Mini X-O Lost In Space

One moment I was kicking back on the Millennium Falcon.
The next, I wake up in space.
Without astral coordinates, Shanhara cannot return me to the Planet Gorin.
Or Earth for that matter!
Can you believe Han Solo drugged and dumped me?
What a scoundrel!

Mini X-O And Han Solo

Say Han, that was some game, 'eh?
No! For the last time, I didn't have any cards up my sleeve!
Don't worry, I won't take the Falcon away from you forever.
All I wanted was this last trip to Gorin.
It's a beautiful planet, filled with exotic and interesting people. You'll like it.
And as long as you don't try to take over the government, and proclaim yourself Emperor, everyone there will like you too.

Oh, by the way: Senator Palpatine, I've got my eye on you...

Mini X-O and Catspaw

Look, there goes Scotty now!
Shall I ask him?
I'm sure he'll free Gemini IV for us if I ask nicely.
Wait! I can't reach the ship! It's encased in a forcefield!!

I'll be it's Sylvia and Korob, up to their old tricks again. 
Damn their transmuter!!!

Mini X-O Goes Gemini

Look, it's the Gemini IV!
As it's a two-seater, would anyone like to fly it with me?
First, there's just one problem we've got to overcome.
How do we free it from Scotty's whale-cage of transparent aluminum?

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #5

X-O Manowar: Volume 4 Issue #5
Cover A by Lewis Larosa

X-O Manowar: Volume 4 Issue #5
Published: July 2017

Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Doug Braithwaite
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editor: Charlotte Greenbaum
Editor: Warren Simons 

Title: General
Summary: Aric of Dacia (and Urth) leads the Azure infantry in an assault on Mariner City. Amid buildings floating on water and air, they fight the Cadmium troops, including some genetically engineered Elites. Aric captures the Cadmium President, but then decides to let his troops kill him. 

In the aftermath, the Azure Emperor summons Aric. Given the understanding Aric forged with the Burnt, he gives Aric a new task. Harried by a mysterious war machine, the Burnt are leaving their wastelands, and taxing the resources of Azure cities. The Emperor wants the Burnt to leave Azure cities, and return to their assigned lands, or he will wipe them out.

Aric visits the Burnt. Their leaders speak of the three traditional factions of the Planet Gorin, and how Aric has helped strip the Cadmiums of their power. Now the Azure, who have killed thousands to gain power, wish to destroy the Burnt. The Burnt King shows Aric a floating tower that brings destruction and death wherever it goes. He believes it is under the command of the Azure. The King does not wish for his people to be virtually wiped out, as has happened to the Cadmiums. 

Aric chooses to the believe the Burnt King. He decides to use the X-O armor to unravel the web of lies and deceit on Planet Gorin. His only hope of being a man of peace seems to lie down a path of cutting the cancer out of this planet's peoples, leaving only those who wish to live in peace, like Schon, alive.

Observation: This is a dark chapter in Aric's life. It's easy to see how someone tired of war would be willing to kill anyone and everyone who would oppose peace. Likewise, when everyone else seems intent on fighting, it's easy to believe that you ought to be in sole charge of the situation. As no one else is willing to work together, it is time you took command, and forced them to do as you saw fit.

Aric of Dacia has had quite a journey, from 4th Century Visigoth, to 21st Century hero. Along the way, Shanhara, the sentient armor, has educated him in modern ways. Yet on the Planet Gorin, Aric forgets his understanding of human history, and how the Romans oppressed his own people (along with everyone else). Instead of fighting for freedom, he is following the dark path of Julius Caesar (and all the dictators who followed him), who transformed Rome from a republic into an empire. 

Watch out, Aric! We all know what happened to Julius Caesar, don't we?

Dragon Dave

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #4

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #4
Cover A by Lewis Larosa & Brian Reber

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #4
Published: June 2017

Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Doug Braithwaite
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editors: Charlotte Greenbaum & Robert Meyers
Editor: Warren Simons

Title: General
Synopsis: Aric leads his strike team to a desert wasteland ruled by the Burnt. These people have been persecuted and used by both the Azure and the Cadmium races. Aric humbly asks permission to pass through their lands so he can capture the Cadmium President, who fled the Capitol when the Azure army conquered the city. Although he is not inclined to trust anyone outside his own people, he is swayed by Aric's humility and assurances.

Aric's team captures a party of miners in the Helio fields. After he captures their mining machines, one of the miners lets slip the location of the Cadmium President. They find him in a hidden bunker. As they prepare to return, the team notices suicide gliders heading their way. Despite his instructions otherwise, the ring he forged from the X-O armor protects Aric amid the eruptions in the Helio fields caused by the suicide glider attack.

When he returns to his camp, the Azurian General explains that once they learned he had captured the Cadmium President, the suicide gliders were sent to ensure victory. Under no circumstances could the Azure risk the President escaping their party. Once again, the Azure army leadership demonstrates that the achievement of its goals is all that matters.

Observation: On reading this story a second time, I am once more struck by the similarities in the conflicts on Planet Gorin and the recent conflict in Iraq. The three warring tribes, the valuable natural resources of the Helio fields, the high level of distrust of others, and the willingness to win at any price, should resonate with anyone who watched the events of "war of liberation" and "the rebuilding of Iraq" unfold. It would be interesting to talk with American soldiers who fought in that conflict, and compare Matt Kindt's story with their observations and experiences.

Two World War II films last year were won Oscars this week. Perhaps I'm wrong, and Matt Kindt isn't using X-O Manowar to talk about Iraq. But people still write stories about the war in Iraq, as they do about any conflict that wreaks death, destruction, and misery on an unimaginable scale. And, sadly, they always will.

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #3

X-O Manowar Volume 4: Issue #3
Cover B by Kenneth Rocafort

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #3
Published: May 2017

Writer: Matt Kindt
Artists: Tomas Giorello, David Mack, and Zu Orzu
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editors: Charlotte Greenbaum and Robert Meyers
Editor: Warren Simons

Title: Soldier
Synopsis: Aric and his strike team have accomplished their mission of lowering the Cadmium city's shields, and have taken the tower to disrupt the link with the spaceships in orbit. At this point, they are ideally located to capture the Cadmium president and end the war. Instead, the Azure Captain who sent him on this mission decides to bombard the city with heavy weaponry, and the Cadmium president escapes. 

After the battle, Aric and the Azure Captain take their grievances to their General. The blue-skinned General congratulates them both, but agrees that they cannot have dissension in the ranks. So he promotes Aric to Captain, and ends the other's military career, shall we say, rather abruptly. That evening, Aric consults with Shanhara through the ring he fashioned from a small part of the sentient armor. Shanhara points out that trouble doesn't find him, nor does Aric use the armor to flee his problems. When trouble comes, he uses the armor to confront it. He is a warrior, destined to never know a life of peace. He must reconcile himself with that.

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #2

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #2
Cover B: Kenneth Rocafort

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #2

Published: April 2017
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editors: Charlotte Greenbaum & Robert Meyers
Editor: Warren Simons

Title: Soldier
Synopsis: Aric blames the X-O Manowar for the life of continual conflict he endured on Earth. Yet he recognizes that he occasionally needs the alien armor. So, pressed into service of the Azure army on planet Gorin, he has forged a portion of it into a ring. Through this link, he can call on a small amount of Shanhara's capabilities as the situation dictates. 

In Issue #2, Aric leads a team into the Cadmium's capitol. His team has two objectives: 1) to destroy the shield generators, which will allow the Azure infantry to storm the city, and 2) destroy the tower which controls the Cadmium spaceships in orbit. His team sneaks into the city, battling the defensive squads that discover them. While his team heads off to destroy the shield generator, he ascends the tower to destroy the control room, and thereby prevent the Cadmium spaceships from raining down firepower on the Azure army.

Ed Greenberg of Collector's Paradise on X-O Manowar

Ed Greenberg holding Nick Bradshaw's B&W artwork
(and wearing a T-shirt showing the cover of Volume 1 X-O Manowar Issue #0).

The Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1 Collector's Paradise Variant includes a testimonial from shop owner Ed Greenberg. He discovered X-O Manowar, and Valiant Comics, back in 1992. After reading the controversial "Death of Superman" storyline from DC Comics, he decided to see what else the comics world had to offer him. In X-O Manowar, he found an appealing hero. 

