Aliens: Life and Death #1 (of 4)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Moritat
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Cover: David Palumbo
The cover by David Palumbo was amazingly creepy and realistic. Great art. Great coloring. Great inking. The interior artwork by Moritat is good and somewhat unique. Moritat often used thick, bold and gritty lines with heavy shadowing. This is complimented by the coloring by Rain Beredo. Which was awesome and brought a great balance through definition and a good use of light angles. Beredo utilized various shades and points of reflection that bring the panels to life.
The Life and Death crossover event began in the Life and Death: Predator and Prometheus titles. Aliens: Life and Death #1 of 4 is actually part 9 of 17 of the event. This story takes place 43 years after the movie, Aliens, and about 1 year after the Fire and Stone event. Dan Abnett shows us a group of Colonial Marines, outlaw prospectors and the survivors of an ill-fated previous mission to the planet surrounded by xenomorphs. And I mean a lot. Plus, there is the ever-looming Engineers to worry about too. Abnett does a great job of storytelling through the dialogue of the group. You can’t help but feel the stress the group is under and the clear and present danger of their situation. This ragtag motley crew finds themselves in the fight of their lives. They’re getting picked off one by one, in true horror-fashion. The group is separated and spread out. Some are even on their own. And the shock of consecutive horrifying events is beginning to take its toll on the group. Abnett shows this through making even the Colonial Marines feel the pressure. Abnett definitely creates a tense atmosphere. But luckily, the group seem to have some pretty awesome firepower in the form of futuristic looking guns and rifles.
This comic was fun and really enticing to read and look at. I enjoyed it so much I’m going to grab the first 8 parts of this story and get the whole thing. If you like Xenomorphs, Engineers and Predators this crossover event has your name all over it.
Michael Nunneley
