I have just uploaded the 27th episode of the AvPGalaxy Podcast. This month RidgeTop, Xenomorphine and I are talking about Fire and Stone, the massive crossover comic event from Dark Horse. Fire and Stone marked Dark Horse’s return to Aliens/vs/Predator comics since the last relaunch in 2010 and the first release of a Prometheus related story.
We talk the good, the bad and the ugly. We discuss the influence Prometheus had the first major comic release since the film was released, a return to form for gorgeous Aliens/vs/Predator comics and the downright strangeness that is Elden and the Accelerant and more.
The Fire and Stone series is influenced heavily by Prometheus and plays upon the mutations brought on by the “black goo”.
Unfortunately we experienced a number of difficulties whilst recording this episode (lost audio, I was ill when we re-recorded) and some issues with Skype so this episode has been a bit of a trouble child.
What did you think of Fire and Stone? Did you agree or disagree with anything we discussed or think we missed out anything? Please let us know in the comments below. If you haven’t listened to any of our podcast before we sure to head on over to the podcast page and check out any of our previous 27 episode.
Ah, cheers! Found it. Guess they fixed it between print runs.
Fantastic. Thought so. They establish him as having a separate position to Simpson here, don't they? Lead terraforming engineer or something whilst Simpson runs the colony?
Anne notices Dione, Cale and Bradford/ Russell 'conspiring' on page 227. About 2 and half hours later, she notices that they've disappeared. Can't find a mention before that.
Maybe they caleld Derrick Russell 'Bradford' due to the fact that Russ Jorden is called Russell a few times in the first half, and weren't overly aware of the Fire & Stone storyline yet? But then, there are two different characters called Nguyen..
I believe Russell is introduced well before that. In a meeting between all the heads. I haven't read the book since the first time so I'm not 100%. I'll have to have a flick through if I get chance.
Fair enough - got that the wrong way around.
Maybe. I've got my plate pretty full at the minute - with stuff to do for the site and personal life - but it has been something I've intended to do for a while.
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/11953274_10200920064520488_6546604780339385418_n.jpg?oh=c4e400edb11258becd156fd113ecb02e&oe=563A93D4
The big one.
I don't have the book in front of me, but it's obvious it's meant to be the same person. Anne wonders about the Onager, then notices the other three talking in the corner and she wonders if they're thinking the same thing. She may even overhear them. Can't remember.
River of Pain ends on June 26.
Fire & Stone starts on July 3.
http://www.denbeauvais.com/
Do you remember if he is introduced correctly during the meeting?
If I remember rightly Fire and Stone has them leaving the colony a week before River of Pain has the shit hit the fan.
Mind you this about 8 days before the comics start. It's hard to imagine a stack of people lasting that long considering the pacing of the book. I assume continuity in timing and names didn't quite gel between the two.
Fixed. Thanks for pointing out.
Did he? I'll have to check that later.
Also, you call Derrick Russell, Russell Derrick at one point. And Chris Golden erred in River of Pain by calling him Derrick Bradford.
Posted my written review of Aliens up. I was struggling on deciding between a 5 or 6 but ultimately went with 6.
It was originally intended that the completely natural storm would follow the dawn/dusk terminator line. Similar to what we saw on Crematoria in Chronicles of Riddick.
That was definitely one of my favorite parts of Omega because it raises so many questions about what was going on and what it means for the mural in the film.
Another idea: the skull on the pyramid is at the end of an elongated, pointy head, a lot like Elden's, and the skull faces are pretty similar. Just raises more interesting possibilities about what Elden was becoming, and if there had been ones like him before.
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-bwJwcQN99jw%2FT5Kja3JnBaI%2FAAAAAAAABWI%2F9eMW0dA_m3U%2Fs400%2Fpyramid%2Bmound.png&hash=5ff03b3ef3b877aca47fbf89b6934a6368e55b75
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcomicbastards.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FAVP-Fire-and-Stone-4-1.14.15.png&hash=fda3bb96601dd84cc902dad20bf22be517c0501a
Also, if I remember correctly, we see Elden merge with the wall of the mountain. He takes the same pose as the mural in the film. Perhaps that mural was not really a mural but something along the lines of an Alien who happened to press up against the wall?
