Just months after Robert Venditti closed up his epic run on X-O Manowar, Valiant is already rebooting their flagship series.
The new series will be helmed by Matt Kindt with a rotating list of who’s who of artists including Tomas Giorello, Doug Braithwaite, Clayton Crain, Ryan Bodenheim, and Mico Suayan that will span the series’ first year.
The new series sees war coming to the Valiant universe with the aptly titled first arc, “Soldier.” This three issue introduction arc will push Aric of Dacia beyond the farthest limits of the galaxy.
With the end of Venditti’s run, Aric had finally escaped his past and was able to find a home on a strange and primitive new world. Now he tends his crops, free from war, free from violence, and free from his armor.
But the machinery of death catches up to him. He is conscripted into an alien army and thrown into an unforgiving conflict. The fury inside him finds voice as he is forced to embrace the armor once more. He begins to decimate armies, topple enemies, and incite interplanetary warfare as he rises from soldier to General to Emperor to Visigoth! They wanted a weapon. He will give them war!
“Matt Kindt is a genius-level creator and, with X-O MANOWAR, he’s tapping into the essential core of our most iconic character to deliver something more ambitious, more far-reaching, and more fantastic than anything Valiant has ever attempted before,” said Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons. “This year marks X-O Manowar’s 25th anniversary, but, instead of falling back into nostalgia, we’re taking Aric into uncharted territory – with five of comics’ greatest artistic talents at the helm, no less. This is a premier team that has some truly stunning turns in store – and, when X-O Manowar emerges on the other side, he will be looking at a very different and much larger Valiant Universe.”
Tomas Giorello will provide the artwork for the first arc, “Soldier” through the month of March. He will be followed by Doug Braithwaite for “General” with issue four starting in June. After Braithwaite will be Clayton Crain beginning in September for “Emperor” with issue seven. Next up will be Ryan Bodenheim starting in December with an interlude issue ten. Finally, Mico Suayan will take up art duties for “Visigoth Part One” with issue 11 in January 2018.
“X-O MANOWAR #1 is not just the biggest book Valiant will be publishing in 2017; it might just be the biggest book we’ve ever published, period,” said Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. “With five sets of creators working concurrently across more than a year’s worth of the series, we’re building what will be the bedrock for Valiant’s next phase. But we’re not content to rest there. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be unveiling a simply massive slate of surprises that are going to add extra fuel to X-O MANOWAR’s fire in comics, video games, and even film. 2017 will be the year of X-O MANOWAR not just for Valiant, but for the entire comics industry.”
X-O Manowar #1 will feature covers by Lewis LaRosa, Kenneth Rocafort, Mico Suayan, J.G. Jones, and Monica Palosz.
Take a look at what you can expect with X-O Manowar #1:
X-O Manowar storms comic book shelves March 22, 2017.