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ALIENS OMNIBUS VOLUME 4
Written and art by various.
Like sports, the victor is he who wants it more. Unlike sports, the loser earns extinction.
Mankind has fought for survival over countless millennia, but nothing has threatened humanity's existence like the murderous Alien scourge. While some have tried to use the creatures' deadly abilities to serve their own selfish ends, no one can dance with the devil, and ultimately only one species must prevail. To that end, men have turned their own lethal instincts and cold intellect against the monsters, creating engineered plagues, cybernetic fighting suits, and even bogus android aliens, but survival rides not on technology, but on the primacy of the most deep-rooted, feral instincts.
Creators include horror novelist Chet Williamson, as well as John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke, Jon Wagner, Ronnie del Carmen, and many more!
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Any clues as to which this one'll have?
Doug Mahnke did the art for Stronghold, and I'm guessing Berserker will be there too, judging by the cover.
Quote from: SiL on Feb 14, 2008, 10:24:30 PM
Doug Mahnke did the art for Stronghold, and I'm guessing Berserker will be there too, judging by the cover.
Just what I was thinking. From the description it also looks like it might also include
Kidnapped (creating engineered plagues) and
Harvest (bogus android aliens). Does that leave enough material for a fifth volume? I'd really like to finally read the entire
Apocalypse: The Destroying Angels storyline.
I dunno what's in the others, but I'd hazard a guess to say (along with what SiL and Necronoir said):
Havoc
Purge
Alchemy
Survival
Pig?
Just go and do a search for Aliens on the Dark Horse website and see what's not already in an Omnibus.
I went and did a look-see about the people mentioned. Besides Mahnke:
Williamson wrote Music of the Spears (I'm so buying this omnibus).
Arcudi wrote Alchemy and Stronghold.
Wagner wrote Berserker.
Carmen did the Herk Mondo series art (Did I mention I was so buying this omnibus?)
Music and Berserker are much better as novels than comics. Much better.
Harvest was in Omni 2.
I can't hear the name Berserker without be reminded of:
"Would you like some making f**k! BERSERKER!!!"
wow... Dark Horse is sure cranking these out quick.
Its not like its hard for them. Find the old prints, resize them, rerelease them to the public.
Quote from: Kimarhi on Feb 15, 2008, 03:23:10 AM
Music and Berserker are much better as novels than comics. Much better.
I loved the novels, haven't read the comics. Gonna be an interesting read.
Quote from: Kimarhi on Feb 15, 2008, 05:03:42 AM
Its not like its hard for them. Find the old prints, resize them, rerelease them to the public.
I like it. Makes the comics much more accessible to the fanbase and general public now.
I don't mind it either. But these stories were already released, so it's not like they are cranking them out haphazardly.
never said it was a bad thing.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Feb 14, 2008, 09:54:44 PM
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0802/13/aliens4.jpg
ALIENS OMNIBUS VOLUME 4
Written and art by various.
Like sports, the victor is he who wants it more. Unlike sports, the loser earns extinction.
Mankind has fought for survival over countless millennia, but nothing has threatened humanity's existence like the murderous Alien scourge. While some have tried to use the creatures' deadly abilities to serve their own selfish ends, no one can dance with the devil, and ultimately only one species must prevail. To that end, men have turned their own lethal instincts and cold intellect against the monsters, creating engineered plagues, cybernetic fighting suits, and even bogus android aliens, but survival rides not on technology, but on the primacy of the most deep-rooted, feral instincts.
Creators include horror novelist Chet Williamson, as well as John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke, Jon Wagner, Ronnie del Carmen, and many more!
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Any clues as to which this one'll have?
More Stuff...We sure are getting alot of stuff lately,Not sure If I will Go get this right away though...
Quote from: SM on Feb 15, 2008, 04:32:30 AM
I can't hear the name Berserker without be reminded of:
"Would you like some making f**k! BERSERKER!!!"
I'm the same way.
Man, I still haven't started buying these. So far I only have the two AVP volumes.
Why is the preview for the Vol 4 look exactly the same as the Vol 1? What does it really collect?
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=15-181&p=1
I'm not really sure. I assumed it was just part of another comic or something?
at least it comes out 1 day before my birthday..I have all 3 volumes and I can't wait for vol. 4 and vol. 5 coming out this november
I'm so glad these are being released so quickly! I've only read these as the novels, and it's amazing to see how well they were adapted. I think I would die if one was released with the original storylines of earth hive, nightmare assylum and female war.
Those three comics have already been collected in Aliens: Omnibus 1.
If you mean the hicks and newt stories (same story, same supplementary characters, Hicks and Newt changed to Wilks and Billie) you can still get those from mycomicshop.com and like places.
Yeah, but I havn't found any copies of those that are priced well or are in color.
The first issues of outbreak weren't in color with the newt and hicks release. At least I'm 90% sure.
I only have the avp omnibus... Im sad. :'(
Quote from: Kimarhi on Jun 11, 2008, 12:31:53 AM
The first issues of outbreak weren't in color with the newt and hicks release. At least I'm 90% sure.
