A bond destroyed. Power wielded recklessly. A deadly force on the attack. X-O Manowar’s world will be shattered in X-O Manowar #7.

The good news about X-O Manowar #7 is that there’s still a lot of content packed between its covers. No, it’s not an extended issue, but Dennis Hopeless is able to really fill those pages without giving Emilio Laiso too much to bring to life. Visually at least, this has been a very consistent series with the art more often than not being the high point of each issue for me.

Where the series has faltered has often been the quality of the writing, because at times it feels as though Hopeless is cramming a little too much story into the comic. Normally this wouldn’t be a thing I’d be complaining about but this issue there seemed to be a little too much hinting toward the reveal that isn’t exactly going to be a surprise for any who have been reading the series thus far; it’s more a confirmation at this point.

Ultimately there’s a lot of good ideas in this series, and despite some less than ideal execution X-O Manowar #7 is still enjoyable; but as the series progresses I’m seeing fewer flashes of the brilliance that we had in the first issue or two (I am aware of the fact that my dislike for a certain character may be influencing my view of the comic as a whole, because the parts I am enjoying don’t involve Troy at all – the jury is out on that because if that’s the case then Hopeless is writing a much better comic than I’m giving him credit for).

I’m keeping an open mind with the series, and I will be reading this book for a third time to see if I can settle the jury, because even with my reservations there’s a lot of things I’m enjoying about the book. Hopefully next issue I’ll find just a little more to love.

Story: Dennis Hopeless Art: Emilio Laiso
Colors: Ruth Redmond Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 7.4 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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