On March 25, Valiant will release “X-O Manowar” #1. The new volume of the flagship series is written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (“Avengers Arena,” “Spider-Woman”), illustrated by Emilio Laiso (“Star Wars: Doctor Aphra,” “3 Guns”), colored by Ruth Redmond (“Deadpool,” “Storm”), and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (“Red Sonja,” “Killer Groove”). We are very excited about the character returning to prominence after a bit of a break for most of 2019 after Matt Kindt’s series wrapped.

To celebrate the upcoming release, we can exclusively reveal the art process on three pages between Laiso and Redmond. It’s a really beautiful and insightful way to see how comics come together, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. And, don’t forget, to pick up the book in a few months!

Thanks to Valiant, Dennis Hallum, Emilio Laiso, and Ruth Redmond for helping make this piece a reality.

Written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum

Illustrated by Emilio Laiso

Colored by Ruth Redmond

Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou WIN THE BATTLE, LOSE THE WORLD.

Aric of Dacia, a 5th century warrior catapulted into the modern day, has been bonded with the sentient alien armor, Shanhara. Together, they are the most powerful weapon in the world: X-O Manowar.

As a mysterious new villain arises to threaten the world, will this ancient warrior evolve into the superhero we need today?

Emilio Laiso (pencils and inks): The rough layout phase is the one I enjoy the most.

Usually I draw a small sketch at the same time as I’m reading the script. I try to put the first image that comes to mind on paper. This way I can be extremely faithful to Dennis’ writing.

Then I move on to assembling the whole page and then I decide the size and shape of the panels (also based on the quantity of dialogues and the order of the events depicted) I also make huge variations, where necessary, to the initial idea.

I try to create a sense of spectacle when I can but also maintain a more regular grid where the dialogues are more prominent, in these scenes I can have more fun by playing with the expressions of the characters.

Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (writer): Layouts and rough pencils are an exciting stage of the process for the writer because it’s the first time I get to see the artist’s interpretation of the story I had in my head. Comics are a collaborative medium and Emilio is an amazing storyteller so it’s fun to see which direction he’s taking things.

Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (writer): I spend the most time with the pages in the inked stage, because these usually get lettered for my dialogue notes. I get to edit and tweak the story based on how the art flows and what changed from the script to the page.

Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (writer): This is when it starts to feel like a comic.

Emilio Laiso (pencils and inks): Inking is a phase in which I experiment a lot to find new effects with textures and atmospheres.

Emilio Laiso (pencils and inks): But I try to give as much space as possible to the color since Ruth’s colors are really exceptional.

Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (writer): I almost never have time to appreciate the colored pages until I get printed comps in the mail, wich is a real shame because damn these are pretty. This eye-popping art right here is what people pay to see. I’m just lucky to be along for the ride.

Ruth Redmond (colors): With this new look at the classic X-O I felt Emilio was really bringing a sense of power and triumph to Aric and his good skin that I tried to match through some flashy colours and fun effects. Emilio’s work is so strong that building on it is pretty easy.

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Ruth Redmond (colors): I start a page by choosing my colours, referencing the wonderful script and thinking about the page in its entirety and acknowledging the context of the rest of the book. Then I start building the rendering, eg the dramatic shadow as Aric lowers the alien craft onto the freeway. And finally put in some extra shiny bits to make the X-O sing. It’s a group effort to bring X-O and Aric’s world to ink and paper for you to enjoy.