The folks at Valiant sent over a preview of what’s up their sleeve for Planet Death, the first mega-story they are running in X-O Manowar.

First, Cary Nord! We’ve been wondering what Cary has been doing since the last work we saw of his on X-O Manowar #4. We knew he was still exclusive to Valiant, so clearly he was working on something, it turns out he’s been working on this. It looks incredible. The gallery below shows the inked pages of what looks like the legendary origin story of the X-O armor. It’s got that beautiful art nouveau look to it, I imagine it will look stunning with the final colors.

Second, those covers! They are all amazing in one way or another. The Cary Nord pullbox cover is fantastic, it continues the trend of using his convention sketch style artwork on the cover, which looks fantastic. The rest are great, and there is a super secret cover by Bart Sears, the original superstar X-O Manowar artist, in the works.

Here’s the official word from our favorite publisher, and the gallery of images is below that.

Nord, Crain, Rivera, and Sears Invade PLANET DEATH in X-O MANOWAR #11

Valiant is proud to present an advance preview of PLANET DEATH – Part 1 (of 4) in X-O Manowar #11  – the FIRST ISSUE of the most ambitious X-O Manowar storyline of all time! Written by New York Times best-selling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates) and illustrated by Eisner Award-winning artist Cary Nord (Conan), the invasion is finally here – and X-O Manowar is the invader!

Aric of Dacia, a 4th century Visigoth armed with the universe’s most powerful weapon, is all that stands between the Earth and all-out annihilation at the hands of the alien race that abducted him from his own time. Now, the day of Aric’s reckoning has finally come. As his Visigoth forefathers sacked Rome, Aric will take the battle directly to his oppressors on the Vine homeworld of Loam. He will decimate their armies, he will level their cities – and he will not stop until the whole of their empire is reduced to ash. This is PLANET DEATH!

“X-O Manowar is a soldier at heart, and he knows from his years on the battlefield that the best defense is a powerful offense,” said Executive Editor Warren Simons. “The only chance he has to protect the fate of humanity is to take the battle directly to the Vine’s doorstep and stop their alien empire from spreading further.”

The beginning of an all-new arc for the breakout series of 2012, X-O Manowar #11 features a painted standard cover by Clayton Crain (Carnage USA), a Pullbox Exclusive Variant by Cary Nord, an incentive variant by Paolo Rivera (Daredevil), and a top secret wraparound variant by legendary X-O Manowar artist Bart Sears! Featuring the return of superstar penciler Cary Nord to Valiant’s signature hero, PLANET DEATH will define X-O Manowar’s place in the Valiant Universe. Don’t miss the first chapter of a comics juggernaut when X-O Manowar descends on PLANET DEATH in X-O Manowar #11 – on sale March 20th!

Prelude to Planet Death – Part 1 (of 2):

X-O MANOWAR #9 – ON SALE JANUARY 23rd!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art & Cover by TREVOR HAIRSINE (NOV121333)
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by CARY NORD (NOV121334)
Variant Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN (NOV121335)
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.

Prelude to Planet Death – Part 2 (of 2):

X-O MANOWAR #10 – FEBRUARY 20th!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI

Art & Cover by TREVOR HAIRSINE (DEC121266)
Variant Cover by CARY NORD (DEC121267)
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.

Planet Death – Part 1 (of 4):

X-O MANOWAR #11 – ON SALE MARCH 20th!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CARY NORD
Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by CARY NORD
Variant Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
Top Secret Wraparound Variant by BART SEARS
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.

Planet Death – Part 2 (of 4):

X-O MANOWAR #12 – ON SALE IN APRIL!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CARY NORD
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.

Now, check out the gallery of images! Click on any image to launch viewer: