This morning Marvel announced a new, double sized issue they’ll be brining to us this fall: Alien Annual #1. The comic is written by Declan Shalvey, who you may recognize as the writer for the currently ongoing ‘Thaw’ arc. Shalvey will be teaming up with newer Marvel artist Danny Earls, who has worked on Star Wars: Darth Vader and Extreme Venomverse. The comic will feature the new subspecies of Xenomorph we’ve seen in ‘Thaw,’ facing off against the classic Aliens.
Here’s the synopsis for the comic releasing on October 4th:
Alien vs. Alien: Pity the Xeno! A Xenomorph queen and her hive descend on a dark world. As always, they’re eager to eliminate any species they encounter and stand poised to overrun this planet like they have so many others. Until the native life fights back…
Alien Annual #1. Cover art by Declan Shalvey. Releasing 10/04/23
Shalvey also drew the main cover for the new comic and had this to say to Marvel about the release:
“Writing ALIEN has been a fantastic experience so far, digging into the desolate horror the franchise allows on the Thaw storyline with a diehard collaborator like Andrea Broccardo. With this upcoming annual, I get to expand on the world we’ve built with a ferocious battle of monsters by the excellent Danny Earls, whose stark shadows and organic shapes are perfect for a series like this. I promise that no humans will survive this tale.”
Xenomorphs fighting Xenomorphs has been an intriguing EU concept that has been most famously explored in the older Dark Horse Comic, Aliens: Genocide. These battles were also a part of the game Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction, which we’ve been replaying recently as part of our Let’s Play series.
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They look more adapted for aquatic environments (I.e., a fin instead of a blade for the tip of the tail).
But maybe they've changed things up in the last decade or two...
I think annuals are always branded as #1s. Wonky system, for sure, but it seems to be the one in place.