Titan To Republish Original Aliens Bantam Novels

Started by Corporal Hicks, Oct 16, 2015, 08:11:11 AM

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Titan To Republish Original Aliens Bantam Novels (Read 73,517 times)

Number13

Well, in the original comic books it was Newt, Hicks, and eventually Ripley because they were published before Alien3. Then Alien3 killed off the three of them, so they reprinted the books with Newt as Billie and Hicks as Wilks, and Ripley was the same, don't ask why. Then when the Perrys did the novelizations, they made Ripley an android to explain how she was in the story.

Course, I still don't think this ties with Resurrection, because 1st, they were written before Resurrection, and 2nd, in these books involve the Aliens taking over the Earth, in Resurrection it seems no one knew who the Aliens were. I think even after 200 years, I think people would remember the world becoming an Alien apocalypse.

XenoZipper

I've honestly never seen or read the reprinted versions so I had no idea about this Billie & Wilks change until recently. It's always been Newt, Hicks & Ripley to me & I think I'll keep it that way with my original prints. It's nice they're being reprinted (again) for those that haven't read them yet but I think I'm going to have to pass until something I DON'T have already in the comics gets reprinted.

Corporal Hicks

I don't think the retcons really did any harm to it. I think the interity of it starts to fall apart a little when Ripley shows up and only because the comics didn't address it at all (and they miss some of the old names. Ripley still refers to Billie as Newt at some point) and because the novelization never went into the how or why of the Ripley android. Otherwise, I think it worked fine.

HuDaFuK

Quote from: Number13 on Apr 08, 2016, 04:22:06 AMThen Alien3 killed off the three of them, so they reprinted the books with Newt as Billie and Hicks as Wilks, and Ripley was the same, don't ask why. Then when the Perrys did the novelizations, they made Ripley an android to explain how she was in the story.

Wrong. As Hicks said, the novels came before the edited comics. The novels started coming out in 1993, the edited comics didn't appear until 1996.

Presumably Ripley was never changed in the comic books because it would've involved a lot more work than just retyping some names. They would've had to create entirely new art and story sequences.

Number13

Well, I like the comic books the way they were before they changed them. I never really liked novelizations of anything, I feel they complicate things. They add material that mucks up things.

Like, this is a horrible example but in AVP they were saying that Charles Bishop Weyland was the ancestor of the man that met Ripley at the end of Alien3. It makes perfect sense since we don't know anything about that man, he could've been the head of Wey-Yu. But the novelization of Alien3 said that he was just an android designer for Wey-Yu and not a Weyland.

Again, horrible example, but doesn't matter now since AVP was retconned and I don't like Alien3.

HuDaFuK

Quote from: Number13 on Apr 08, 2016, 07:55:29 AMLike, this is a horrible example but in AVP they were saying that Charles Bishop Weyland was the ancestor of the man that met Ripley at the end of Alien3.

Neither the book nor the film of AVP says that.

Number13

Quote from: HuDaFuK on Apr 08, 2016, 08:03:55 AM
[Neither the book nor the film of AVP says that.

It's kinda obvious considering that they're the same actor and it's the same company, Weyland Industries and Weyland-Yutani.

Again, doesn't matter anymore. I just don't like novelizations cause they make up stuff that the original writers didn't intend. Like, doesn't the Alien novelization have an Alien with eyes, kills with his hands and no mouth-tongue? Or like, how the Predator novelization has Mac and Blain as both white and racists.

HuDaFuK

Quote from: Number13 on Apr 08, 2016, 08:11:15 AMI just don't like novelizations cause they make up stuff that the original writers didn't intend.

They don't "make up stuff that the original writers didn't intend". They're based on earlier versions of the film script and as a result include things that were subsequently changed before/during filming.

Number13

Why don't they just write a novel based on the final product instead earlier drafts they didn't use?

HuDaFuK

Because the book needs to come out around the same time as the film (in some cases, even before the film). It could take months to write, so the author needs to start early.

Corporal Hicks

Quote from: Number13 on Apr 08, 2016, 08:22:19 AM
Why don't they just write a novel based on the final product instead earlier drafts they didn't use?

Just to build on HuDa's point, the novelizations are written alongside the film's production, often based on whatever draft they have at the time. Changes made to the film during filming or during editing aren't relayed to the novelizers. In my opinion the most interesting thing about novelizations are those differences between them.  :)

Regarding the novelization of the comics - I generally prefer them over the comics. I wouldn't say they muck things up or mess them around, rather it gives them the page space to tell a better story. Comics are quite limited when it comes to the story they can tell but the novelizations aren't and it makes for a better read in my opinion.

HuDaFuK

HuDaFuK

#101
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Apr 08, 2016, 08:43:16 AMRegarding the novelization of the comics - I generally prefer them over the comics. I wouldn't say they muck things up or mess them around, rather it gives them the page space to tell a better story. Comics are quite limited when it comes to the story they can tell but the novelizations aren't and it makes for a better read in my opinion.

This is why I much prefer the novels. Comics are almost always way too rushed for me, everything is rapid-fire like there's no room for anyone with an attention span. The novels slow things down and add some more substance to the bare bones of the story. The best things the novels do is expand upon the characterisation of the people involved. In the comics I've read, characterisation is often so heavy-handed and shallow that it comes across as naff cliché. I find it hard to know or care who anyone is because they have no meaningful personality. In the books you can actually get inside the characters and learn more about who they are and why they are the person they are.

Case in point, I recently re-read Rogue and then got the comic, and the book is an infinitely more engaging and mature take on the story.

Corporal Hicks

I completely agree. I know you're not really a fan of Nightmare Asylum but I felt the same way about the book. I love the comic but I found the book to be infinitely better because of the expansions it made to the story.

HuDaFuK

I liked the story in Nightmare Asylum, I just couldn't get passed how silly and over-the-top Spears was. I found him to be a daft caricature.

Corporal Hicks

I doubt we'll ever agree on Spears.  :laugh: I think the novel paints him as a much more interesting character with a genuine God complex.

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