X-O Manowar Vol. 1 - By the Sword with Kirby Evans
We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about X-O Manowar Vol. 1 - By the Sword! Our host this week is Kirby Evans!
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Scored by Bret Eagleston
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Outline
Introduction to XO Manowar (00:00)
Kirby Evans introduces the XO Manowar Volume 1, discussing its background.
The trade collects the first four issues from 2012, marking the third iteration of the Valiant universe.
The series established XO Manowar as the flagship character of Valiant, highlighting its historical context.
Plot Overview (00:20)
The story begins in 402 AD, featuring Eric of Dacia leading the Visigoths against the Roman Empire.
Eric's actions lead to his capture by the vine, who are abducting humans for their own purposes.
The plot interweaves themes of war, enslavement, and the quest for revenge.
Character Development and Themes (04:04)
Eric's character evolves as he becomes worthy of the Manowar armor, a pivotal moment in the story.
The narrative explores the complexities of the vine culture, including military and religious schisms regarding the armor.
Eric's journey reflects on themes of courage, loss, and the consequences of leadership.
Conclusion and Series Appeal (08:26)
The series is praised for its engaging storytelling and artwork, making it a strong introduction to the Valiant universe.
The trade effectively delivers character development while maintaining a fast-paced narrative.
Readers are encouraged to explore the series as a gateway to the broader Valiant narrative.
Transcription
00:00
Welcome to Certain Point of View's Trade.
00:01
School, where each episode a different host talks about a comic book trade paperback that they loved and why they love it.
00:08
Hi, I'm Kirby Evans, the co host of Stop Let's Team up podcast. I'm here to talk about Exo Manowar Volume 1, by the sword. First, a little background. This tray collects the first four issues of the Exo Manowar series from 2012, which kickstarted the third iteration of the Valiant universe, which had been defunct since around 1999 when it was last owned by Acclaim, the video game company. And really the whole Valiant behind the scenes is a real interesting story in and of itself, but that's not what we're here to talk about today. And while I had heard of Manowar, I never really picked up any Valiant Comics until 20152016 when I was at a comic convention and the company had a booth there.
00:55
So I was talking to some of the guys at the booth, letting them know that I was only kind of vaguely aware of them. So as you know, part of their business, they had sold me a couple of trades including this one, the first trades of Shadowman, Qualm and Woody and Archer and Armstrong. And from there I was just hooked and have been a Valiant reader ever since, even going back and finding back issues of the original series. And gotta say, this run firmly established Exo Manowar as the flagship Valiant character. Our story begins in 402 AD as the Visigoth army faces off in battle against the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, due to their superior numbers and technology, the Visigoths are on the losing end as we are introduced to our lead character, Eric of Dacia.
01:44
Never one to retreat, he rallies his men and tries again to defeat the Roman army, showing himself to be courageous but bullheaded and probably a little short sighted at the same time. And despite all their best efforts, the day is lost. That night, as Eric and some of his men plan to lead an attack to rescue the women and children of their tribe from the Romans. They discover what we will come to know as a vine spaceship with its guards in an open field. Believing the vine to be in league with the Romans, Eric again rushes full heartedly into battle.
02:19
In the ensuing fight, Erik and his men, who were not killed, are taken aboard the vine ship to be slaves and intercut with this battle, we see how the vine ingratiate themselves into Earth society by abducting babies from their cribs and replacing them with vine infants, whom through science fiction means, have changed into virtual Clones of the babies. And we will come to discover that they have been doing this all throughout the planet. And the first issue ends with Eric and his friend Gafti, after having made an escape attempt, stumble upon a vine ritual where one of their warriors tries to claim the sacred Sahara Manowar armor. However, the vine warrior, like countless ones before him, is killed by the armor, deeming it him to be unworthy.
03:06
And after being recaptured and thrown in a cage, all Eric cares about is returning home and getting his revenge. Our story picks back up years later as Eric, Gafty and men from around the world like Ghana, China and Mayapan have been toiling away as slaves for the vine on their ship, regrowing fruit and vegetables not even for the vine to eat, just for them to kind of keep replenishing the ship itself. And one day, after trying to save his friend Gafty from punishment, Eric attacks one of the guards and loses his hand. And even after that, after more years of playing, it's finally time to try and launch an insurrection, as Eric, knowing they have to try and gain entry to the armory to overtake the vine and get back to Earth.
03:55
And despite being malnourished and gratefully weakened, humans are able to actually get through a number of vine forces and get into the armory. And as Eric inadvertently gets close to the man of War armor, it begins to envelop him and he becomes the first being in eons to be deemed worthy of it. The Exo Manowar redesign by Jelena Kevic de Jervic and I'm really sorry that I am mispronouncing, it's really excellent paying homage to the original design, but updating it for the 21st century. And what I really like is the use of negative space on it between the blue and yellow bits of the armor to give the impression expression of an ex. And I just so badly want a McFarlane action figure of it.
