X-O Manowar (Aric of Dacia) is a fictional superhero co-created by writers Jim Shooter and Steve Englehart, and artists Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith. The eponymous comic book series published by Valiant Comics has sold more than 8 million copies to date. X-O Manowar has also starred in a video game alongside Marvel Comics's Iron Man. X-O Manowar comics have been translated into a number of languages including German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Norwegian, Filipino, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese. Publication history Valiant Comics X-O Manowar began as an original character by Valiant Comics with issue #1 with a cover date of February 1992. Less than a year after it began, with the Unity crossover and quality storytelling bringing attention to Valiant books, back issue prices rose dramatically due to limited early print runs. With comic book speculators buying multiple copies of each issue, sales reached as high as 800,000 copies for X-O Manowar #0 (August 1993) before dropping off. This original series ran for 68 issues before being canceled after the Sept. 1996 issue, of which only approximately 14,000 were printed. Issues #1–4 of the original X-O Manowar series were reprinted in a trade paperback, X-O Manowar: Retribution, which sold over 150,000 copies. Issues #7 and #8 were reprinted as part of the Unity Saga trade paperbacks. Acclaim Comics era In 1996, Acclaim Entertainment bought Valiant for $65 million and restarted the series under the Acclaim Comics banner. The publication of the second series ceased (along with all of Acclaim's non-core business) in 2002 due to Acclaim's financial difficulties in their video game division. Valiant Entertainment In April 2008, the recently formed Valiant Entertainment released X-O Manowar: Birth, a deluxe hardcover collection collecting the first seven issues of X-O Manowar. The collection was digitally recolored and "remastered" from the original material and included a new story, "The Rise of Lydia", by Bob Layton, one the title's original artists. A press release from Valiantfans.com stated: X-O Manowar: Birth (FEB084088), published by Valiant Entertainment, is solicited in the February Previews (Volume XVIII #2) and scheduled to arrive in comic book stores nationwide on April 30, 2008. This digitally re-colored and re-mastered special edition collects the full X-O Manowar origin story from issues #0–6 for the first time ever, and includes an all-new epic "The Rise of Lydia" story by comics legend Bob Layton and a new cover by Sean Chen! Aric of Dacia