After hundreds of years in exile on an alien planet, Aric of Dacia has returned to an unfamiliar Earth, only to find a planet that doesn’t remember or want him. Will Aric of Dacia finally find happiness in the aftermath of the apocalypse?

As the final one shot tie in to Valiant‘s superb summer event series Book Of Death, The Fall Of X-O Manowar is a fitting send off to one of the publishers’ most powerful characters, and it’s also a brilliant lead into the finale, Book Of Death #4 that’s due out on the 28th of October.

Aric of Dacia, the man who wears the X-O Manowar armour is a man out of time. After being taken from Earth as a slave in the fifth century by an alien race, Aric returned to an unfamiliar Earth; escaping slavery with the help of a sacred artifact, and most powerful weapon, the X-O Manowar armour. Upon his return he realized that during his time in space centuries had passed on Earth, and he returned to find a planet that didn’t remember, or want him. At least, not at first.

X-O Manowar was initially a character that I felt was a little foolish. A mix of sci-fi and history that, I thought, shouldn’t work. I realized how wrong I was when I picked up issue #38. I’ve enjoyed every issue since then, and this one shot is no exception to that.

As the final chapter to the life of Aric of Dacia, this is a great story; there’s a sense with Fall Of X-O Manowar that really feels like an epilogue to the life of a great character. Is it required reading to enjoy the main Book Of Death series? No, but then none of the tie-in one shots (or the hard to find Legends Of The Geomancer) are required to get the full picture. What this is, however, is a well constructed comic that should be read by any fans of the main series.

I enjoyed Book Of Death: The Fall Of X-O Manowar, I hope that if you do read it, you do as well.

Story: Robert Venditti Art: Clayton Henry
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Read

Valiant provided Graphic Policy a FREE copy for review.