X-O Manowar finally has it all, and his people finally have a land they can call home…but threats from all sides now threaten to destroy the man inside the armor, Aric of Dacia, and the peace he has struggled to secure. While unrest stirs and Aric’s camp threatens to rebel against him, the most dangerous strike force ever assembled – Unity – have joined forces with the Harbinger Foundation’s Toyo Harada to achieve but one goal: destroy X-O Manowar before his actions push in western civilization to the brink of all-out nuclear annihilation.
The Good
Cover- Simple and to the point, pun intended. This month has Aric being shot trough the chest by the Harbinger symbol. I like it!
Art- Kalman Andrasofzky and Miguel Sepulveda turn in great work on this title. It’s a great looker to start January 2014 off right. They handle emotional faces and action pretty good and even the slower paced scenes manage to hit the right notes.
Unity-Last year I missed the opportunity of reviewing the Harbinger Wars put out by Valiant and if you guys can track it down it is the best crossover of 2013. Now Unity is upon us and it is glorious! Unity #1 and Unity #2 saw Harbinger leader Harada assembling a team to stop world War III from happening thanks to Aric of Dacia and his alien ship and armor. During those events he lost the armor to Livewive and the ship plummeted to the depths of the ocean. This issue has the Unity team dealing with the fallout
Black Hero– Livewire is still front and center and proving to be a huge asset to this assemblage and also showing how different she is than her boss Harada. He’s cold blooded and cares literally only about himself while she manages to be compassionate and even care about the people who are trying to kill her. I know Aric will get back the armor that’s obvious but it’s an interesting Yin Yang dichotomy between these two powerful Harbingers. If Livewire held onto the armor would she put an end to the tyranny of Harda? More curios what did the Bleeding Monk tell her those years she was Harada’s right hand?
The Bad
At the end of Unity #2 the team was seemingly unconscious and this issue picks up after they recover. I’m a continuity buff and though just a few panels explaining how long they were out and how far the ship had sunk would have aided my enjoyment just a little bit more.
The Ugly
With Unity, Valiant continues to consistently publish the very best comics on the stands. Diversity is a key component of their series coupled with great action and top notch art. Unity is the must read event 0f 2014! 4/5
Glad you covered this; Valiant is doing great things with Black Heroes such as Shadowman and Livewire. You still never got back to me on whether Bloodshot is a Black hero or not. I could have sworn that the most recent origins had him as a Black man before the experiment.
Ive contacted both Valiant and the artist about Bloodshot. Valiant had remained silent but the artist ChrisCross said he had dropped hints especially in the annual that Bloodshot IS black but it’s up in the air if Valiant will run with it!
I’m working on it behind the scenes Mathew 😉
Definitely a good read. I slept on much of Valiant in the 90’s but they are top notch now. Free comic days helped me a lot.
Thanks for the vigilance!
Your welcome, that’s why we’re here Mathew 😉
I remember Valiant and this comic in particular from the 90s. I was too much into Marvel to get into another comics at the time. I did pick up a copy of Shadowman but found it hard to get into. Glad to know Valiant is still around along with their diverse set of characters.