In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of James Cameron’s Aliens, Dark Horse Comics have announced that they will be re-releasing a special hardcover edition of their original Aliens comic series as the Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comics Series:
“In 1988, Dark Horse’s Aliens comic debuted, with stunning art by Mark A. Nelson and a script by Mark Verheiden, taking the comics market by storm. For the thirtieth anniversary of the Aliens film, Dark Horse and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products are releasing an oversized hardcover edition of the unabridged and unadulterated series!
This must-have collector’s edition delivers 184 pages of original black-and-white art, each panel more horrifying than the last.
In deep space, a salvage crew is attacked by seemingly unstoppable monsters. The marines are called in, but they need someone with experience. Soon Hicks (the horribly scarred survivor from Aliens) and Newt (now almost eighteen) find themselves on a mission to locate and destroy the aliens’ homeworld!
This collection also marks the first major comics work by Mark Verheiden, who went on to write The Mask, Timecop, Battlestar Galactica, Daredevil, and many other films and television shows.“
The cover for Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comics Series
From the sounds of it this will be a re-release of the very first print of the Aliens series when it featured Hicks and Newt (they would later be renamed Wilks and Billie to account for their deaths in Alien 3).
The Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comics Series is currently slated for release on the 26th of April 2016. Thanks to Matt Booker over at the Weyland-Yutani Bulletin for the news.
I'd have it at the halfway point myself, especially considering how mercilessly and quickly some characters are killed. The one guy smacking the one guard on the head with the arm, trying to kill it as the metal on the other arm starts to crack and break would be a great moment if it was done on film. The art style of two would just add so much to it.
That could actually work and it would be very Blomkamp. I just hope that wouldn't be the finale as it would be a bit trite.
I could make a profit lol.
Book Two was orchestrated like clock-work to reflect the high level of action in that series. Den Beauvais' art was very realistic with exquisite attention paid to product design details. Everything here was consistent with the look of the Aliens film right down to the lighting. I don't know if anyone noticed this, but the behaviour of light off of objects in that book is extremely realistic. Beauvais spent time analyzing the direction of light casting and ensuring that its behaviour was spot on. Who does that? Again, the art matched the story.
And now we get to Aliens: Earth War. Dark Horse really jumped the shark with this book. If it were to be appreciated on its own terms and merits without any pre-existing Aliens material out there, who knows? It might be ok. I mean the writing went off on the strangest tangent. The Alien Queen Mother calling her Alien children back to her from across the universe? Are you kidding me? It became nonsensical and the art reflected this whimsy. So when you look at the Earth War series as a whole it is internally consistent.
However, when you take in the trilogy as a whole, you see that Earth War was completely out of character with the rest of the series and basically tanked what was a stellar performance up to that point by Mark Verheiden. Earth War, the third act in the Verheiden series was as far off the mark in terms of a proper continuation to the 2 previous books, as Alien 3 was in relation to the first 2 films.
I certainly hope we don't see Sam Kieth drawing Aliens comics anymore. He is a brilliant artist and there are a lot of his works out there that people love but as an Aliens artist he just does not match. He just doesn't understand that Aliens fans love the hardware of the Aliens universe as much as the characters and monsters, and he is not capable of drawing the hardward properly because he does not have that product design sensibility.
On the flip-side, it would be great to have Mark A. Nelson, the seminal Aliens artist (not counting Walt Simonson) and the brilliant Den Beauvais return for a couple more runs. They were some of the fan favorites. I just don't get why Dark Horse doesn't get those guys working on some series again...
Not bad at all.
They are it cheap but not overly expensive. I paid around £60 for it. I loved it that much.
Nice! That must be worth a bob or two!
I would love it if that happened. I'm very happy with what we are getting though.
I do have a hardcover of book two that's signed by artist and writer. It's hard to read though as it standard size and not sewn. It's like a mouse trap lol
Lol I can't remember how it goes. Read it so long ago. Just remember thinking is was better than the comic.
Same here. For me art is so important when reading comics. I wouldn't mind giving it a re read but don't know if I can put my eyes through the pain lol
It's a shame that it's so bad. If it was at the same standard as book one and two, I think we would be getting all three books In one hardcover next April instead of just the first.
Thanks dude. I had actually read that. I'm not fond of it. Still can't stand his art.
I need to check out Aliens: Lucky. Never realise it was Mark A Nelson that did the art on that one.
Do you think Earth war would have been made much better with either of the artists from book one or two doing the art ?
There's a twist in the story later on that makes Sam Keith's style just perfect. But in hindsight. I did a review about it but the spoil is mentioned in there. I do warn you so you can skip ahead though: http://www.avpgalaxy.net/literature/reviews/aliens-inhuman-condition/
Can you elaborate? I have never read the novella.
