Since his debut in 1992, X-O Manowar has endured as one of the bestselling and most popular comic book creations of the past 25 years. Recently, Scoop shared the first small teaser for the new upcoming X-O Manowar series.
Now, Valiant Entertainment has officially revealed the plans behind the all-new series. Leading the charge is bestselling writer Matt Kindt (Divinity) along with an all-star arsenal of visual storytellers. They include Tomas Giorello and Mico Suayan (Bloodshot Reborn), Doug Braithwaite (Armor Hunters), Clayton Crain (Carnage), Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead). The comic features covers by Lewis LaRosa (Bloodshot Reborn), Kenneth Rocafort (Inhumans vs. X-Men), Mico Suayan (Thor), J.G. Jones (Final Crisis), and Monica Palosz (Divinity III: Stalinverse).
Aric of Dacia learned warfare at a young age, before being abducted and forced into slavery by an alien race. His eventual escape merged him with a weapon of immeasurable power: the X-O Manowar armor. With it, he returned to Earth and found himself stranded in the modern day. Fast forward a lifetime, and Aric has begun a new life, free from war and violence, on a primitive world. After being conscripted into an alien army, the machinery of death is forced to embrace the armor once more. They wanted a weapon, he'll give them a 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. 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,” said Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons.
“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. 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,” Valiant CEO and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani said. “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.”
Beginning on March 22, 2017, X-O Manowar #1 opens with part one of Soldier - a three-issue introduction that will take Aric of Dacia past the farthest limits of our galaxy. The brutal opening continues in 2017 and charts Aric's path from Soldier to General to Emperor and finally to Visigoth.