Alien: Paradiso

[Oasis Nadrama]

It's funny because I always took the double Y thing to be a kind of jab/bad joke by our Harry.

But apparently it's a real thing in-universe?

Also according to Xenopedia (I don't know how reliable Xenopedia is), it is NOT XYY, Jacobs syndrome, but rather an imaginary 22nd century YY mutation.
To my knowledge, YY is indeed not possible.

[SM]

The Xenopedia thing sounds made up and isn't well sourced.

The double-Y thing in Alien3 is based on an old stereotype about XYY chromosome men being more prone to violence.

That said, it's not an unfair assumption that the original 5000 convict facility was all YY chromosome and Clemens was one of them (despite not being convicted of an especially violent crime).

As for Paradiso

Spoiler

It's just bordering on okay.  The art varies between passable and dire.  Not the over the top gore so much, but just really dull panels with dull framing of Aliens that look like action figures. There's one panel of one of the pool boys running and the Alien is simply just running after him and an opportunity to have it running on all fours, or the ceiling, or the wall under a bunch of mini waterfalls is neglected. The story is paced okay but marred by awful dialogue.  And, to my eternal shame since it happens so bloody often, I didn't see the twist with the android coming.

[close]

[Corporal Hicks]

It was particularly bizarre in this movie, when there is a queen on the way. You'd think the Dragon would want to preserve a good population of hosts.

One of the primary things that bothers me about the Aliens' depiction in Alien 3. I wish we saw more of it in general tbh.


Read the fourth issue today. I still find it largely uninteresting. The art in general is fine. The Alien's are a little boring looking - overly referenced figures? I dunno. I'm just not seeing many panels of them and going "dddammmmnnn!!"

Spoiler

And, to my eternal shame since it happens so bloody often, I didn't see the twist with the android coming.

[close]

Nah, me either. And to what end? Just felt like a box ticked.

Really not feeling this run.

[BlueMarsalis79]

I think it's intended, just like the Alien mauling the corpses like a dog after death, it's particularly obvious with Rains death. 

[Xiggz456]

Just read through all 5 issues in one go and this was a brutally fun story with wonderfully gory artwork. A solid slasher-esque Alien story which is always welcome!

Spoiler

The alien POV artwork was pretty cool and well done. Didn't see Lydia being a Synth coming but was glad that the Colonial Marshalls were finally utilized! Tsula being Kane's daughter was unnecessary and did little for the story but I still liked her character. And I always love to see assholes like Valentine get their comeuppance! And of course I'm dying to know where the smugglers found all those eggs!

[close]

Overall I enjoyed this one 7.5/10

[SM]

Spoiler

Overall, just as bland and disappointing as everything else Marvel have released.  Bland artwork, bland writing - except for the Tsula thing which was just outright bad.  And the Aliens still look like toys with zero personality and bad framing.

I dunno whether they're deliberately playing it too safe, but there just seems to be a marked lack of creativity at Marvel.

[close]

[Oasis Nadrama]

There's much to love in this series, both visually and in terms of ideas - I particularly like the psychedelic Alien P.O.V. -, however most concepts end where they should start, and the writing is too on-the-nose.

The entire luxury resort environment is promising and refreshing but doesn't see much use. In the end, we see even less of it than in Aliens: Kidnapped.

The biggest disappointment for me was:

Spoiler

The facehugger jumping on the protagonist's face and starting penetration, then getting removed more easily than a cat. It was a terrible moment.

[close]

[SM]

What visuals and ideas are there to love beyond an Alien POV that bears no relation to the two already existing Alien POVs we have in movies? (And tbh I didn't hate it in the comic but it wasn't great either).

[Prez]

See I personally find the artwork to be rather poor overall - the posing and angles, the over saturated hyper-colour choices which tonally are so far removed from the dark, shadowy vibe Alien content usually presents. And yes I get it, it's a resort but still. Then I look at the Avengers vs Aliens artwork and whilst I initially had no interest in that crossover, the absolute stellar artwork, colouring and tone (which is on point) sucked me in.

I find Paradiso's artwork really takes me out of the whole story at times.

[SM]

The colouring could have easily got darker as the Alien presence increased and explained away by power failures.

Instead everything is very evenly 'lit' and there's next to no difference in tones.

[Oasis Nadrama]

What visuals and ideas are there to love beyond an Alien POV that bears no relation to the two already existing Alien POVs we have in movies? (And tbh I didn't hate it in the comic but it wasn't great either).

I'm not gonna list them all here, but for example I like the conflict of Tsula between her corporate/government and mob sympathies. It doesn't go anywhere and the character is cursed with her uncalled-for family ties, but the base of the character (which, to me, isn't "Kane is her father") has a lot of potential. She's practical and cynical, and clearly maintains underlying principles while making the pragmatic (and often illegal) choices.

I wish we had seen more of Tsula, and more generally for the Alien universe to explore its criminal underworld and the many ways in which it mirrors official institutions.

[Prez]

The colouring could have easily got darker as the Alien presence increased and explained away by power failures.

Instead everything is very evenly 'lit' and there's next to no difference in tones.

Exactly.

[SM]

Spoiler

Tsula seemed too similar to the Vasquez 'tough girl with a chip on her shoulder, but a good heart' stereotype. The Colonial Marshall guy was a non-entity. And the pool boy 180 on the last page was too extreme.

[close]

[Oasis Nadrama]

Spoiler

Oh, I prefer to not talk about this guy. "I don't know what this is", you f**ker, you just observed the entire life cycle. It has to be one of the lowest points of the entire comic book.

[close]