"He was a Conan-like brute from the ages of the Roman empire, transported to our time and given the ultimate weapon--a sentient suit of armor--with ultimate power and ultimate knowledge of the universe. The character had a raw feeling to him, a feature that was very much missing from the corporate superheroes of the 90s. Since that day, after I hunted down everything related to X-O Manowar that was out, and collected every issue and appearance since, Aric of Dacia has been my favorite comic book character. He continues to be so now. I still collect everything X-O Manowar--from custom-made hardcovers binding the original issues together to original art--and my home office is a shrine to the character."

Superman is a household name, and a hero to many. But each of us are unique, and identify with people differently. Ed Greenberg found the hero he needed in X-O Manowar. His love of X-O Manowar, of Valiant, and comics in general, would prompt him to open his own comic store in 1994. Collector's Paradise has operated continuously since then in Canoga Park, California, and recently opened a second store in nearby old town Pasadena.

Here's the finished version of Nick Bradshaw's artwork, colored by Andrew Dalhouse, and unobscured by the excellent (but large) logo designed by Tom Muller.

Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1
Collector's Paradise Variant Cover Art
by Nick Bradshaw and Andrew Dalhouse

Volume 4 X-Manowar Issue #1 Collector's Paradise Variant Covers

Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1
Collector's Paradise Variant Cover (B&W)

To herald the return of X-O Manowar to comics, with this new volume from Valiant, owner Ed Greenberg of comics store Collector's Paradise commissioned his own cover. The above is the Black & White version, created by penciler Nick Bradshaw, in consultation with editor Warren Simons.

After the Azure army conscripts Aric, they send him into battle without armor or a weapon. First he must ascend a sheer cliff, fighting the Cadmium army all the way. Once he reaches the top, weapons can be scavenged from the fallen, but he must still brave many dangers. Chief among those is a giant genetically modified "Blood Beast." 

Here's the color variant, courtesy of colorist Andrew Dalhouse:

Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1
Collector's Paradise Variant Cover (Color)

Like Cover B, Nick Bradshaw depicts Aric wearing his armor, and fighting the immense Blood Beast with an energy sword. While Aric doesn't wear the armor in Issue #1, he does consult with it twice. (Remember, the armor is sentient, and even has a name: Shanhara). And he does help the Azure army win this battle by single-handedly taking down the monstrous beast. But to find out how that occurs, and all the nuances of the story, you'll have to pick up Issue #1, and read it yourself.

Volume 4: X-O Manowar Issue #1

Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1
Cover B by Kenneth Rocafort

Volume 4 X-O Manowar Issue #1
Published: March 2017

Cover Artist: Kenneth Rocafort*
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Tomas Giorello
Colorist: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Dave Sharp
Assistant Editor: Robert Meyers
Editor: Warren Simons

Title: Soldier
Synopsis: Aric of Dacia, the 4th Century Visigoth who was transplanted by aliens in the 21st Century, has left Earth behind. He's relocated to a planet with two suns, and nine days in the week. He's living with Schon, a woman with blue skin and a tail. She works in a tavern, while he looks after her farm. He finds contentment in simple tasks like tilling the soil and repairing her tractor. Sadly, for him, this period of peaceful seclusion will not last. 

Schon's blue-skinned race, the Azure people, have been oppressed for generations. Like her, they are forced to work hard every day of the week. They are forbidden education and other forms of advancement. So one day, an Azure war party conscripts Aric, and forces him to join their war against their oppressors, the Cadmiums. Aric will not be given armor, or even a weapon. He's expected to die like all the other cannon fodder, serving as little more than a living shield for the properly trained soldiers. What the Azure army leaders do not reckon on is Aric's tenacity.

It's an action packed beginning to Matt Kindt's new saga. Even though it's written like most comics these days, with visuals taking most of the narrative burden, the Giorello and Rodriguez's visuals are incredible. A lot happens in this introductory chapter, and one's enjoyment of the issue only increases with later reads.

*As a first issue, X-O Manowar #1 was printed with thirty different covers, not including the second and third printing reprints. My wife and I chose Cover B, although we liked them all.

