Holiday Reading part 2.

As previously mentioned, last week I had gone on holiday, where I read a whole load of comic book arcs. Unfortunately, I read so many that I ran out of time in my lunch hour to talk about them all. Therefore, I've decided to make a part two for my holiday reading, where I hope I can say all I want to about all the other titles I read. However, given that I still have a lot to say, I'm not holding out hope that I can avoid a part three.

Let's get back to it.

So, after Night of the Living Deadpool and Werewolves of Montpellier, I decided to embark on a slightly more epic read with X-O Manowar volume 1 & 2 back to back, which began the new Valiant universe all those years ago by following Visigoth prince Aric of Dacia who, after being abducted by a race of aliens, acquired an otherworldly armour before returning to Earth, only to discover that 1600 years had passed.

I've been meaning to read X-O Manowar for quite some time now, having purchased volume 2 during a comixology sale about a year ago, and so decided to force myself to go through it now and I'm sure glad that I did. I really enjoyed X-O Manowar from start to finish as Robert Vendetti conjured a story which I found deeply engrossing and feeling really superhero-esque, all the while feeling much more grounded and realistic than other similar books from more established names.

Meanwhile, Cary Nord's art has this really classical look which, in my opinion, fits nicely for the historic scenes while also working well for the present day and sci-fi bits, meshing rather nicely with each other. This series only improves in the second volume when Vendetti and Nord find their groove and when they add Ninjak to the mix, allowing for a nice dynamic between Aric and Colin which only helped enhance my enjoyment.

In fact, if there is one downside to this series, it's the regret I feel that I didn't check it out sooner. X-O Manowar feels like such a breath of fresh air, with such captivating storytelling and an engrossing world, compared to the stagnation I've recently felt for the big two that I wonder if this is what people felt back when the Fantastic Four first debut.

And so, after X-O Manowar, I decided to remain in the Valiant universe and read Ninjak Volume 1, which followed MI-6 spy Colin King as he and his alter-ego 'Ninjak' embark on aa mission to infiltrate and bring down a shady weapons manufacturer which may just have ties to his own past.

Now, while I loved X-O Manowar, I believe that Ninjak is something else entirely. I loved Ninjak immensely from beginning to end as it came across to me as some of the most refreshing reading material I feel I've had in a good while. I've not read much of Matt Kindt's work (if any) but after reading this I feel as though I should make more of an effort as he wrote a story which felt incredibly immersive and almost unputdownable (I don't think that's a word).

The key success I found to this series was the depiction of Ninjak himself as Colin King comes across as a very complex character whose essence seems to straddle the line between being Batman and James Bond. In fact, I think he is very much an positive amalgamation of the two given that there are some very compelling character traits of both (he has a butler who raised him for instance) and the opening page gadget/personality profile of each issue on helps sell the intrigue.

Meanwhile, I thought Clay Mann's art in this book was beyond fantastic. I loved Mann's work in Action 1000 a few months back but here he just goes all out and it pays off. I found the art in this trade to be so vibrant and truly gorgeous thanks to Mann's pencils, Seth Mann's inks and Ulises Arreola's colours.

All in all, this had to be one of the highlights of my week for, while X-O Manowar was really good, Ninjak (I felt) was infinitely better and may hint to my changing tastes towards spy comics (as my enjoyment of Dynamite's James Bond might testify to.

So, once again, I've managed to use up yet another hour to write all of this so if you fancied reading my thoughts on Star Trek Volume 1, Black Bolt Volume 1 and/or Luke Cage Volume 1, that'll be in part 3.