After a brutal year spent waging war on the far side of the galaxy, Aric of Dacia must now face the one thing he yearned to leave behind: planet Earth. But as the man called X-O Manowar prepares for a world-shaking homecoming, he must come to terms with a savage awakening inside himself…and the obligations that still await him on our world. Just as the forces of Harbinger Wars 2 – Valiant’s seismic 2018 crossover event – begin to vie for Aric’s loyalties, a long-awaited reunion might just shatter everything we’ve come to believe about the fallen warrior-king in control of the universe’s most powerful weapon…

Finally, after more than a year, X-O Manowar is back on Earth. X-O Manowar #14 takes Aric from the edge of the milky way back to the planet at the center of the Valiant universe, coincidentally just in time for Harbinger Wars 2. And that’s not only a summary, but effectively the entirety of the comic. There is additional content within the comic that is in place to emphasize  Aric’s new place in the world, but the entire comic issue be easily summarized in a handful of sentences.

Delving into the psyche of the man Aric has become provides a journey far more interesting than his intergalactic travel, and the emergence of the armour as character and foil for Aric has been one of the more interesting aspects of the series over the past few issues. The relationship building between man and armour more than off set the relative lack of plot development. Aric’s reasons for leaving earth are also explored in a touch more detail than we’ve seen before, compounding the character development.

Matt Kindt has been at the top of his game lately, and although he stumbles a little here in comparison to other issues in the series, this is still a comic to enjoy for the little things. Yes, it feels like the comic was written just to set up Aric’s involvement in Harbinger Wars 2, but this is just good enough that I didn’t care.

Ariel Olivetti‘s work in this issue is both parts incredible and off putting, with his artwork merged with an almost digital background that wasn’t really my cup of tea, but your mileage may vary. At the very least it provided some stunning space visuals, some cool water effects and some really odd ground scenes.

For an issue that serves as a transition for the character, this isn’t a bad comic, but it’s also not essential reading either.

Story: Matt Kindt Art: Ariel Olivetti Lettering: Dave Sharpe
Story: 8.2 Art: 7.6 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review