That would explain it lol.
Quote from: Kimarhi on Jun 11, 2008, 12:31:53 AM
The first issues of outbreak weren't in color with the newt and hicks release. At least I'm 90% sure.
You're quite right.
Too bad. I figured it was in color somewhere, because the first issue of AVP was in black and white but that was reissued.
Think that AvP broke records when it was first released. At one time I KNOW it was the best selling independent comic of its time. I saw it in Wizard (or some like production) magazine.
Aliens sold well, but AvP kicked its ass. Which is why its so surprising to see botht he standalone series outlast and outproduce it.
http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=15-181&p=1 New preview? ???
Omg, ninjas vs aliens?! -has heart attack and goes to heaven-
Don't get to excited. Music of the Spears artwork is mostly terrible. Saved only by the plunkett covers.
You could have told me that before I ordered the book online ;)
Is this out? Ive seen the release date as july 16th, but amazon has it ready to order.
Its out. I had preordered it for my collection to get it whenever it came out and I think I actually got it the second of this month.
Sweet! Im placing my order now.
Lol, the best way to find out what is in it is to google it. Its what all the cool kids are doing these days if i am not mistaking :D
I've got this and I think it's possibly my favorite Omnibus so far. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think, I'm even gonna give it a 5 out of 5. Gonna start on the review soon.
Oh and for some reason they renamed Berserker as Frenzy?
They did? How come? Are the armoured units now called 'Frenzys'? ???
No. They're still Max. I've asked for the Omnibus editor's address so I can ask him.
Wasn't there an Aliens one-shot called Berserker that involved Vikings? It came out years after the original Berserker, so god knows why they'd give it precedence, especially over a much longer series, but that's the only explanation I can think of.
Quote from: The Necronoir on Aug 18, 2008, 12:12:31 PM
Wasn't there an Aliens one-shot called Berserker that involved Vikings? It came out years after the original Berserker, so god knows why they'd give it precedence, especially over a much longer series, but that's the only explanation I can think of.
I think the comic you are thinking of was called Stalker
QuoteNo. They're still Max. I've asked for the Omnibus editor's address so I can ask him.
Oh that's right. Max Units. Was 'Berserker' the name of the team?
It was the name of Pulaski's weenus.
heh-heh-m-heh-heh 'weenus'
:)
I've finished the review sometime ago, just gotta get it written up on the PC. I did love this comic, I'll be honest. I loved the blood-and-guns fun of it. It's up there with the first volume, IMHO.
I liked the Berserker novelization. Comic was good, novel was better.
The locker room mentality of the cons reminded me of my football/boxing days. And they all three had distinctive personalities.
None were particularly deep, the aliens suffered from being more of a scourge than any sort of reasonable threat, but it played the scourge angle perfectly and characters don't have to be deep to be memorable or engaging.
The Candyman kicks ass.
Welcome to Volume 4 as Dark Horse continues its genious idea of reprinting and collecting every Alien (and Predator/AvP but that's a whole other story) ever printed.
Music of the Spears
Little-known and under-appreciated composer Damon Eddington wants to hatch an Alien egg so he can nurture the Alien in captivity and capture its sounds of hatred and pain for the ultimate concert -- sounds of rage made from "a mouthful of spears." In this first of a four-issue series, Damon's corporate patron, Synsound, has taken on the responsibility of procuring the egg for him, a task that will lead to more excitement than the team of ninjas assigned to it were planning on.
Music of the Spears has to be the most unique Aliens comic. At least story-wise. The premise behind this comic had never been done before and never been done since. While to start it might seem bog standard - People want Alien, people go after Alien, people get Alien - it soon deviates from that. Once the Alien, or Mozart as he is later nicknamed is acquired, Music of the Spears takes a U-turn and soon finds itself becoming one of my favourite Aliens comic.
It's all about one man's - Ramon - descent into obsession and madness. Through some clever use of info/narration boxes, Music of the Spears finds itself going deeper into it's main character than any other comic. In terms of characters, Music is simply the best comic out there. The artwork is definitely a bit muddy and not the best, but the very unique story and excellent character development throughout the series make it one of the best Aliens comics.
Stronghold
On an apparently routine supply run, Philip and Joy Strunk deliver a shipment of synthetic photo receptors to Caspar Nordling, biotechnologist for Grant Corporation. When the Strunks discover that Nordling's experiments have exceeded Stanislaw Mayakovsky's work (as seen in Aliens: Hive), they realize that there's more to Nordling -- and the Aliens -- than meets the eye.
In some ways this could be called the spiritual sequel to Harvest. And by some ways, I mean that Stronghold features an Alien synthetic as designed by Mayakovsky. Other than that this comic has no other connections to any of the other Aliens comics out there. It's a nicely contained story that I don't even think receives any kind of follow up.
Stronghold is a typical Aliens action comic that has the advantage of being nicely drawn and engaging. There are quite a few nice touches to the story which includes stuff on the Aliens. I was especially fond of the interaction between the synthetic characters. It's the progression of these synthetics - especially Jeri - that stood out of the story for me.