Volume 4: X-O Manowar FCBD Special

After a triumphant return to comics in 2012 with a 50+ issue run, X-O Manowar took a much needed rest. Thankfully, the fourth Century Visigoth didn't blast a whole in the ground and bury himself for centuries, as he did at the end of Issue 9 of the original series. (Don't worry, he returned in Issue 10!) Aric of Dacia was just weary of his adventures, and needed a few months off. So Valiant gave him a vacation, and he used the break to visit another planet. 

Last year, Aric and his magnificent armor came back with a bang. It was a very different series to its predecessor, and took many long term fans by surprise. But then, change ripples through not only X-O Manowar, but Valiant as well. This week we learned that two key people overseeing the creative vision of the company had left. Valiant is now wholly owned by a multimedia company. How this change in ownership and management impacts Aric's comic book adventures, and whether it hastens or slows the production of a Valiant movie or TV series, fans will have to wait and see.

X-O Manowar has been through a number of changes over the years. After the first 40+ issues of Volume 1, a new creative team took over in the mid 1990s with a "Birthquake" reboot. While the new writers and artists significantly changed the series, the management retained the original series (or Volume 1) numbering. 

When that effort failed to revive public interest, due in part to an imploding comic book market, they rebooted the series more comprehensively. The ownership and management of Valiant had changed greatly since its inception in the early 1990s. The company was now owned by Acclaim, a computer game company. Acclaim brought in new writers and artists, and even deposed Aric, with a new character taking over the X-O Manowar armor. This series, what I call Volume 2, restarted the issues at #1, and had a limited run. 

In 2012, a revamped Valiant arose from the ashes to introduce Aric and X-O Manowar to a contemporary audience. As I said above, that series, what I call Volume 3, lasted over fifty issues. So Matt Kindt's current series, beginning with #1, became the fourth volume of X-O Manowar. It's in stores now, and can be purchased as single issues, trade paperbacks, and as digital copies for e-readers.

This new X-O Manowar series has been compared to Marvel's iconic Planet Hulk series. Writer Matt Kindt has always wanted to write Conan the Barbarian, so he's approaching the series from that mindset. The series demonstrates a curious mixture of ideas, themes, peoples, and artistic styles, as Kindt continually changes the artist he works with for each story arc. But then, the history of X-O Manowar, and Valiant, is one of change. 

Our lives are filled with ups and downs, with triumphs and defeats. Still, we do our best to survive, and enrich the lives of others. In this way, we seek to continually rise above our past, and the detritus that would impede our futures. We move forward each day, our eyes fixed on the road ahead. We take breaks, but we do not give up.

Like Aric of Dacia, we remain Valiant.


Valiant's Free Comic Book Day issue featured a short prequel story for X-O Manowar. 

X-O Manowar 2017 FCBD Special
Published: May 2017
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: CAFU
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editor: Robert Meyers
Editor: Warren Simons

Title: The Three Prayers of X-O Manowar
Synopsis: Seemingly disillusioned with life on Earth, Aric is now living on another planet. Two races, the Azure and the Cadmium, are vying for power. Witnessing an act of oppression, Aric intercedes to shield the victim. After witnessing this act of protection and compassion, a woman named Schon befriends him. Troubled by his past, he confides to her that he fears he cannot mend his ways. She assures him that he can, and that he will find what he feels is lacking in himself.

X-O Manowar Issue 25

Cover for X-O Manowar Issue 25

X-O Manowar Issue 25
Published: February 1994
Cover Artists: Paris T. Karounos, Tom Ryder, Andrew Covalt
Writer: Jorge Gonzalez
Penciler: Paris T. Karounos
Inker: Tom Ryder
Colorist: Andrew Covalt
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Editor: Mark Moretti

Title: Unit, Corps, God, Country Part 2
Synopsis: Ken, Aric's second-in-command at Orb Industries, is having trouble getting to the bottom of who sanctioned Reece's massacre in South America. So Randy Cartier, his Security Chief, offers to send a few people down to Spectar Enterprises, an Orb subsidiary, to investigate. Aric meets Paul, Randy's friend, who worked with her in the military, and has stood by her in civilian life. When the Armorines attack Aric, he wants to destroy them all. But Paul and Randy convince him the Marines were following orders, and he doesn't want the entire United States Military against him. He lets them go. A week later, Gunnery Sergeant Harold Lewis returns in uniform. He apologizes for the misunderstanding, and promises that those responsible for the attack (presumably Peter Garrett and Ms. Mandrake) have been dealt with.

