Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Keeping It Ghastly: Biomega Vol 1

      Jason Sacks
      February 5, 2016
      Keeping It Ghastly, Keeping It Ghastly, Manga
    Recent
    • What Looks Good For the Week of December 4, 2019

      Daniel Gehen
      December 2, 2019
    • What Looks Good for the Week of November 20th 2019

      Daniel Gehen
      November 19, 2019
    • The Full Run: FINAL CRISIS – SUBMIT

      Daniel Gehen, Jason Jeffords Jr.
      November 15, 2019
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Singles Going Steady 11/9/2016: All The Stars

      Jason Sacks
      November 12, 2016
      Big Two, DC Comics, Image, Indie, Reviews, Singles Going Steady
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: DC Stargirl

      nguyen ly
      November 30, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: The Eternals

      nguyen ly
      November 16, 2019
    • The Full Run: FINAL CRISIS – SUBMIT

      Daniel Gehen, Jason Jeffords Jr.
      November 15, 2019
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • What Looks Good for the Week of November 13th, 2019

      Jason Sacks
      November 11, 2019
      Boom! Studios, Columns, DC Comics, Image, Marvel Comics, What Looks Good
    Recent
    • Review: Transformers Galaxies #3 and the problem with Constructicons

      Stephen Cook
      December 3, 2019
    • AHOY Comics Announces A Wave of Titles for 2020

      Daniel Gehen
      November 12, 2019
    • What Looks Good for the Week of November 13th, 2019

      Daniel Gehen
      November 11, 2019
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 2.5

      The Vampire Diaries 4.10- "After School Special"

      Jason Sacks
      January 23, 2013
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 2.0

      Review: Roku #1 Fails to Deliver

      Jason Jeffords Jr.
      November 11, 2019
    • 3.5

      Review: AMAZING MARY JANE #1 Starts Strong But Plays it Safe With Messaging

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2019
    • 4.0

      Review: Count Crowley – Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter #1

      Mike Nickells
      October 22, 2019
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Kevin O'Neill: A Film Worth Traveling Far and Wide to See

      Jason Sacks
      August 8, 2012
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: V.E. Schwab on revisiting Red London in The Steel Prince

      Stephen Cook
      March 13, 2019
    • Interview: David Foster Wallace and Hellblazer, words on Wyrd with writer Curt Pires

      Stephen Cook
      February 27, 2019
    • “The Night Has Teeth” An Interview with Sarah deLaine, Artist of Image Comics’ “Little Girls”

      Jason Sacks
      February 26, 2019
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Nick Cardy Pt. I - "'Honey, there’s a girl that poses for Picasso'"

      Jason Sacks
      May 20, 2016
      Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Jim Shooter Brings SLOW CITY BLUES to IMAGE

      Jason Sacks
      September 24, 2019
      Image, News, Press Release
    Recent
    • AHOY Comics Announces A Wave of Titles for 2020

      Daniel Gehen
      November 12, 2019
    • Valiant’s BLOODSHOT Trailer is Finally Here

      Daniel Gehen
      October 21, 2019
    • The Rafaels Team-Up for “HIDDEN SOCIETY”

      Daniel Gehen
      October 3, 2019
    • Titan to Release Phantom of the Opera GN

      Daniel Gehen
      October 1, 2019
    • GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Title Awarded to Todd McFarlane for SPAWN

      Daniel Gehen
      September 30, 2019
    • Jim Shooter Brings SLOW CITY BLUES to IMAGE

      Daniel Gehen
      September 24, 2019
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Bizarre Romance' Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      nguyen ly
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      nguyen ly
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Review: Transformers Galaxies #3 and the problem with Constructicons
  • What Looks Good For the Week of December 4, 2019
  • Collecting Profile: DC Stargirl
  • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen
  • What Looks Good for the Week of November 20th 2019
  • Collector’s corner: Old school long box diving for comics is still fun
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Indie

Exclusive Advance Interview: Matt Kindt on ‘X-O Manowar: Agent’

Jason Sacks
May 24, 2018
Indie, Interviews, Valiant

I’ve been a fan of X-O Manowar for many years, and have especially loved Matt Kindt’s take on the character in his current series. KIndt has mined new depths with the “barbarian in a tin can,” exploring the nature of what makes a king and glorying in the personal magnetism that makes Aric a true hero. In this exclusive preview of the upcoming new arc of X-O, Matt Kindt teases more thrills we devoted fans can look forward to.

Jason Sacks for Comics Bulletin: Tell us about the Unknown and what its threat is to Earth.

Matt Kindt: Is the Unknown connected with another of your Valiant comics… or would that be telling?

MATT KINDT: Yes! After the events in Eternity, Divinity came back to Earth and everything reset to a degree – except Divinity brought some problems back with him… or, more accurately, some problems followed Divinity back home to Earth. We kind of teased this a little bit at the end of Eternity but how it manifests itself is going to be pretty nuts. We’re bringing the cosmic to Earth!

A cover: Kenneth Rocafort

CB: I know you can’t spoil Harbinger Wars 2, but can you talk a bit about how X-O’s life has changed based on the events of that storyline?

Kindt: I think he’s actually asserting himself a little more. He’s not going to be a hired gun for any government or institution. He’s been the emperor of a planet (with all of the problems that ended up entailing) so he’s probably not going to be taking orders from anyone again. That said, he won’t be setting himself up to be emperor of Earth or anything; he wasn’t cut out for it so he’s going to be choosing a path that’s a little more interesting.

CB: This is your first arc writing Aric’s adventures on Earth in the present day. Do you write him any differently now that he’s here as opposed to the alien planet he lived on before?

Kindt: I think he’s changed as a character from his experience off-world. It was intentional from a writer standpoint but also, I think it’s important for the growth of the character. This is the beauty of the Valiant Universe. The XO we’ve had the past few years is actually a little older and a little wiser and he’s going to be making decisions based on past experience. Like every character in the Valiant U, he’s evolving like a real person would over time. None of us is the same person we were five or 10 or 15 years ago. The Valiant U gives us that freedom as creators to make it real. To give these characters stakes and life changes.

B cover: Alan Quah

CB: Will Aric be more at the center of the Valiant Universe now?

Kindt: Yeah, but not by choice. He’s going to have some tough times ahead but at least this time, it won’t be his fault. He’s just there to help clean up the cosmic mess. To a degree. I’m also totally lying when I say that. There are things he did in those first 12 issues that are going to come back to haunt him – and will hit close to home.

CB: On your X-O run, you’ve delivered constant change, including an arc set in Aric’s past. Is that by design? 

Kindt: Well, yeah… ha ha! I’ve been reading comics my entire life so I feel like you get to a certain point where you’ve seen everything and honestly, that’s what drives me and has driven me my entire career with my creator-owned work and everything else, and especially Valiant. Does the world really need another super hero comic? I think if you’re going to put a new super hero book out into the world at this point, there really needs to be a reason for it. It needs to be special.

C cover: Mico Suayan

CB: Tell us about your thoughts on working with Juan Jose Ryp on art. His style is very different from previous artists like Ariel Olivetti and Trevor Hairsine.

Kindt: He’s really great. I honestly was just impressed with how quickly he works. I thought I was quick, but he rivals me and puts probably a thousand more lines on the page. But what I like about Ryp is what he has in common with Ariel and Trevor. It’s a great solid sense of storytelling. He tells the story and embellishes and expands on what I’ve written, but always to service the storytelling and the narrative. That’s my favorite kind of artist to work with and I feel like Valiant really has a great group of artists that all have a similar talent for conveying story.

Valiant’s solicit copy is below.

X-O MANOWAR (2017) #19 (NEW ARC! “AGENT”)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by JUAN JOSÉ RYP
Cover A by KENNETH ROCAFORT
Cover B by ALAN QUAH
Variant Cover by MICO SUAYAN
 

NEW ARC! NEW JUMPING-ON POINT! “AGENT” – PART 1!

Beyond time, space, and reality, there lies the Unknown…and now it’s coming here! When soldiers from a mysterious foreign realm arrive on Earth, it’s up to the armored Visigoth known as X-O Manowar – newly returned to the planet and now the leader of his own elite G.A.T.E. unit – to deal with the intrusion. But are these otherworldly emissaries truly the threat they appear to be, or does a larger danger loom over the Valiant Universe still?

Worlds collide as Eisner Award-nominated writer Matt Kindt (Eternity, Grass Kings) and incendiary artist Juan José Ryp (Britannia) bring a new plane of existence crashing down upon our own in a brand-new jumping-on point for 2017’s best-selling series!

$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On Sale SEPTEMBER 26th

Matt KindtValiant ComicsX-O Manowar

Share On:
Tweet
‘The Art of Fantasy, Sci-fi and Steampunk’ is a Lush, Beautiful History of Fantasy Art
Review: ‘Boston Metaphysical Society: The Scourge of the Mechanical Men’

About The Author

<a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/byline/jason-sacks/" rel="tag">Jason Sacks</a>
Jason Sacks
Publisher Emeritus
Google+

Jason Sacks has been obsessed with pop culture for longer than he'd like to remember. Jason has been writing for Comics Bulletin for nearly a decade, producing over a million words of content about comics, films and other media. He has also been published in a number of publications, including the late, lamented Amazing Heroes, The Flash Companion and The American Comic Book Chronicles: the 1970s,1980s and 1990s. Find him on Facebook and Twitter. Jason is the Publisher Emeritus of Comics Bulletin.

Related Posts

  • Britannia Logo
    4.0

    Review: Britannia Lost Eagles of Rome #1 Shows Lots of Promise

    Taylor Silva
    August 3, 2018
  • Exclusive Advance Preview: HARBINGER WARS 2: AFTERMATH #1

    Jason Sacks
    July 26, 2018

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
  • Comic Book Collect
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders