X-O Manowar Vol 4 1

Dreams and aspirations are a burden, Schon. To simply be content... That is the highest aspiration.

-- X-O Manowar

Solicitation[]

WAR IS COMING!

Born under the oppressive thumb of the Roman Empire, Aric of Dacia learned warfare at an early age. It was amid such violence that he was abducted by an alien race. Forced into slavery, he survived where others perished. His escape would come from bonding with a weapon of immeasurable power: the X-O Manowar Armor. With it, he returned to Earth… only to find himself stranded in the modern day.

But that was a lifetime ago.

Now, far from home on a strange and primitive new world, Aric has begun a new life. Liberated from his past, he tends to his crops. Free from war. Free from violence. Free from the Armor.

But the machinery of death marches his way once again. Conscripted into an alien army and thrown into an unforgiving conflict, the fury inside him finds voice as he is forced to embrace the Armor once more. With it, he will decimate armies, topple empires and incite interplanetary warfare as he rises from solder to general to emperor to Visigoth. They wanted a weapon. He will give them war!

A stunning new beginning for Valiant’s most enduring icon starts here as New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Divinity, Ninjak, Mind MGMT) and a rotating cast of powerhouse interior artists spanning the series’ first year – including Tomas Giorello (4001 A.D.: War Mother, Bloodshot Reborn), Doug Braithwaite (Armor Hunters, Bloodshot U.S.A.), Clayton Crain (Rai, Carnage), Ryan Bodenheim (The Dying & The Dead), and Mico Suayan (Bloodshot Reborn) – present the biggest Valiant debut of all time…and unleash the brutal opening salvo of the ultimate X-O Manowar tale ever told!

Soldier, Part One[]

Appearances[]

Featured Characters:

Aric of Urth / X-O Manowar

Supporting Characters:

Schon (First appearance)

Villains:

The Cadmium (Alien race)
- Cadmium President (Mentioned only)

Other Characters:

Saana (Flashback only)
The Azure (Alien race)
- General Branix (First appearance)
- Clubb (First appearance)
- Scar (First appearance)
- Wynn (First appearance)
The Burnt (Alien race)
- Ironside (First appearance)

Locations:

Planet Gorin
- Imperial City

Items:

Bolt Caster
X-O Manowar Armor
- Shanhara
- X-O Manowar Ring

Vehicles:

Commander Beast (First appearance)
Launch Tubes
Tanks

Credits[]

Writers: Matt Kindt
Pencilers: Tomas Giorello
Inkers: Tomas Giorello
Colorists: Diego Rodriguez
Letterers: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artists:
- Regular: Lewis LaRosa & Brian Reber (A/2nd/3rd/Gold/Virgin)
- Variants: Kenneth Rocafort (B), Tomas Giorello (Pre-Order)
- Incentives: Mico Suayan & David Baron (1:20), J.G. Jones (1:50), Monika Palosz (1:500)
- Exclusives: Clayton Crain (Atomic), Lewis LaRosa (Borderlands), Diego Bernard & Brian Reber (Bulletproof), Andy Belanger (Cloud City), Nick Bradshaw (Collector's Paradise), Lewis LaRosa (ComicsPro), Felipe Massafera (ComicsPro), Freyu (Comics Dungeon/Cat Cosplay), Lewis LaRosa (ComicsPro/ECCC), Philip Tan & Elmer Santos (DCBS), Stephen Segovia (Fight or Flight), Tom Fowler & Brian Reber (Fried Pie), Bill Sienkiewicz (Golden Apple), Lewis LaRosa (Humble Bundle), Geoff Shaw (Heroes & Fantasies), Al Barrionuevo (Knowhere), Bob Layton (Larry's), David Lafuente & Gabe Eltaeb (Legend's), Tom Giorello (MC One), Clayton Crain (MGH), Marc Laming (MyGeekBox), Juan Jose Ryp (Nerd Block), Kano (Nerd Store), Shane Davis & Gabe Eltaeb (Ssalefish), Stephen Segovia (Ultimate), Philip Tan (ValiantDatabase)
Editors: Warren Simons, Robert Meyers (assistant)
Editor-in-Chief: Warren Simons
Logo-Design: Tom Muller

Synopsis[]

This article does not have a synopsis recorded yet.

Pre-Order Edition[]

The Pre-Order Edition of this issue contains the following exclusive material:

Designing the World by Matt Kindt and Tomas Giorella (3 pages)
- Aric of Dacia
- The Helmet
- The X-O Manowar Armor
- The Cadmiums
- The Azure
- The Burnt
- Commanded Beast
The Weapons of A Warrior from Matt Kindt's sketchbook (1 page)
A Bold New Look with logo designer Tom Muller (1 page)
Staff Commentary (2 pages)
- Over pages 17-18: pencils, colors, letters
What Secrets Hide in X-O Manowar? (1 page)
- Excerpts from the X-O Manowar #1 script by Matt Kindt
- Artwork by Jonathan Ashley and Tomas Giorello with Diego Rodriguez

Notes[]

The regular cover by Lewis Larosa is a homage to the iconic Star Wars movie poster by Brothers Hildebrandt ("Star Wars: A New Hope"; 1977) – Greg & Tim.
Monika Palosz variant cover is the company's first ever 1:500 Retailer Incentive and "Brushed Metal" variant cover, respectively. For each order of 500 copies of regular covers (A & B) or 500 copies of their own retailer/store exclusive covers, retailers would get 1 copy of the Brushed Metal variant cover. There may only be 100-200 copies of the Brushed Metal and only half of them in circulation.
Atomic Comics started a lottery to give away their copy of the Brushed Metal variant. Buying one of their exclusive variants would give the buyer one entry to the lottery.
Collector's Paradise's exclusive edition is the first retailer exclusive to feature 8 pages of exclusive content, sketches, and an essay from the shop owner who is a huge fan and supporter of Valiant comics.
The cover of Larry's Comics exclusive variant is a homage to the classic "Demon in a Bottle" cover of Iron Man #128 from 1979 (also drawn by Bob Layton). A black-and-white and two retro versions of this variant were made available for issues #2 and #4-5.
The Pre-Order Edition contains 8 exclusive bonus pages with background information about the different races on Planet Gorin, etc.
In the Pre-Order Edition Tom Muller is credited for the creation of the new X-O logo.
According to Dinesh Shamdasani Valiant sold over 90.000 copies of X-O Manowar in total; making this the best-selling single issue in the history of Valiant Entertainment thus far.^[1]
This had been the Valiant issue with the highest number of retailer exclusive variant covers (with 28) until it was superseded by Bloodshot (Volume 4) #1 (over 30).

Quotes[]

I work in a tavern nine days a week. I would like to go to school to learn our history. To learn art. But the Cadmiums forbid this. I don't want to be a tavern maid my entire life.

-- Schon

Dreams and aspirations are a burden, Schon. To simply be content...that is the highest aspiration.

-- X-O Manowar

I was younger. A different person. I've seen so much since then. The man she loved...is long gone.

-- X-O Manowar

The cliff is one klick high. It will be the shortest...or longest klick of your lives.

-- Ironside

Don't walk on the ground...the ground is deadly...remember--

-- X-O Manowar

FWABOOOM!

In short, enjoy your evening. Because, tomorrow? We die.

-- Ironside