It's a bittersweet New Comic Book Day this week. It marks the 26th and final issue of the brilliant Matt Kindt run of X-O Manowar. I won't pepper you with cliches, but it was pretty groundbreaking for the character. Now a new team will have a chance to send Aric on a new journey.
Valiant announced today that writer Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum and artist Emilio Laiso will helm a new ongoing series. The only bad news is, we have to wait until November. Fans may know Hopeless from Star Wars: Vader - Dark Visions and some of the recent WWE comics. Laiso is no stranger to Star Wars himself, having worked on the Doctor Arpha comics. Hallum seems quite excited to be bringing a fresh take on one of the most iconic characters in the Valiant Universe. In a statement released from Valiant he says, "We always give the cool robot suits to billionaires and scientists. I love how Aric flips that on its head. He didn't build the suit. He can't explain the suit. And he could kick your butt up and down the road without the suit. The anachronism is fascinating and I can't wait to play around with it."
Valiant has always done a pretty good job at keeping things fresh. The fact that they are never afraid to shake things up is one of the things I believe makes Valiant so successful. Hallum is a great choice and a perfect fit for Valiant. It seems like the publisher has been bringing in a lot of new creative teams recently that haven't worked with the publisher before (or haven't in years.) Growing a larger stable of talent like this, I believe, really takes Valiant to an even higher level. How much are you looking forward to the new X-O Manowar ongoing?
(Promo art by Christian Ward)