X-O Manowar #20 NM 2017 Guedes 20-Copy Interlocking Incentive Cover D Valiant Matt Kindt

Description

X-O Manowar #20D
Published Oct 2018 by Valiant
Limited 1 for 20 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover
Writer Matt Kindt
Art Juan Jose Ryp
Cover Renato Guedes

The Agents of G.A.T.E. vs. the Brothers of the Bomb! In a realm far more fantastical than our own, a Sky Goddess is missing… And in pursuit of their vanished cosmic princess and her nefarious captors, a squadron of soldiers from the Unknown have invaded our planet! As tensions run high and trust becomes scarce, can X-O Manowar and G.A.T.E. leader Colonel Capshaw band together to keep our world from becoming ensnared in a battle larger than life? Eisner-nominated writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY) and explosive artist Juan José Ryp (BRITANNIA) bring Eternity to Earth as ‘AGENT’ rages onward! 32 pages, full color.

Aric of Daca aka X-O Manowar has confronted an alien threat to the Earth. With the help of General Capshaw and G.A.T.E., Aric has started to look for answers from the threat itself. A lot is revealed in his conversation with “Atom” and Aric starts to realize that not everything is as it seems. Atom’s tale spans the entire Valiant Universe and could even be linked to the being known as Divinity.

X-O Manowar #20 once again shows how strong of a storyteller and world builder Matt Kindt is. While the last series had some ties to the larger Valiant Universe, Kindt has not only built on those ties but has created new ones that link back to his Divinity stories. This book feels both big and small in scope and the stakes are personal for everyone involved. Aric has to put aside his differences with not only Capshaw but with Atom in order to start to solve this brand new mystery. It is a story that has the action take a back seat and places the mystery at the front and it pays off in big ways.

The art by Juan Jose Ryp is once again beautiful. The designs of the new aliens that Aric confronts are very unique. Even the backgrounds are stunning. My favorite panels come in the middle of the book when Aric and Atom travel to New Eden. Every single creature in New Eden is different and even the people that reside there have some powers that are beautifully displayed.

While I was reading this book and enjoying it, I felt that there was one character in particular that was shoehorned in. That character is Capshaw, she feels out of place and it seems she is there just for the connection to Harbinger Wars II. Kindt could have easily written this story without Capshaw and it would have still gone in the same direction.

With the strong writing from Kindt and the amazing art by Ryp, this series and run continues to be one of the best comics out there.

8-5899200345102041

Bagged and boarded, near mint condition. 1st printing. More pictures may be in description.