aric is able to persuade the majority of the Vine to fall back on their faith & realize that this is the dawning of a new age.  At the end of this volume Aric is taking what remains of the Visigoth people back to earth to reestablish their place in the world.

X-O Manowar Vol. 2: Enter Ninjak

The second volume of X-O Manowar is a fantastic read pitting the Manowar armor against Ninjak is such an epic showdown.  This is a versus then team-up story done in true comic book fashion.  I thought that the Eternal Warrior was the ultimate badass of the Valiant Universe but I was wrong that title either needs to go to X-O Manowar or Ninjak.  The Vine betrayed by one of their own plantings while they are on  a course to invade earth I am loving this series.

X-O Manowar Vol. 1: By the Sword

This book is utterly awesome in every sense of the word.  Aric Dacia is a warrior trapped out of his own time with an alien weapon at his disposal.  So far Valiant Comics is two for two in what I have read.  I am eagerly looking forward to the next volume of this book if you are board with Marvel or DC Comics, Valiant is a great alternative.  The Vine is a formidable collective enemy for Aric to go up against.  I really like how condensed this book was like Archer & Armstrong any longer & it might have lost its momentum.  I hope Aric is able to find some connection with this present world that he has returned to.