Armorines Issue 0

Cover for Armorines Issue 0

Armorines Issue 0
Cover Artists: Jim Calafiori, Tom Ryder, Jorge Gonzalez
Published: February 1994
Writer: Jorge Gonzalez
Penciler: Jim Calafiori
Inker: Gonzalo Mayo
Colorist: Eric Lusk
Letterers: Rob Johnson, Joe Albello
Editor: Mark Moretti

Title: Unite, Corps, God, Country Part 1
Synopsis: Colonel Gardner welcomes Gunnery Sergeant Harold Lewis, Lance Corporals Antonio Cordova, and James Earl Williams to the Armorines project, where they meet Dr. Philip Zahn, who won a Nobel prize for a breakthrough in Microelectronics. The armor he's developed gives enhanced strength, uses ion cannons mounted on gauntlets, vision beyond the human spectrum, force fields, ion-charged blades, laser cutters, and flight. They meet Sergeant Sirot of the N.S.A. (the National Security Agency), who survived the attempt to capture Aric's armor in Antarctica. They fly to Camp Pendleton, where they meet another team member, Major Myra Lane. There they receive their training with the armor, and learn to function as a team. We also learn that Peter Garrett, who oversaw the operation in Antarctica, is still maneuvering behind the scenes, as is Ms. Mandrake from the I.R.S. (Internal Revenue Service), who tried to take over Orb Industries when the C.I.A. (Central Intelligence Agency) believed they had captured Aric.

X-O Manowar Issue 24

Cover for X-O Manowar Issue 24

X-O Manowar Issue 24
Published: January 1994
Cover Artists: Jim Calafiore
Writer: Jorge Gonzalez
Story Assists: Seymour Miles
Penciler: Paris T. Karounos
Inker: Tom Ryder
Colorist: Andrew Covalt
Letterer: Ken Lopez, Rob Johnson
Editor: Mark Moretti

Title: Homecoming
Synopsis: Due to the guilt Randy Cartier feels over destroying the Mujahadin camp in Afghanistan, Aric returns home to find Shanhara, the sentient X-O Manowar armor, has changed. He assures her that, back under his control, the armor has suffered no permanent ill effects. Aric then takes Randy out to a pool hall, where he tells her she's being too hard on herself, and tells her he intends to pursue Reece, the man who massacred the Yanomama indians on behalf of Spectar Enterprises, a subsidiary of Orb Enterprises. When a disagreement with the regular patrons turns violent, Aric visits the hospital, where he reimburses them for their medical costs, and apologizes for their injuries. The issue ends with a sneak peak at the Armorines program, the U.S. military's elite combat unit using their version of the X-O Manowar armor.

X-O Manowar Issue 23

Cover for X-O Manowar Issue 23

X-O Manowar Issue 23
Published: December 1993
Cover Artists: Paris T. Karounos, Tom Ryder & Jorge Gonzalez
Writer: Jorge Gonzalez
Penciler: Paris T. Karounos
Inker: Tom Ryder, Phyllis Novin
Colorists: Andrew Covalt, Mark Pusateri
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Editor: Mark Moretti

Title: White Kings and Black Knights Part 2
Synopsis: Randy's proximity to (and usage of) Shanhara, the sentient armor, has reawakened memories of Wolfbridge, and old foe that tortured her and killed her friend Jean-Luc. Her friend Paul uses his connections to give her current information on the camp in Afghanistan where the incident occurred when they fought the Russians together for the Canadian military. Randy uses the X-O Manowar armor to destroy the Mujahadin base that Wolfbridge once oversaw. But instead of satisfaction, the destruction feels like an abuse of power. Meanwhile, Aric tries and fails to defend the Yanomama village against a white man named Reece, who has threatened to forcibly move them off their land. When he recovers from his injuries, Aric sees that the village has been obliterated, and a sign identifies the land's owner as Spectar Enterprises, a subsidiary of Aric's own Orb Industries. (Also, a sneak peak at the U.S. military's creation of the Armorine armor modeled on Aric's X-O Manowar armor).