Interview with X-O Manowar Writer Robert Venditti

The all-new Valiant Universe kicks off on May 2nd with a landmark, oversized X-O Manowar #1 (MAR121221) by New York Times-bestselling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates, The Homeland Directive) and Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan)! Born into battle, Aric of Dacia -- heir to the throne of the Visigoth people -- has never known peace.

After a brutal encounter with a mysterious enemy known as The Vine leaves him a prisoner on an incomprehensible world, the only hope Aric has of returning to his family and saving them from slavery is to seize a weapon of incalculable destruction and become X-O Manowar! The Vine destroyed Aric's world. Now he will give them war. 

While that synopsis explains the premise behind this relaunch, we wanted to know more about what goes into relaunching the first title of a publisher that has reinvented itself. For answers, we turned to Venditti, who was kind enough to provide us with this interview.

You'll also find interior pages for the first issue provided by Valiant throughout the article. Click on each image for a larger version.
 

PREVIEWSworld: How did you first hear about the opportunity to write this series? 

Robert Venditti: Warren Simons, Executive Editor at Valiant, reached out to me last June.  He told me about the plans to bring back the Valiant line, and I was immediately interested.  How often to do you get the chance to not only relaunch a character, but help shape an entire universe?   

PREVIEWSworld: Were you a fan of Valiant and the original X-O Manowar book or was this a property you learned more about as you researched for your relaunch? 

Venditti: More the latter.  I came to comics pretty late in life—I didn’t start reading them until 2000—so I wasn’t overly familiar with the original Valiant run.  I’ve done my homework, though.  I wouldn’t take on a project like this without familiarizing myself with what came before. 

PREVIEWSworld: Obviously there are plenty of comic fans out there that remember X-O Manowar. What is it you believe defines Aric and makes his story special? 

Venditti: The core conflict driving the character is just so unique.  Aric of Dacia is a 5^th Century Visigoth who’s abducted by aliens, enslaved aboard their ship, and then escapes with the aliens’ most powerful weapon.  When he returns to Earth, he discovers that sixteen centuries have passed in his absence.  So he’s the world’s most primitive man, wielding the universe’s most advanced technology.  It’s a wonderful setup for telling entertaining, thought provoking stories. 

PREVIEWSworld: What do you think will set the story you’re telling apart from the X-O Manowar stories that came before it? 

Venditti: We aren’t just rehashing earlier material.  The world isn’t the same place it was in Valiant’s earlier days.  We’ll be using the original characters and concepts, but we’ll be updating them and applying them in a way that today’s readers can relate to.

PREVIEWSworld: Can you tell us about the armor Aric wears and the abilities it provides? 

Venditti: The Manowar armor is the ultimate weapon, both defensively and offensively.  It can take a beating and dish one out as well, and since Aric is a battle-hardened warrior, he’ll be doing plenty of the latter.  But perhaps the armor’s most important trait is its sentience, which will help Aric adjust to the modern world.  The armor has plenty of other abilities, too, including some new ones that we’ll be introducing for the first time. 

PREVIEWSworld: Can you tell us a little bit about The Vine? 

Venditti: The Vine will be a recurring antagonist throughout the series.  They’re an alien race whose roots (hint!) spread throughout the universe.  What motivates them as a culture and why they want the Manowar armor back so badly will be the key to the first year of the series.   

PREVIEWSworld: While this is a reboot, will this X-O Manowar retain any ties to the past continuity established in the previous Valiant Universe? Or are you taking the character back to his foundation and building the rest from scratch?

 Venditti: This is a new series with a new first issue, so readers don’t need to know anything about the previous Valiant continuity.  This is a jumping-on point for everyone.  Having said that, we’re staying true to the spirit of the original run, so longtime fans will recognize a lot of familiar elements.  There’s so much good material already established, we’d be crazy not to use it. 

PREVIEWSworld: How has your work on The Surrogates and your other projects prepared you for taking on this character and this universe? How has working on a monthly series like this one differed from your previous work?

