The Surrogates
X-O Manowar
We caught up with Venditti to discuss revitalizing the Valiant line, what to expect from X-O Manowar and the weird coincidence of X-O Manowar coming back to light at the same time as similar concepts like Image’s Prophet and the upcoming John Carter movie. Throughout the story, check out a sneak peek of X-O Manowar‘s first issue.Being the launch title for the new Valiant Universe, how much pressure did you feel to get some world-building out of the way and help establish a tone and a feel for the world readers are going to be finding their way around?I’m a highly organized writer, so before I start scripting any story-even my creator-owned projects-I spend time building the world the story will take place in. Finding ways to tie in X-O Manowar with the rest of the Valiant Universe is one of the aspects of this book that I’m having the most fun with. There are so many great characters in the Valiant stable, both heroes and villains,
What do you think readers have to know going into this title?
X-O Manowar
“Conan in Space” is how X-O Manowar has been described by some other stories I’ve seen written about your book. At the moment, though, the estimable Brian Wood is working on Conan, Brandon Graham and Simon Roy are killing it with a sci-fi barbarian take on Prophet and John Carter is as big as ever. Is it discouraging when your idea suddenly becomes something that’s in the water, or does that just tell you that there’s interest in the concepts?
X-O Manowar
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How did you get picked for this gig? Did they approach you or did you pitch it?
Now that you’re a little into it, how does working on a monthly schedule suit you? Creator-owned books are really another animal entirely.
Is there something satisfying about working on a title that has a lot of history and a lot of fan goodwill, but where you aren’t necessarily trying to fit in with anyone’s past stories or being compared to some great creator who’s closely associated with it? It seems like a great middle ground.
X-O Manowar
It seems as though a lot of people are familiar with the basic concept of X-O Manowar, and are comfortable with the character, but that’s about it. Will you be using his old supporting cast and villains, or creating new ones, or a little of each?
X-O Manowar
