X-O Manowar With Robert Venditti

 

CB: Hi Robert, thanks for talking to us.

VENDITTI: My pleasure.

 

CB: How did you get involved with Valiant Entertainment and the new X-O Manowar comic?

VENDITTI: Warren Simons, Executive Editor at Valiant, reached out to me.  He told me about Valiant’s plans to relaunch their line, and asked if I’d be interested in pitching on any of their books.  I read up on Valiant’s history and the backgrounds of their main characters, and X-O Manowar really resonated with me.

CB: Were you a fan of X-O Manowar comic series?

VENDITTI: I came to comics relatively late in life—I didn’t start reading them until I was in my mid-twenties—so I wasn’t overly familiar with X-O Manowar.  I’ve done my homework now, though.  There’s no way I’d take on a project like this without knowing the character’s history.

 

CB: When developing the new series did Valiant Entertainment give you free reign or did they give you a concept to develop?

VENDITTI: They wanted me to work within the parameters of the original incarnation of the story.  We’re staying true to Aric of Dacia’s origin as a 5th Century Visigoth who is taken captive by aliens, escapes with the X-O Manowar armor, and returns to Earth in the modern day.  Beyond that, I was given the freedom to build upon that foundation however I liked.  Which is all I wanted, really.  Even if they’d told me I could come up with a new origin story, I don’t know that I would’ve done so.  The original core concept is so strong, why change it?

CB: The previous X-O Manowar series have had a big fan base and some very talented creators have worked on the series, does that add more pressure on you to make X-O Manowar a success?

VENDITTI: I don’t think about things in those terms.  It’s very humbling to become part of a tradition like that, but I can’t try to recreate what previous writers have done.  I’m going to beat my own path through the brush, but I’ll do it with respect for those who went before me.

 

CB: How much did you prepare for writing the new X-O Manowar comic?

VENDITTI: Not counting all of the research into the character and his background, this was by far the most intensive pitch process I’ve ever been through.  Which is a positive thing.  You want everyone involved to be passionate about the story.  It can only improve the final result.

 

CB: How much time have you spent on the project so far?

VENDITTI: Warren first contacted me last June, so it’s been about nine months.

 

CB: How would you describe the new X-O Manowar series?

VENDITTI: The concept driving X-O Manowar is tailor-made for epic, sci-fi action, and from the opening pages of the first issue, action will remain at the forefront of the series.  But there is also an opportunity to infuse the story with complex characters and themes, so we’ll be doing that as well.  The goal is to combine action and subtext to build a story that readers will want to come back to.

CB: What are your thoughts on Aric?

VENDITTI: He’s an ancient warrior thrust into the modern day.  He’s the world’s most primitive person, but he possesses the universe’s most advanced weapon.  He was born on Earth, but his circumstances leave him connected to no particular part of it, so in some respects he’s the one, true global citizen.  I could go on, but suffice to say a character with that much driving him is incredibly fun to write.

 

CB: Will the X-O Manowar comic form the basis for the new Valiant Universe?

VENDITTI: In part.  X-O Manowar will the first book of Valiant’s relaunch, so in that sense it’s a jumping-on point for the entire line.  But more books will be following this one, and each of them has an amazing creative team lined up.  Each book will play its own part in establishing the new Valiant Universe.

 

CB: What is it like working with Cary and Esad?

VENDITTI: It’s a tremendous thrill.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be an artist.  To me, there was no higher calling than to draw Bugs Bunny cartoons.  The truth is, though, I wasn’t very good, and I think I turned to writing as a way of describing in words what I couldn’t draw with my hand.  Seeing an artist translate a script I’ve written into pages of comics is probably as close as I’m ever going to get to realizing my childhood dream.  It never gets old.

CB: What are Cary strengths as an artist?

VENDITTI: Everything.  If there’s something Cary isn’t good at drawing, I haven’t seen it yet.

 

CB: What has the process been like working with Valiant Entertainment?

VENDITTI: It’s been extremely encouraging.  This is my first time writing an ongoing series, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.  But the amount of planning and forethought going into the Valiant relaunch is staggering.  It would be easy for them to churn out average books and rely on the company’s intellectual property to sell them, but that’s not what’s going on here.  They’re doing everything they can to ensure they put the best comics possible on the stands.

 

CB: Are you creating any new characters for the series?

VENDITTI: Definitely.  The Vine, the alien race that abducts Aric in the 5th Century, is new, and with that comes a raft of new characters who will be appearing and reappearing throughout the series.  And in issue four readers will meet one of my favourite new characters, someone who’ll aid Aric in his fight against The Vine and help him adjust to the modern world.

CB: In terms of the look of the series are the characters getting a redesign?

VENDITTI: Aric and the Manowar armor have been redesigned somewhat, but they’re still very recognizable.  As with everything else, we aren’t looking to start from scratch, so much as refine and expand upon the pre-existing concepts.

 

CB: What can you tell us about the first issue of X-O Manowar?

VENDITTI: Without getting into spoilers, I’ll say that we start out in ancient Rome and end on an alien spaceship travelling through the far reaches of space.  We had a ton of story to tell, and Valiant was great about giving us the page space we needed to do the story justice.  So much happens in the first issue, both in terms of the action taking place on the page and in the groundwork we’re laying for the future of the series.

 

CB: Are you or will you be working on any other Valiant Entertainment titles?

VENDITTI: I’m not working on anything else currently, but that may change.  When I was researching the company, there were several characters that interested me.  What I’m most looking forward to right now is sitting down with the writers from the other books and talking about the direction of the Valiant Universe as a whole.  Those are the types of situations where creators can really feed off each other’s energy.

CB: What other projects are you working on?

VENDITTI: I’m continuing to write the graphic novel adaptations of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels.  And this summer, Brett Weldele and I will be returning to the world of The Surrogates with The Surrogates: Case Files, a series of self-contained, single-issue stories, each one focusing on a different surrogate-related crime.  If everything goes according to plan, this will be my most productive year of writing to date.

 

CB: Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?

VENDITTI: Just that we’re proud of the work we’re doing on X-O Manowar, and I hope the readers enjoy reading it as much as I’m enjoying writing it.

 

http://www.valiantuniverse.com/

I want to thank Robert for stopping by ComicBuzz and giving us an insight into X-O Manowar, keep your eyes on comicbuzz over the next few months for more on X-O Manowar !