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