After coming off a long arc that was a flashback with no armor in sight, X-O Manowar #19 is like a breath of fresh air. The first half of the issue deals more with Colonel Capshaw and the trouble she is in from losing the G.A.T.E command ship called the Love Boat, in the Harbinger Wars 2 event. Lucky for her, Aric will only deal with her, so if the US government wants to utilize the power of X-O Manowar, then they have to keep her in place. As a result, she is given a mission to check out alien technology that has been found in Australia and she needs to get Aric on-board with that mission.
Aric is back from space and in the Visigoths settlement in Nebraska, but he feels more alone than ever before. His prior relationships appear to be gone and he really has nothing left there. So when Capshaw comes with a mission, what else is he going to do? Of course, he’s going to take it and do what he has done all of his life, keep moving forward and fighting for what comes next.
The story for this arc, by Matt Kindt, already feels much more interesting than the last arc. Who are these aliens? Why are they searching for this girl? What is their interest in Divinity? Also, Capshaw in action in the field is nice to see too. She’s not just giving orders now, she’s in the thick of it.
The art by Juan José Ryp is as beautiful as ever as well as the colors by Andrew Dalhouse and lettering by Dave Sharpe. Everything from writing to art to colors to lettering is working together in perfect cohesion in this issue.
Wrap Up
I think that this is a good beginning to this new arc and after that long flashback arc, it is good to be excited once again for where the story is taking Aric. By the look of the way that the alien weapons can disrupt the X-O Manowar armor, it looks like we may be in for some serious battles here!
X-O Manowar #19 will go on sale on September 26th
