Advanced Review! X-O MANOWAR: UNCONQUERED #2: Heavy @&%#ing Metal!

Do yourself a favor: turn on some heavy metal while reading X-O Manowar: Unconquered #2. Maybe some Slayer or Testament or Nile; something fast, mean, and heavy as $@#%. Something to get the blood pumping in a way that can match the sheer level of ass-kicking the entire creative team puts on display for this sophomore issue. Because that’s the best way to experience this comic: heart beating rapid-fire, adrenaline rushing, head cranking in full 360-degree circle gyrations as only the mightiest and most unrelenting headbang can release.

Yes. This is THAT kind of a comic. “War Ensemble,” indeed.

If issue one of Unconquered felt a tad light on creating a sense of who Aric of Dacia is, what is priorities are, and what his arc might look like for this miniseries, issue two more than remedies that minor misstep. By diving into the titular Manowar’s Visigoth past as he clashes with the Nova Romanus, writers Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan create a deft story that, despite its space opera setting, is rife with historical tension. As it turns out, two millennia have done little to quell the tension between the one-time Visigoth and the heirs to the Roman Empire.

And that tension, broiling into an epic battle between a determined yet grievously wounded Aric and Shanhara (that’s the name of the Manowar armor, for you X-O rookies out there) and a spacefaring iteration of the hated Romans, is what now propels the narrative forward. Conrad and Cloonan do an excellent job of bringing all of the disparate plot threads from the first issue together; readers wondering how in the world a space-Roman Empire came to be in the first place will have their answer, as well as just what they want with Aric and Shanhara. (Hint: it doesn’t do anything to endear them to Aric in any way, shape, or form.) And as the cast among the Nova Romanus begins to grow and their roles better defined, we begin to get a better sense of the political and interpersonal dynamics at play: tricky and twisted and well worth paying attention to in their minor details, these Nova Romanus could wind up being their own worst enemy if they don’t learn to play a little more nicely.

And then there’s the art: once again, Liam Sharp proves to be a master of the craft. His bold style elevates the level of drama in every scene he renders, even if it’s just people standing around talking. The sheer girth of Aric creates a massive presence in him that goes far beyond “kinda muscular.” In its way, Sharp’s over-the-top, statuesque anatomy only elevates the impact of the story, giving it an extra-normal quality that fits it like a glove. Similarly, Sharp’s renderings of the Romanus’ spacecraft are not only jaw-droppingly Escher-esque in their design, but they just feel BIG. Big enough to even give X-O pause. The icing on the cake is Troy Peteri’s dreamlike lettering, which proves that lettering is just as important of an art form as any other piece of the comics’ puzzle.

In full: X-O Manowar: Unconquered #2 is the total package comic. Let anyone who predicted the untimely demise of Valiant be forewarned: they’re an absolute powerhouse of quality right now.