Valiant's X-O Manowar Returns in 2017

No rest for Aric of Dacia.

By Jesse Schedeen

Though Valiant's long-running series X-O Manowar recently wrapped up its 50-issue run, Aric of Dacia won't be out of the spotlight for long. Today Valiant revealed that an X-O Manowar relaunch is arriving in March 2017.

The new series will be written by Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT, Ninjak) and feature art from Tomas Giorello (Bloodshot Reborn), Doug Braithwaite (Armor Hunters), Clayton Crain (Rai), Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead) and Mico Suayan (Bloodshot Reborn) in its first year.

X-O Manowar #1 cover by Lewis Larosa. (Valiant Entertainment)

The new series will open with Aric attempting to live a quiet, ordinary life as a farmer, only to see history repeat itself as he's kidnapped by an alien race and forced to harness his powerful armor once more. The titles of the four story arcs in the book's first year hint at the major transformation Aric will undergo in 2017. Those arcs are titled "Soldier," "General," "Emperor" and "Visigoth."

“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 the company's press release. “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.”

For those unfamiliar with X-O Manowar, the franchise originally debuted in 1992 and was the first to return as part of Valiant's rebooted universe in 2012. It revolves around the exploits of Aric of Dacia, a Visigoth barbarian who was abducted by aliens, bonded with a highly advanced battle-suit and returned to Earth in the present day. The character has been a mainstay of the new Valiant line, both in his own series and various team books, and is expected to play a part in Valiant's brewing cinematic universe.

Valiant CEO and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani hinted that fans can expect more news on the movie front soon. "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."

Look for the new X-O Manowar #1 to hit stores on March 22, 2017.

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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