About the Alien Comic
Written by: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artwork: Salvador Larroca
Cover Art: Inhyuk Lee
Dark Horse has been the home of Alien comics since 1988, who have created multiple story arcs, one-shots, and their Alien vs Predator lines. On the 24th March 2021, Issue 1 of Alien was released after moving from Dark Horse to Marvel after the acquisition of Fox by Disney.
This particular series starts us off in the year 2200 and appears to tie in with the movie franchise indirectly. To give you a little context of the timeline, Alien was set around 2122, Aliens and Alien 3 is set in 2179, Alien: Resurrection jumps to approximately 2318, some 200 years in the future. Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are both prequels to the franchise, with Prometheus set around 2089-2093 and a general story build of the Aliens and their origins. Covenant is set in 2104 and serves as a prequel to Alien.
What to expect in the Alien Comic Series?
Issue 1 introduces the reader to Gabriel Cruz, a retiring Weyland-Yutani security chief. Stationed on the Epsilon Orbital Research Station, orbiting earth, we learn that Cruz, a dedicated member of Weyland-Yutani, has given his life to the company and sacrificed his relationships along the way to serve the company. His return to earth sees him trying to build relationships with his son Danny.
We see Cruz's flashbacks to a crisis between his team and Xenomorphs in this issue, the exact situation we wait for with anticipation of the whole story. We also are introduced to his therapist, an android taking on the appearance of Michael Bishop Weyland, a direct call to Aliens, Alien 3 and loosely Alien vs Predator.
Cruz's attempts to re-establish a relationship with his son Danny fails. Danny, who has a severe distrust of Weyland-Yutani, uses his father to gain data and access to the Epsilon Research Station in an attempt to expose the company of its evil ways. Unfortunately, upon gaining entry, Danny gets more than he bargained for, and the nightmare of the Aliens we know and love begins.
"Bloodlines" is the title of the first volume that will cover issues 1-6
"Revival" is the title of the second that will cover issues 7 - 12 due for release in August 2022
Review of Alien #1
I get the sense of something big, something spectacular coming from this series. Issue 1 for an opener is a set-up for an arc, that's for sure. It's not all-out action and not all-out Aliens. This is fine because I get the feeling that this is going to be a great series. The news that Disney will be making the Alien TV show leads me to believe that collaboration is going on in the background to tie both media types together. This is an exciting prospect for me, and I am looking forward to seeing more. If everything goes as planned, this could be the start of a brilliant adventure at Marvel and Disney.
With the recent acquisitions, will we see Predator make an appearance in the future? Maybe we are in for a crossover of epic proportions!
Issue 1 led me to want to read more, and isn't that the point of a first issue. I am excited to see what will come of this story arc. It could have been a bit more, more action, more gore, but am I just being too picky. Yes, most likely.
With everything that's on the way and excitement surrounding it. The little references to films we know and love, the beautiful artwork, the potential for character development and the potential for multi-media growth I rate this opener...
8/10
I will review the series as a whole once finished. The final issue in this series is released in April, so I look forward to discussions with others about their thoughts.
All in all, well done, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, you have risen to the occasion, and this series appears to be in very safe hands.
Buy this Comic
View volume one on Forbidden Planet
