Valiant Marks The Biggest Release Dates of 2017 with “X-O Manowar Wednesday” and the X-O Manowar 2017 Calendar

Valiant Announces X-O Manowar 2017 Calendar so that fans never miss one of the X-O Manowar Wednesday!

By Staff Reports

Valiant is proud to announce that, beginning on March 22nd with the release of the all-new X-O MANOWAR #1, the fourth Wednesday of every month will officially be “X-O Manowar Wednesday” – a consistent, monthly on-sale date that will include the latest issue of X-O MANOWAR alongside a brand-new launch title, jumping-on point, or key issue arriving from the best-reviewed publisher in comics! Across each and every fourth Wednesday in 2017, Valiant will now be giving fans at least two reasons to visit their local comic shop – beginning with the most important title of the year, X-O MANOWAR #1, arriving in stores on March 22nd right next to BLOODSHOT REBORN #0!

To support this unprecedented move and to reiterate Valiant’s commitment to building X-O MANOWAR’s brutal new beginning across 2017, Valiant is giving fans and retailers the tools they need to never miss an “X-O Manowar Wednesday” with the X-O MANOWAR 2017 CALENDAR – coming free to all participating retailers in the United States, Canada, and Europe! Marking the release date to every issue of X-O MANOWAR in 2017, this one-of-a-kind calendar comes complete with reminders highlighting the Initial Order Deadline (IOD), Final Order Cut-Off (FOC), and “X-O Manowar Wednesday” for the first year of X-O MANOWAR – the EPIC NEW ONGOING SERIES from New York Times best-selling-writer Matt Kindt (Divinity, Ninjak, Mind MGMT) and a rotating cast of powerhouse artists, 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), spanning the series’ first year and beyond!

“We’ve told fans and retailers in no uncertain terms that the new X-O MANOWAR series may very well be the most vitally important series that we have ever published,” said Valiant Publisher Fred Pierce. “Now, we’re putting our money where our mouth is – and continuing Valiant’s record-setting streak of on-time shipping – by giving retailers a major new tool for promoting the series in their store with ‘X–O MANOWAR WEDNESDAY‘ dates marked on this calendar. At the end of every month, on every fourth Wednesday in 2017, Valiant will be putting a major new release into stores for fans to rally around. And it all starts with X-O MANOWAR #1 on March 22nd. We’re extremely confident in the strength of this series with the first 13 issues already in production. Our new ‘X-O MANOWAR WEDNESDAYS’ are just the latest display of the momentum we’re putting behind this series, and just how far our plans for X-O MANOWAR stretch in 2017 and beyond.”

Packed with explosive artwork from some of the finest talents in the industry – including Lewis LaRosa (Bloodshot Reborn, Savage), Kenneth Rocafort (The Ultimates), Mico Suayan (Bloodshot Reborn), J.G. Jones (Final Crisis), Kaare Andrews (Astonishing X-Men) and more, the X-O MANOWAR 2017 CALENDAR is a dazzling display item that will attract customers near and far! Retailers hoping to take part in X-O MANOWAR’s landmark takeover in 2017 and beyond will be eligible for the X-O MANOWAR 2017 CALENDAR based on their Diamond discount tier. For more information, retailers should contact their Diamond representative or the Valiant sales team (retailers@valiantentertainment.com). The X-O MANOWAR 2017 CALENDAR will also be available for free to all retailers attending this year’s ComicsPRO meeting in February.

A stunning new beginning for Valiant’s most enduring icon launches into comics everywhere on March 22nd with X-O MANOWAR #1 – part one of “SOLDIER,” a punishing, three-issue introduction that will push Aric of Dacia beyond the farthest limits of our galaxy…and into the brutal opening salvo of the ultimate X-O Manowar tale ever told!

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 SOLDIER to GENERAL to EMPEROR to VISIGOTH. They wanted a weapon. He will give them war!

In the wake of “SOLDIER”’s staggering assault in issues #1-3, X-O MANOWAR then continues in 2017 and beyond as a superstar cast of Valiant’s most acclaimed artistic talents chart Aric’s path from SOLDIER to GENERAL to EMPEROR to VISIGOTH for a vicious, year-long journey of bone and bloodshed born from the battlefields of a herculean alien empire:

Plus: Valiant is also rewarding fans who reserve copies of X-O MANOWAR’s complete opening story arc in advance with their local retailer with the X-O MANOWAR #1-3 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE!

Available only as a pre-order set, the X-O MANOWAR #1-3 PRE-ORDER EDITIONS must be ordered as a complete bundle at your local comic shop by the initial order date of January 26th, 2017! Released monthly from March through May, featuring exclusive covers by series interior artist Tomas Giorello and clocking in a colossal 48 pages each, every PRE-ORDER EDITION comes packed with trade paperback-style extras and bonus content, including creator commentary, behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of the comics, process character designs and artwork, and first looks at upcoming issues.

The only way to reserve these exclusive copies is by pre-ordering all three issues at your local comic shop by January 26th, 2017. Further copies will not be available beyond that date and subsequent issues will not be offered in later solicitations, so don’t miss your chance! Simply copy one of the pre-order coupons included in this month’s Previews catalog or in every issue of Valiant’s January-shipping comics releases and present it to your local comic shop to reserve your X-O MANOWAR #1-3 PRE-ORDER BUNDLE.

For more information, visit Valiant on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and ValiantUniverse.com.

For Valiant merchandise and more, visit ValiantStore.com.

X-O MANOWAR (2017) #1
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by TOMÁS GIORELLO
Cover A by LEWIS LAROSA (JAN172113)
Cover B by KENNETH ROCAFORT (JAN172114)
Interlocking Variant Cover by MICO SUAYAN (JAN172116)
X-O Manowar Icon Variant by J.G. JONES (JAN172117)
Brushed Metal Variant Cover by MONIKA PALOSZ (JAN172117)
$3.99 | 40 pgs. | T+ | On Sale MARCH 22nd

X-O MANOWAR #1-3 PRE-ORDER EDITION BUNDLE
Written by MATT KINDT
Art & Covers by TOMAS GIORELLO (JAN172115)
$11.97 [three issues] | 48 pgs. each | T+
X-O MANOWAR #1 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale MARCH 22nd
X-O MANOWAR #2 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale APRIL 26th
X-O MANOWAR #3 PRE-ORDER EDITION | On Sale MAY 24th