04:42
Another aspect that I do like is that even this early on in the series, we see that the vine are not a homogenous culture with schisms between the military and religious sects, with the military seeing the man of War armor as more trouble than it's worth, while the religious hold it up as an idol to be their species salvation. And over the years you will come to see that neither is really wrong in this regard. Vine and human alike are amazed to see the man of War armor in action with the vine, realizing how much they underestimated how dangerous it could be.
05:18
Good skin indeed, as Eric notes, especially after it replaces his missing hand, which again, as years go on, this will become a plot point time and again or especially, he loses the armor and his hand is gone with it, just leaving a stub. Demonstrating how much this new Valiant universe, like the original, is a stickler for continuity in all of the right ways. Even as Eric leads a new attack with the man of War armor, and with the humans now better equipped than ever, the rest of the humans are still as vulnerable to explosives as the Everwar. Eric, again dealing with the tragedy of leading friends to their deaths, and tries to take as many vine with him as he can before they just attach explosives to him and send him bursting out into space.
06:07
And before the vine can blow Eric up with the ship's cannons, all he can do is save Rome again and again as he thinks of rescuing his wife and the man of War armor whis him away back to Earth. However, as in the original Valiant universe, this series runs on a bit harder science fiction than DC or Marvel. And what has only been a few years for Eric has been centuries on Earth as he crashes into the modern day Coliseum. So the vine ship was traveling at near or just post light speed, so time is moving slower for them.
06:40
It's just a lot like the beginning of Planet of the Apes Being caught on radar by the Italian military, they quickly surround Eric with modern day weapons, but all he sees is Roman pigs and if the vine soldiers with their tech were outmatched the Italian army even more so as Eric quickly kills them before flying into the sky and seeing just how much bigger Rome has gotten before. No. Selling a sidewinder missile from the Italian Air Force, ripping one of the pilots out of his plane, Eric demands to know where the Roman Emperor is. But as the freaking out pilot is trying to make sense of it all, the Man O War armor, I think, is able to psychically link with him and let Eric know that 16 centuries have passed on Earth.
07:25
Eric inadvertently drops the pilot before catching him and setting him down, and then flying off into the distance to deal with all of this information. And that's the last we see of him in this trade. All the while. Back on the vine ship, the military leader sets his sights for Earth to either reclaim the armor or destroy it, whichever is going to prove to be easier. And Eric's attack on the military, of course, has made the news. As descents of the vine replacement infants psychically gather on how to deal with the man of War armor, especially that it's in the hands of a human and the trade ends with them being informed of the upcoming vine invasion and whom among them will aid in the situation.
08:09
Even though this is just the first four issues of an ongoing story rather than being self contained arc, I think this is a really good trade. It knows how to deliver a first act, giving Exo Manowar his origin but without front loading everything and making it a slog to read through. Really pretty much the opposite of that. What I truly love about this series is how much writer Robert Venditti is able to pack into each issue without it ever feeling overcrowded. The series hits a sweet spot where there does not feel to be one voice for all of the characters. The drama never dips into the melodramatic, the action is always on point and you want to know what happens next.
08:51
Eric himself will grow and mature with each issue is at least two or three years before he becomes close to being more of a traditional superhero and not even getting the full Exo Manowar moniker until then though he will do good things beforehand is usually for a selfish purpose. The artwork by Carrie Nord and Stefano Quadino likewise make not only the scenes with the Roman look good, but they make the vine look really distinct and interesting without these two ever feeling completely incompatible. Vintage Run as a whole is a great introduction to the Valiant universe as it springboards out of here without Exo Manowar ever getting lost in his own world.
09:38
The Valiant universe then and now took all of the right lessons from DC and Marvel, producing a more consistent world with sets of rules on how things work and all actions having consequences. It looks good and reads even better. If you have ever been curious about reading Valiant, absolutely start with this trade. If you would like to hear more of me, you can check me out on the Stop Let's Team up podcast where Ross Aiken and I talk about all things superhero team ups and teams. Our recurring shows include 4 for 4, where every episode the two of us cover from the beginning four issues of the Fantastic Four, Opal City Confidential, Ross's journey with the occasional guests as he goes through James Robinson's Starman series and all series and characters of the Starman legacy.
10:30
Finally, there is my solo show Zoo Crew Review where I go issue by issue Roy Thomas and Scott Shaws and Captain Carrot and his amazing Zoo Crew series and pair each issue up with a classic Looney Tunes short. Nothing left to say but happy reading.
10:49
We love digging into epic comic book runs, but what about the art of the single issue? Single Bound is a new podcast series hosted by married couple Amy and Logan as they review single issues of comics. And if the title also makes you think of Superman, you're not alone as the man of Steel is Logan's favorite character and a regular topic of discussion on Single Bound. Listen and subscribe on Spotify and YouTube, and follow the show on Instagram at Single Bound Podcast certainpov. Com.