Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: John Arcudi
Artist: Zach Howard
Cover: Zach Howard & Brad Anderson
“Aliens”Pt 1 : Ridley Scott gave us one of the best creations in sci-fi/horror with the release of Alien! Then James Cameron took it even further with the sequel Aliens! Soon after, Dark Horse began to publish many successful books based on the franchise, giving the Xenomorphs a lot more depth and variety. It’s been thirty years since the 20th Century Fox release of the first movie, and Dark Horse sees fit to celebrate it with their new Aliens series!
The story opens with two individuals in a cave filled with large crystals protruding from the ground. They’re separated but keeping in contact via radio when one of them is attacked by a pack of Xenomorphs, and his fate is left a mystery. Then we are introduced to the crew of the Vidar, which is coming out of hyper sleep, who are on their way to a planet to check out a dig site. Only a couple of characters are introduced to us on the ship, and they help flesh the little bit of story out so far. Upon their arrival they’re greeted by Red, who seems to be the guy in charge of everything. He takes the crew for a walk while talking about the formalities, and then, well let’s just say it becomes very clear there is something to hide and the crew isn’t welcome.
Again John Arcudi only gives a little bit of story, but I think it works better here than in the Predator issue because of the mystery he establishes. There is talk of “the blessing” and that Red and his team are finally “awake” now, and add to that the look on his face, it’s just plain creepy! This is the tone that the book needs, and I hope keeps, in the next three issues. Zach Howard has added a unique twist to the design of the Aliens, still keeping with their classic look while also building off of that. They have an insect look to them that’s just cool, and since you only get a few quick shots of them, you really can’t wait to see more!
I found myself comparing Arcudi’s work in Aliens to the Predator series he’s writing, and it’s evident that the human characters in this book will play a bigger role than just fodder for the Xenomorphs. I’m curious to see where it leads, and seeing how bad Red’s mistake comes back to bite him in the ass!
Infinite Speech
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So are this series and the ‘Predator’ series connected?
Sorry Andy, This is a standalone series. AvP will always be around. And if you’re into crossovers like that, check out the 4 issue mini “Aliens vs. Predator vs. Terminator”.
I’d also suggest you check out the first AvP series which is just fantastic in my book and the movie had a couple of nods to it as well!
I’ve never read the books but the movies are great action movies.
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