That said...I did think he suited the novella once you got to the twist.
Absolutely. Although I still like how book one looked. Earth war on the other hand was almost insulting lol
But I will say this, Mark A. Nelson's spaceship design "The Benedict" was probable one of the best if not the best ship design since the Sulaco. I mean imagine that thing done in full CGI. Awesome!
It does nothing for me to convince you otherwise. We're just having a convo here. Anyway, we can agree to disagree. To each his own. The Aliens series covered a massive swath of cataclysmic events and yet it was a very personal tale which shows how subjects of such grandeur could be tackled well and intimately.
My perspective is definitely influenced by reading the series at the moment it was released. Reading the whole volume at once takes away the feeling of enjoying the cliff-hangers. And I tell you, there were cliff hangers galore in this series especially when you consider that some of the issues were being release 4 - 6 months apart! Dark Horse was not the comic-churning machine that it is today. Back then you felt that each comic released was the result of the blood, sweat, and tears of a group that was just barely sort of holding it together. That made the anticipation that much greater. I still remember going to the comic store week after week and asking "is it here yet?" Anyway, I can only look back on the experience of reading this series very fondly. It isn't perfect, but I find myself wanting to give it a pass in the same way that I want to give a pass to Prometheus, and overlook its shortcomings.
I would say the far bigger plot-hole was Captain James Likowski from the Junket not knowing what was about to happen to him. I mean the Junket obviously had an encounter with the aliens and he escaped in a pod. So that doesn't really add up.
With all due respect to Mr. Verheiden, Book One is about as deft as a sledgehammer.
It achieves what it means to achieve, but subtle and nuanced it is not.
Anyway, the whole Newt thing still doesn't strike me as contrived. Firstly, we don't know What happened to Newt in the 10 years following the events of Aliens in this story. There is a reason she is in an institution. It is highly probable that her extended family doesn't want anything to do with her. After Aliens, she was likely adopted, but the trauma she sustained made it impossible for her to lead a normal life which is why she ended up in the asylum. I'm just guessing here, but this is entirely reasonable.
The second thing is that Hicks and Newt are the only ones capable of vicariously empathising with each other. Only Hicks understands what Newt went through and that she is not crazy. Likewise, only Newt understands what Hicks is going through. It is obvious that Hicks is plagued by nightmares. He is constantly reliving his Acheron hell. So he feels that the only way to exorcise his demons is through revenge and wiping out the Aliens. This is consistent with his character in the film. Remember, "yeah. Yep that's right.... It's the only way to be sure". Hicks is trying to free himself from the nightmares and figures the only way to be free is to get revenge. He projects these motivations onto Newt, assuming she is going through the same ongoing horror. So his thinking is that the only way to save Newt and himself from the nightmares is to go on the suicide mission. Yes, this could result in their death very likely, but after a decade of nightmares, he figures it is better than the alternative; madness. One could argue that what he did was wrong and not in the kid's best interest. Definitely. But contrived? Not really.
Mark Verheiden may have needed to include Newt in the story, but he did so in a very deft way.
No, Hicks (our Hicks) is right, it is contrived. I'm sure they could've come up with some more meaningful explanation as to why Hicks has no choice but to take Newt along, but they didn't. As it's presented in the comic it makes very little sense. Hicks saves her then immediately drags her off to her death. If he is so concerned for Newt's well-being, he'd never take her along on a military suicide mission to an Alien planet where she's simply going to be killed (he's sold on everyone dying from the start, this point is made abundantly clear). So why is he so quick to condemn her to that fate if he cares about her?
It was a plot contrivance designed solely to get Newt involved. There was no real logic behind it. It's exactly the same problem I had with much of Prometheus - dumb stuff happens because it's needed to further the plot, not because it makes sense.
This would've been far more interesting, would've upped the stakes for Hicks to survive and get back to Earth, and generally would've been more logical. Although I guess the comic already had too much crammed into it as it was.
I get what your saying.
Perhaps a better way to have newt in the story would have been for hicks to liberate her from the asylum and take her some place safe, go of on his mission and have a second main plot following Newt having an adventure on earth and needing to escape and then her and Hicks meeting up to then lead into the next book.
Considering he could just drop her off elsewhere and she be much safer, it's a little contrived. You could argue she doesn't know anyone (that said, they could have just had her stay with relatives that maybe didn't know she was in that condition. I don't remember how/when she ends up in the asylum) and Hicks' only choice was to bring her along but considering it's supposed to be to save her, it doesn't make all that much sense bringing her on a guaranteed deathified ending mission.
