Aric of Daca aka X-O Manowar has confronted an alien threat to the Earth. With the help of General Capshaw and G.A.T.E., Aric has started to look for answers from the threat itself. A lot is revealed in his conversation with “Atom” and Aric starts to realize that not everything is as it seems. Atom’s tale spans the entire Valiant Universe and could even be linked to the being known as Divinity.

X-O Manowar #20
Written By: Matt Kindt
Art By: Juan Jose Ryp
Published By: Valiant Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 10/23/2018

Aric of Daca aka X-O Manowar has confronted an alien threat to the Earth. With the help of General Capshaw and G.A.T.E., Aric has started to look for answers from the threat itself. A lot is revealed in his conversation with “Atom” and Aric starts to realize that not everything is as it seems. Atom’s tale spans the entire Valiant Universe and could even be linked to the being known as Divinity.

X-O Manowar #20 once again shows how strong of a storyteller and world builder Matt Kindt is. While the last series had some ties to the larger Valiant Universe, Kindt has not only built on those ties but has created new ones that link back to his Divinity stories. This book feels both big and small in scope and the stakes are personal for everyone involved. Aric has to put aside his differences with not only Capshaw but with Atom in order to start to solve this brand new mystery. It is a story that has the action take a back seat and places the mystery at the front and it pays off in big ways.

The art by Juan Jose Ryp is once again beautiful. The designs of the new aliens that Aric confronts are very unique. Even the backgrounds are stunning. My favorite panels come in the middle of the book when Aric and Atom travel to New Eden. Every single creature in New Eden is different and even the people that reside there have some powers that are beautifully displayed.

While I was reading this book and enjoying it, I felt that there was one character in particular that was shoehorned in. That character is Capshaw, she feels out of place and it seems she is there just for the connection to Harbinger Wars II. Kindt could have easily written this story without Capshaw and it would have still gone in the same direction.

With the strong writing from Kindt and the amazing art by Ryp, this series and run continues to be one of the best comics out there.

4.5 New Eden’s out of 5