With the 5th and final issue of Declan Shalvey and Andrea Broccardo’s Alien: Thaw due for release on the 16th of August, we now have confirmation that the creative team will be returning for another arc in November! Seemingly titled Alien: Descendant, the new series will also see Declan taking on some of the artistic duties himself on this volume!
The new series will take place in two time periods with Shalvey also on art duties, drawing flashback scenes of a doomed earlier crew in each issue. As readers learn more about the mistakes and goals of the first mission, they’ll discover the full unsettling scope of what the present-day protagonists have gotten themselves into!
Connected to the current series but offering a fresh start for new readers, the new run will continue to develop the new subspecies of Xenomorphs that Shalvey and Broccardo have introduced, while laying the groundwork for an even greater threat. Before ALIEN #1 launches, fans will get a chance to get up close and personal with this new breed of creatures in October’s ALIEN ANNUAL #1, a double-sized issue that will serve as connective tissue between story arcs.
The next great Alien story starts in ALIEN ANNUAL #1 and continues in the all-new ALIEN #1! In deep space spins a world infected by the universe’s greatest killers. Most people – sane people – would construct a barrier thicker than the hulls of ten Nostromos and leave it to rot. But where most people see a death trap, Weyland-Yutani sees the biggest payout in the history of civilization. And if it costs a few human lives to secure? Those come cheap here. Prepare for more corporate corruption, personal betrayals and extraordinary violence!
Cover art for the new #1 by Javier Fernandez.
Speaking of the new series, Declan Shelvey said that:
“It’s such a joy to continue to build out our own little corner of Marvel Comics’ Alien universe with this new ‘Descendant’ story arc. We’re building on what we’ve done before (with some nods to previous stories) and get to dig a bit deeper in this arc (both figuratively and literally). It’s also a real treat for me to draw a section of the story.”
Declan’s first Alien: Annual #1 was recently announced and is scheduled for release October 4th. The first issue of marvel’s 4th volume of Alien is currently slated to hit the comic book store shelves on the 15th of November.
Currently scheduled for release on April 2nd.
I'm still behind with issue #3 and the last one, so I can't judge this yet, but if it really feels a little rushed then I just wonder why Marvel is doing this constraint of just 4 issues, or at least that's what it seems with this series and the newest announced Predator one. I mean, in DH times I often felt like many of their runs could use another issue to flesh things out. But with DH being much smaller publisher I could get it, and I thought Marvel wouldn't need to do this. 5 or 6 issues really felt like good runtime for Alien story. I Hope this won't become constant, and future stories will be longer, unless they are written with exactly 4 issues in mind by choice, not by neccesity. Not that I can tell myself if this is the case with this one yet.
Spoiler
I really thought they were going to attach the flying rescue vehicles to the Boreas to lift it. To use cables is ridiculous. This was a nadir of the series. A great run is starting to stumble.
There were drinking birds that we originally saw on the Nostromo, a winch and rope system like the one Kane used to descend into the egg chamber, an ice axe like the one used in AVP? Maybe?, a wrench (if I remember correctly) like the one used in Isolation, the Seegson reference, of course, symbols from Ron Cobb's Semiotic Standard were plastered about, also in Descendant, the Italian release date of Alien in Italy (Broccardo's Italian), an Isolation style emergency call box in Descendant, and a few others.. but I'm still curious about the items dangling from Zasha's backpack haha
I reached out to Broccardo on Instagram, he's super fan-friendly, and he told me once the Descendant TPB is released, he'd post a list of all the references and homages he incorporated into his art! So cool.
Did anyone catch the Boreas reg. number is the original release date of Alien in Italy?
That being said, were the trinkets that hung from Zasha's backpack references, if at all, to the little gashapons and novelty items seen throughout the Nostromo or are they a more direct reference to something outside of the franchise?
Edit— volume 3 (Icarus) just came in the mail.
They're from the first Marvel series, Bloodlines.
They're another strain of Aliens.
Edit— just finished it. So those white facehuggers make weird white Aliens? And Zahn's research that she injected herself with ended up being nothing in the end?
I think it left a lot of unanswered questions such that the ending wasn't particularly satisfying. Like, I mean, it wasn't bad, but it was still a little all over the place by the end.
I think that's all, and on the way is next one, Descendant. As for their quality, I'm not a big fan of Philip Kennedy Johnson's run, that is first 3 trades. It's not abysmal and it has some interesting ideas, just doesn't do anything with them really. What is abysmal, it's Salvador Larroca's art, in first two trades. Larroca's is no longer present in Icarus, and art is actually decent in this one. Thaw is so far the best Marvel comic for me and maybe even one of my favourites even considering DH stuff. Both story and art are great. New creative team did great job and is continuing to do it in Descendant, at least in the first half of it so far.
Thanks!
Very very curious to see where Declan is going with the flashbacks. I'm still wondering if Dayton
Spoiler
And did I catch another suggestion that there's a wider awareness that the synthetics have regarding David and Paradise?
Does anyone find it odd that the USCSS Boreas is lying on its side underwater, yet the crew is walking upright on the floor instead of on the starboard wall? That artificial gravity is impressive!
Andrea's art is looking great again. Some great panels of the Aliens in this. And that spread of the Keg with Wendall's corpse was fantastic. Not too sure about the ship designs though. I can see some of the Betty in those worker drones but they're not working that great for me.
I'm curious to see where Descendant goes with the Yutani character. The baseball interest is curious too - especially given what we know of some of the characters in the TV show. There's a minor similarity there.
4-8 places for news.
(There only 3)
And Please make Calendar!
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#1: EVERYONE WILL HEAR YOU SCREAM! In deep space spins a world infected by the universe's greatest killers. Most people – sane people – would construct a barrier thicker than the hulls of ten Nostromos and leave it to rot. But where most people see a death trap, Weyland-Yutani sees the biggest payout in the history of civilization. And if it costs a few human lives to secure? Those come cheap here. Corporate corruption, personal betrayals and extraordinary violence – Declan Shalvey and Andrea Broccardo's next and greatest Alien story starts here!
#2: BODIES, BODIES, BODIES! Looking for that perfect combination of sex, suspicion and slaughter? Boy, has the Weyland-Yutani Corporation got a deal for you! Come aboard the Descendant for a dip into the exotic waters of an icy moon – stay for the pulse-pounding adventure of a lifetime! Scour the ocean floor for buried treasures from a lost vessel and uncover secrets from a legendary disaster. Select participants will receive a special gift from Jun Yutani himself. Don't miss a trip worth dying for!
#3: STAY FROSTY! The Yutani family has decided to settle the invasion of LV-695 personally. But no corporate executive has the authority to tell a Xenomorph what to do...unless the order is "slaughter"! And knowing the Weyland-Yutani Corp? It just might be. Trapped between an avalanche and a watery death, the mysterious "Cole" makes her hardest decisions yet.
#4: THE PERFECT ORGANISM MEETS ITS MATCH?! When Xenomorphs crash-landed on moon LV-695, they did what they do best: SLAUGHTER. And...transformed. The native kaiju of this icy rock thought themselves apex predators, but they were no match for Xenomorph fury. Now a hybrid creature has emerged...is this the evolutionary twist that ends Xenomorphs? And will any humans live to tell the tale? Jun Yutani springs his final trap!