Aliens #1( Dark Horse – Arcudi / Howard / Irwin )
“A group of wildcat planetary prospectors plant their flag on a distant new world, rich in land, resources . . . and mystery. Within this seemingly uninhabited planet lies the greatest archaeological discovery in history, an ancient, abandoned complex of impossible proportions carved deep within the living rock, a mind-numbing labyrinth of passages, ramps, bridges, and galleries that seems to extend limitless. But as the exploration of the leviathan dead city proceeds deeper and deeper, the members of the team slowly begin to lose their grip on reality. But madness gives way to fear as the explorers begin to disappear one by one. Something else lives within the necropolis, a faceless horror as deadly and merciless as space itself, a lethal terror that has waited centuries to awake . . . and destroy.”
At long last, Dark Horse Comics heralds the return of the heavyweight champion of modern science-fiction/horror, Aliens!
* Aliens #1 is the first act in the relaunch of all three classic Dark Horse/Fox comics series. The release of Aliens #1 will coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the Ridley Scott-helmed film masterpiece, Alien, and will be preceded by an Aliens/Predator special for Free Comic Book Day!
This is a must have for fans of the Aliens films! And I mean the real Aliens films (Alien, Aliens, and Aliens 3), the rest of them suck harder than a Hoover.
If you missed the FCBD one shot, no biggie. You can still pick this one up. Imagine a world that looks a lot like Kyrpton, lots of huge crystal structures, and you’ve got the planet Chione. It seems that the corporations are still running space travel as our crew awakes from their sleep tubes to take a look the “archaeological discovery” which is really an abandoned city made by a civilization that has since died off. Not sure what they died off from, but I’ve got a good guess.
What is great about this first issue is that the story hook and drama doesn’t come from a large amount of xenomorphs in the area, although that does provide a great opening. It’s the human element that is the real story. As with many of the Aliens and Predator stories, conspiracy and foul-play are the name of the game. There is some big stuff happening on the human scale that readers will want to find out.
The writing what you would expect from an Aliens comic. It’s not Shakespeare, but then again it’s not meant to be. It’s enjoyable in that “popcorn movie” kind of way. The art is a bit cartoony, but in no way takes away from the gruesomeness of someone getting hosed or Aliens getting shotguns to the face. Great stuff! Wrap Arcudi’s writing and Zach Howard’s art in tinfoil, throw it in a microwave, and take cover. After the explosion you’re left with the burnt out remains of a home appliance and an awesome Aliens comic book.
Well done Dark Horse!
Grade: A