Not sure if that's all so far fetched there Wilks. I mean Hicks. ;-)
I mean in the original Aliens comics by Verheiden, it was shown that Hicks was basically left all alone and ostracized by everybody. The Alien consumed his entire life and since Ripley disappeared, there was only Newt left who was the other sort of "living proof" that the past happened and that it was not just a figment of his imagination. So all he dis was go say good-bye to Newt. But he realized that they were going to lobotomize her which was in his mind effectively a death sentence anyway. So instead, Hicks decided to take her with him. Yes it was a suicide mission, but to stay in that asylum was perhaps a worse sort of death. Hicks knew she wasn't crazy and didn't deserve to be in the asylum. If there was anyone who would understand his mission (which was not in line with the military's objectives anyway - I mean he was practically AWOL from page 1) it would be Newt. He knew she would understand his motivation - revenge, and that the only cure was to defeat the Aliens or die trying. He knew Newt was feeling the same way. Not contrived at all.
Absolutely fantastic comic. I can't say I've read too many adaptations but from what I have seen this is light years above those I have seen. It looks like actual care and attention went into the Illustrated Story as opposed to the phoned-in feeling I've got from others.
I'm with you and I understand.
The religious aspect of the EU is one of my favourite things, personally. I would have loved to see it evolve into something more organized and been longer lasting.
Yeah that was always weird. That said, I do feel a re-read of Earth Hive coming on now.
I'm not a big fan of comics, no, but as I said, I first came to the story via the novel, and that was the point at which I started scratching my head over the love it gets, and that feeling's since been compounded by reading the comic. Yes, I probably enjoyed the comic less because of the format, but it was the basic story it contained, which I already knew from the novel, that really disappointed me.
Yep, that's the one!
Well like I said when I reviewed the novel a while back, it was just the way so much of it felt like it had been lifted from other films and whatnot that pre-existed it, especially the first two Alien films themselves. Caricature corporate stooges? Check. Insider working against the team? Check. Arrogant commander ultimately revealed as the traitor? Yep. Surprise android reveal? You betcha. It was the sheer volume of it, it felt as though - once they were off Earth - the entire story was built from plot blocks that had been stolen from other films and books and reassembled, and to compound the issue in each case these elements weren't done anything like as well as in the media they were borrowed from. Butler even gets ripped in half and reduced to a torso, a literal carbon-copy of Bishop.
Nothing wrong with borrowing stuff in principle, of course - Aliens does it extensively with regards to Alien - but it was just so frequent and on the nose in the comic, and in every case the borrowed elements were done in a far inferior way that only made it more obvious it was copying from much better material. Many of the other EU stories have similarly aped the films, but they at least seemed to either do it in a way that wasn't so blatant, or surround it with an interesting enough scenario that the copied elements were more palatable.
There were certainly good things in the comic. The Alien-worshipping religious cult was a nice angle, and I've already pointed out how much I enjoyed the initial set-up. But the good inventive stuff seemed to be heavily weighted towards the start, whereas a lot of what came later felt like poor rip-off more than anything. On top of that, the dialogue wasn't exactly stellar, the characters that didn't rely on you already knowing them from previous movies were dull and under-developed, and there were a couple of slightly daft plot contrivances too, most obviously Hicks electing to take Newt along for the ride on a military mission he is convinced will be suicide.
I'm actually not a great reader of comic books - in fact I first came to Book One via its novelisation by Steve Perry, although I have since read the original comic - but out of the ones I've read, I think the adaptation of Alien by Heavy Metal is by far the best. Superb artwork and a sense of maturity I found lacking in many of the others. I do have a few more Aliens comics I'd like to check out but have yet to get around to reading. And I'd really like to have a look at Rogue, the novel of which I enjoyed a lot.
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Have you read Salvation? May be a little more up your street.
I am a comic lover. Don't know if you are but if not perhaps that's why you do not get as much enjoyment. More to do with the medium ?
Alien by a heavy Metal. That is the 'Illustrated story' right ?
But Aliens the film still has that special something that helps overcome the clichés. It's not widely accepted as one of the greatest sequels of all time for nothing. I highly doubt the comic gets that kind of praise outside of the immediate fan base - please correct me if I'm wrong. The film also has the advantage of pretty much being the progenitor of a lot of those things that are now viewed as so cliché, something the comic cannot claim (story-wise at least, you're very right about it being a huge influence on serious film tie-ins as a genre).
As I've said before, the opening scenario of Book One, with Newt in an asylum and Hicks a burn out, was very original and engaging, but sadly all that was thrown out pretty quickly in favour of a sequence of unoriginal scenes and characters.
Quite possibly. But it's not so much the comic not living up to the hype that's got me confused. It's that it fell so far below it. Being disappointed is one thing, but with this it extends way beyond that, to the point where I honestly can't see what exactly the hype is based on. It baffles me. The adoration strikes me as being largely based on things that simply aren't true. Again, see the quote about spectacularly memorable characters.
I'm actually not a great reader of comic books - in fact I first came to Book One via its novelisation by Steve Perry, although I have since read the original comic - but out of the ones I've read, I think the adaptation of Alien by Heavy Metal is by far the best. Superb artwork and a sense of maturity I found lacking in many of the others. I do have a few more Aliens comics I'd like to check out but have yet to get around to reading. And I'd really like to have a look at Rogue, the novel of which I enjoyed a lot.
Perhaps the hype made the read more underwhelming for you.
I get that if I am hyped up for something based on word of mouth. If I'm told something is going to be great or is great, I generally don't enjoy whatever it is that much. And it works he other way for me. I may enjoy something if I'm told it's awful.
Perhaps to 'Perfect' the characters are memorable. If I am honest, Hicks and Newt are what make the book, for me, memorable. The over characters, like you say, I do find cliché. I still adore the book though and can't wait for the new release.
What's your favourite Aliens comic, if I may ?
By all accounts, this was an uncommon sight for movie tie-ins at the time: a faithful entry that was taking itself and the lore seriously. Coming to it after all this time gives a different view on it. It's the same when I hear people bitching about Aliens because "they're all cliches and etc and they've seen it all elsewhere".
Sure.
It just baffles me when he claims things like it having the "some of the most memorable characters in the Aliens universe". I mean, come on, you like it and all, but that's seriously a stretch. Pretty much everybody in the comic was just a flat cliché based on either tired sci-fi tropes or better-developed characters already seen in the film series. They may well be very likeable, but they're hardly all-time classic fictional characters.
Quite possibly.
All I'll say is, when I finally got around to reading it, after hearing all the hype and adoration, I was nothing but utterly underwhelmed.
I think that's a fair assessment
I consider the second book to be almost a masterpiece.
I tend to find people who read it first time around hold a higher opinion of it.
It's his opinion. I tend to agree. I love the thing.
I completely understand that. I'm not arguing the story's importance or what it did for the EU.
But when people go over the top lauding it in the fashion Perfect does, I can't help but fell I read a totally different story to them. It wasn't even nearly the kind of all-time masterpiece he makes out. There was little genuine substance to it beyond the opening act.
Regardless, I do think it is a vital read for anyone wanting to get into Aliens comics. Having it in the original black and white release is just cake on the icing.
And let's not forget "Red", and "Green"
Honestly, once again I'm just baffled beyond words that you mange to pile quite so much undeserved praise on this fairly run-of-the-mill and thoroughly clichéd story. You act like it's Shakespeare when it's not even nearly anything of the sort.
I mean, seriously? The "most memorable characters in the Aliens universe"?! I honestly can't comprehend where you get things like that from.
I was laughing at that last night whilst flipping through my TPB. That was poor.
It seems Dark horse fails a bit with editing. Did anyone notice that the Prometheus complete fire and stone still has the error during the Field report story was not rectified for the hardcover. The error I mean is the switching of Burke and Gormans names with Hicks is recording. What makes it worse is that Gormans name was used correctly three pages before.
I hated seeing them talk about Drake and Vasquez on the Rim mission. The whole renaming thing was a fair shout but they could have done a better job in the edit.
Hear, hear. Within just six issues, this book introduced us to some of the most memorable characters in the Aliens universe. Each one seemingly received just a few panels yet it feels like you learn enough to write a compelling book about each one:
The traitorous Stephens,
the sociopath Massey,
the android Butler, unaware of his nature as an android,
the pragmatic and cynical Dr. Orona,
the religious zealot Salvaje,
the greedy, evil corporate psychopaths Horner and Ted Ostrow
the freelancer cable guy/ chestburster victim Maris,
and not to be forgotten, Hicks and Newt.
It was a stellar ensemble. We need more books of this calibre. I hope Verheiden, Nelson, and Beauvais come back to working on Aliens books soon...
In the TPB reprintings that changed out Hicks & Newt as "Billie and Wilks", some of the references to their original names were left untouched (and probably in error).
Not only was it infuriating (at the time) to see that the names had been changed, it was ultimately confusing because of the occasional slip-up in the edit.
SO HAPPY this is the original print.
*EDIT* This was only the case with Volume 2 I think, actually. The one reprinted as "Nightmare Asylum".
I used to have a poster of that Alien hanging in my bedroom as a kid, lol