After teasing that “War Was Coming” just last week, Valiant Entertainment today announced an all-new X-O Manowar ongoing series that will launch in 2017 with a brand new X-O Manowar #1. The new series will be written by critically-acclaimed scribe Matt Kindt (Divinity, Ninjak, Mind MGMT) with art by Tomas Giorello (4001 A.D.: War Mother, Bloodshot Reborn), Doug Braithwaite (Armor Hunters, Bloodshot U.S.A.), Clayton Crain (Rai, Carnage), Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead), and Mico Suayan (Bloodshot Reborn).
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The first three-issue story arc of the new X-O Manowar series is titled “Soldier,” and Valiant promises it will push Aric of Dacia to his limit. The story sees Aric forced to serve in an alien army and fight in a terrible conflict, forcing him to don the X-O Manowar armor once more.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
But “Soldier” is just the beginning. The first year of the new X-O Manowar series will see Aric progress from “Soldier,” to “General,” to “Emperor,” and the “Visigoth.”
“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 hits store shelves on March 22, 2016, with covers by Lewis LaRosa (Bloodshot Reborn), Kenneth Rocafort (Inhumans vs. X-Men), J.G. Jones (Final Crisis), Monica Palosz (Divinity III: Stalinverse) Mico Suayan (Thor). Get your exclusive first look at Suayan’s connecting covers that will span X-O Manowar #1-3 in the gallery below, along with the first artwork from X-O Manowar #1.
