I make no bones about the fact that I’m a huge fan of the original X-O Manowar comic series published by Valiant Comics back in the early 1992. With creators like Jim Shooter, Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith involved in the original it was a fun book with it’s interesting concept of what would happen if you gave a barbarian warrior an advanced suit of alien armor and set him loose in corporate America post-Wall Street (a what if Conan was given the power of Iron Man scenario). While the original X-O series ended a mere four years later with issue 68 (with a great send-off by Layton and Jackson “Butch” Guice), there was a follow-up series when the Valiant line relaunched as Acclaim comics. While writer Kurt Busiek did the best with what he had to work with, the series limped along for 21 issues with a modern guy in a suit of alien armor premise.
Thankfully, when the new guys relaunching Valiant Comics for a new generation got together to figure out which character should headline their line, they specifically targetted Aric of Dacia, the original X-O Manowar as their headliner and then when about recruiting some great creative talents to put the series together.
Here’s the solicit for #1:
The all-new Valiant Universe kicks off with a landmark, oversized # 1 issue of X-O Manowar by New York Times-bestselling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates, The Homeland Directive) and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan)! Born into battle, Aric of Dacia — heir to the throne of the Visigoth people — has never known peace. After a brutal encounter with a mysterious enemy known as The Vine leaves him a prisoner on an alien world, the only hope Aric has of returning to his family and saving them from slavery is to seize a weapon of incalculable destruction and become X-O Manowar!
- Price: $3.99
- Rating: T+
- Pages: 40
- On Sale: May 2, 2012
The first issue comes in two editions – one is the regular cover by ESAD RIBIC, and there’s the PULL BOX variant cover by CARY NORD. The thing about the PULL BOX variant is that you have to actually pre-order the book with your retailer to get a copy. We know you are going to want the Nord variant, so speak up and let us know!
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