EXCLUSIVE: X-O Manowar Gets Hitched in X-O Manowar #38

There's a new tune coming to the Valiant Universe—wedding bells.

This July, Valiant is hosting its first wedding event ever, tying the knot between Visigoth Warrior and alien slayer, X-O Manowar, and his beloved Saana. That's right, X-O is getting hitched this July in X-O Manowar #8, a massive 48-page wedding celebration stuffed with a pew's worth of special guest artists and writers.

Leading the ceremonies is main X-O Manowar writer Robert Venditti, who will pen the historic nuptials with artist Rafa Sandoval. From there, X-O Manowar #38 heads into the wedding reception of the century, with two separate back-up tales from Venditti and artist Clayton Henry, and another from writer Amy Chu and artist CAFU.

Below, Venditti laid out the proceedings in an interview with Comicbook.com, complete with exclusive reveals of X-O Manowar #38's special wedding variant covers. Below, the writer discusses the major status quo change for Valiant's biggest hero, explains the experience of writing a wedding issue, and teases just how crazy the Armstrong-attended bachelor party will be.

How will marriage change X-O Manowar as a character, and as a human being? Will this alter the types of decisions he'll make as a power player in the Valiant Universe?

VENDITTI: I think Aric getting married is representative of a larger evolution of his character. He started out always focused on his past and trying to reclaim the people and the history that he lost when he was taken from his own time. Over the last three years, we've seen him become more forward thinking. He's spending more time looking ahead rather than behind. What says "future" more than marriage?

How will the rest of the Valiant Universe interpret this development? What will X-O's allies, enemies, and the U.S. government, do with this information?

VENDITTI: After all Aric has put the Valiant Universe through, I'd expect a lot of individuals--heroes and villains alike--would be ecstatic to hear that he's settling down. He isn't, of course, but there's no harm in letting them indulge in a little wishful thinking.

Does this wedding mean that Aric has found closure for the loss of his previous wife, Deidre? What inner demons does he still need to conquer in order to feel true happiness?

VENDITTI: Maybe a better question is, does Sanna, the current woman in Aric's life, think he's found closure? The idea of closure is something we address pretty definitively in the issue. There are some scenes I'm quite proud to have written, and one of them involves a character that readers may be surprised to see pop up in an issue of X-O Manowar. 

So, how exactly does a time-displaced Visigoth Warrior have a bachelor party? And for that matter, who is in X-O's bachelor party? Please tell us Armstrong is in it. 

VENDITTI: Read the issue! (I'm not kidding: Both the bachelor party and Armstrong's level of involvement will be addressed.)

Most comics have recently shied away from, or simply undone, marriages for their marquee superheroes, thinking it dates or pigeonholes them. What do you think about this trend, and why are you bucking it with X-O Manowar?

VENDITTI: Every character and situation is different, of course. To me, Aric getting married just makes sense. He comes from a time when marriage and children and lineage defined much of what a person was. For a Visigoth king not to get married would be an aberration.

What is it like writing a wedding issue for an action/adventure comic? How do you find that balance between sentimentality and high-action?

VENDITTI: I actually wasn't worried about the latter at all. Drama doesn't have to come from just action. There is some gut-wrenching stuff in this issue, and I absolutely can't wait to see what Rafa Sandoval does with the visuals. I think we're going to surprise people.

X-O Manowar #38 hits comic shops this July, with a cover price of $4.99