I just re-read the Aliens series. It really helps when you're not reading things by jumping from series to series. It was actually a very enjoyable series. I realized what it was that struck me as "lazy" when it came to the artwork. Many of the panels just show an image of the character and the background is not inked in at all. If this was a black and white book it would look totally incomplete. But maybe that was the intention so that the colorist's paint-work could shine. So it's not lazy at all. In truth, the colorist is quite adept at what he is doing. The painting is quite rich. I'm still not a big fan of the palette used, but it was done very well. I think this book would have benefitted from having a black background outside the panels instead of white. That was what really helped make Den Beauvais' art pop out.
http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/25-651/Prometheus-The-Complete-Fire-and-Stone-HC
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616557729?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00
I'm hoping for some small references, as well, or maybe a pit stop on LV-223 at some point.
Another cool thing about that idea is that it sort of reinforces the idea that the storm that kicks up shortly after the Prometheus crew enters the pyramid wasn't just random, but rather a reaction to their presence. The idea of the Engineers bio-mechanically terraforming the planet into one massive life form definitely helps explain what the Engineer in Fire and Stone was doing: tending the garden.
But now, after listening, I have one very BIG burning question/favor to ask:
One of the reasons I haven't picked up and read fire and stone yet was because I was waiting for the inevitable graphic novel to collect each issue into one big book, and I perked up when you guys mentioned that it's on the way... Does anyone know exactly when that's releasing? Or have any idea about the cost? I apologize if the release date was mentioned in the podcast, I might have missed that...
Also, as a little side note, I'd be curios to find out if Titan's upcoming "rage war" series will reference or tie in with Fire and Stone! I wouldn't be that surprised given that fox has put more effort into keeping the stories more cohesive lately.
After looking that up...
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fprojectumbrella.net%2Ffiles%2Fimagecache%2FSlideshow%2Fimages%2FTyrant.jpg&hash=5f1bd962a9f710ce9cdccc3d613df0b48efd386f
Some definite artistic similarities.
I also liked these comics, but if we exclude the Prometheus one, all the others have shown the xenos as incompetent!
For future comics, Dark Horse, please remember: aliens are not stupid fodder bugs! As simple as that. I liked Elden, though I understand why some others don't. The AVP comic was off, that needs to go in a new direction in the future as others have said already.
I mostly enjoyed Predator:FaS and Prometheus:FaS.
Indeed. The only "lazy" thing in the artwork was the posed nature of Reynold's style. When he wasn't tracing a screenshot or a bunch of actors, I found his style to be quite fitting.
I just finished my first draft of the review.
I don't think you're remembering correctly.
The only thing that might be construed as "lazy" was, as I think Ridgetop pointed out, the same pose re-used on many of the Aliens.
I did like Prometheus the most. I think those comics captured the look and feel of the film the most and even though I would consider myself as someone with an advanced understanding of the franchise, I feel that the casual reader who saw the film would appreciate the look and feel of the Prometheus comics. The same can't be said for the Aliens comics. Now 30 years did pass by mind you but still, it just doesn't capture the vibe.
One key thing about the Aliens series that I am surprised nobody picked up on is the color scheme. I mean if this is supposed to be basically a prequel to Aliens, and it is on location on Hadley's Hope, all the colors are totally off. It was like the colorist never saw the film. I found the whole vibe of the film was just missing. Note to colorist: Use more blue. It's the James Cameron way.
I just put them in the standard "bags and boards" sold at your local comics shop to keep them safe and then I stuff them in a box or drawer somewhere where they will hopefully inflate in value but never be opened again. Yeah, collecting singles really is a pain.