Venditti: I’m a pretty organized person by nature, and I feel like that’s reflected in the way I plot my stories.  I don’t sit down to write a script until I have a firm idea of where everything is going.  That’s benefited me with this series because I’m taking the opportunity as often as possible to plant the seeds for future plotlines.  It’s a long-form approach.  The difference is how long-form I have to be.  Rather than thinking three or four issues ahead, I’m thinking years ahead.  There are moments that will take place years from now that readers will be able to trace back to the first issue.  I hope I get the chance to write all of it. 

PREVIEWSworld: Like the original Valiant, the new Valiant Universe will be one shared by its characters, but your book is the first out of the gate. From a universe-building standpoint, how do you think what you’re doing in X-O Manowar might help define the Valiant Universe as a whole?

Venditti: In a lot of ways, the Valiant Universe has already been defined.  In its original incarnation, Valiant was known for telling compelling stories with characters connected throughout a shared universe.  All I have to do is maintain that.  As far as how X-O Manowar will influence the rest of the Valiant line (and vice versa), these are things I’ve been thinking about since I first started writing my pitch.  As someone seeing this relaunch from the inside, I can tell you there’s an enormous amount of planning taking place.    

PREVIEWSworld: Are the storytelling opportunities presented by the other heroes in that universe something you’re looking to explore early in this series? Or will X-O Manowar focus primarily on its titular character and supporting cast for the time being? 

Venditti: The first arc will establish Aric as a character and define several of the series’ overarching themes.  Once we get past that, we’ll begin weaving Aric’s story in with the rest of universe.  There are so many great characters in Valiant’s stable—both heroes and villains—and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.       

PREVIEWSworld: One of the things that made Valiant so appealing in the 1990s was that its characters not only operated in a shared universe, but beyond that there was a unique energy and “renegade spirit” to all the books, as Valiant describes it in the latest PREVIEWS catalog. That said, is there a definitive style or tone you’re striving for when writing X-O Manowar? 

Venditti: I want to tell entertaining stories grounded in strong characters, and one of the reasons I took this book on was because I felt it was an excellent platform for me to do that.  It’s such a rich narrative landscape.  And I want my stories to be thematic as well.  A story shouldn’t just be something the audience reads; it should be something they want to think about and discuss, too.        

PREVIEWSworld: What will make the book different than other sci-fi comics on the shelves in your opinion?    

Venditti: Every writer’s approach will be different, whether they’re working in the same genre or not.  It’s not necessarily something you can put your finger on, so much as the unique background and influences that a creator takes with them throughout their career.  The more a writer can incorporate those elements into their script, the more the finished product will stand apart from everyone else’s.    

PREVIEWSworld: What can you tell us about working with Eisner Award-winner Cary Nord on this book? What do you think made Nord the right artist to help you and Valiant reintroduce and redefine this character? 

Venditti: X-O Manowar has a concept tailor-made for epic action, and Cary’s previous work is testament to his ability to bring those kinds of stories to life.  He’s such a tremendous talent, and I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to be working with him.      

PREVIEWSworld: X-O Manowar will also be featured in the Valiant Preview Free Comic Book Day title. Can you tell us about the content you’ll be contributing to that? 

Venditti: The Free Comic Book Day issue will a feature a key sequence from X-O Manowar #1 that introduces us to Aric and The Vine, and sets up the dominoes for Aric to acquire the X-O Manowar armor. It will also offer first looks at some of the other books in Valiant's summer launch.  But which books those will be and who the creative teams are is still a secret for now.

PREVIEWSworld: Finally, any final message or thoughts about X-O Manowar you want readers to come away with? 

Venditti: I hope fans enjoy reading the series as much as I enjoy writing it. As for the retailers who might be reading this, I want them to know I understand the risk they take whenever they invest their money and shelf space in a new title.  I don’t take that lightly, and I’ll do everything I can to craft stories that their customers will want to pick up month after month.  We’re all in this together.