This is certainly an action comic and it shows. While you don't see it on the omnibus, the TBP has a gun-totting Alien 'droid on the other. Don't let that fool you though; it's not as daft as it sounds. Stronghold is a fantastic read and a thoroughly enjoyable Aliens action comic.
Frenzy
There's a ship cutting through space like a bullet, its crew a five-man surgical strike team with a single mission: Destroy Aliens! But when the crew members of the Nemesis land smack in the middle of a full-blown hive, they're not sure if it's the answer to their prayers or the beginning of a nightmare!
Most of you will know this better as Berserker. I don't know why they decided to change the title became the team in the comic is still called a Berserker unit. Like Stronghold, Frenzy is a very action orientated comic. Unlike Stronghold, however, Frenzy doesn't have these interesting character interactions or good art. It has scale.
Frenzy knows it isn't a masterpiece so it goes for massive entertainment values. And it delivers. It's epic. We have hives numbering in the thousands, face-huggers swarming out of elevator shafts and of course, we have MAX. Mobile Assault Exoskeleton. While there are many things I could complain about, I wont. Why? Because Frenzy is just pure, unadulterated blood and guts. It's fun! Many of the basic elements would fantastic to see in a film.
Taste
This one is quite a weird one that comes entirely down to that: Your own taste. It's a tiny short that is very nicely drawn. As we're treated to anonymous monologue on taste, we see an Alien egg hatching only to be caught and thrown onto a grill by a giant Alien creature. It's weird and like I say, this one entirely depends on your own taste. Some might feel this demeans or de-fangs the Aliens but I neither loved or hated this. I just thought it was very weird.
Mondo Pest
Stock up on ammo and lower your visor! Herk Mondo, that cigar-chomping, tail-kicking Alien-hunter extraordinaire is back, and if it isn't human, it's dead! Mondo answers a general distress call, hoping for a hefty bit of dosh from a bunch of grateful colonists, but finds himself at the business end of the planetary defense system and a surprise party of his favorite targets -- bugs!
As far as Aliens go, Herk Mondo is the most ridiculous character ever to grace any form of Aliens media. He is the Duke Nukem of Aliens. He's a badass ex-marine with a hate for Aliens. This is a blatantly cheesy action comic filled with one-liners and dark murky art to try and lend that little bit of seriousness to the comic. Some will hate, some will love. Personally I thought it was okay. Nothing to throw a tantrum about but nothing to rave about either.
Mondo Heat
When you've got a major infestation of Aliens, and the Colonial Marines are nowhere in sight, you won't find a better "exterminator" than Herk Mondo. But Herk's got a couple of big problems: he's completely unarmed in the middle of the infestation, and he's got an active volcano ready to blow beneath his feet! You can be sure of one thing, though -- the volcano may blow, but Herk'll keep his cool.
It's simply just more of the same cheese, one-liner filled action - this time involving lava and two farmer's daughters. It feels like someone has ripped Schaeffer from the Predator comics, upped his sense of humour and dropped him in with a load of Aliens to blast to hell.
Whoever choose the cover for this volume did a good job, it fantastically conveys just what volume 4 is: An action-packed entertaining comic. Whether you want serious or dumb one-liners, this is the one. I'd especially recommend this to the fans of the second movie who are trying to get into the comics. Frankly, I loved this volume and just couldn't put it down. From Hicks at AvPGalaxy, I award this comic a 4 out of 5.
Sorry it took so long. I've had it written down on paper for ages but never got around to writing it up. It'll be on the website in a week or so. I'm gonna have a whole pack of updates for Darkness to upload.
I bought this Omnibus yesterday. Looks pretty good. Haven't read anything yet :(
Review is now on the website: http://www.avpgalaxy.net/literature.php?section=reviewaliensomnibusv4
By far the best of the omnibuses that I've read. I liked every story. Music of the Spears, Stronghold, and Frenzy were especially good.
If you can ever get ahold of the novels, they are better.
How different is the comic to the novel of Music of the Spears?
Cos I friggin' loved the novel. Pretty much the first Aliens novel I read and, despite only reading it once, still my favourite, followed closely by Labyrinth and Berserker. I read the first part of the latter's comic and saw it was hell'a different, but still pretty good.
Also, the Mondo comics? Really?
Shit, count me in. Amazon here I come.
Novel MOTS adds more of the corporates fighting each other. Its generally more in depth, and its characterization is much more interesting (backgrounds are different).
Berserker does the same. Jess crime isn't mentioned in the comic, neither is Pulaski. There backgrounds are different, and Teape dies differently (he isn't mercy killed like he is in the novel).
I'd love to see more Herk Mondo comics.
Or hell, even a ridiculously over-the-top video game where you play as Herk Mondo and go on adventures and slaughter Aliens by the hundreds. They could even clarify that you're playing out Herk's obviously exaggerated tall tales, which is why you're able to do such ridiculous shit.