I draw the line at Kidnapped but the rest of the statements I agree with.
The comics are what created the love I have for the franchise. As an 8 year old I saw on a video tape a man pulled under the floor. It was all red with people shouting and things falling from the ceiling, it didn't understand what it was. My cousin fast forward the vhs to another man ripped in half by a giant monster. 8 year old me was wowed and confused, why did this man have white blood, why was he still alive? So many questions.
It occupied my mind day and night.
A year later I discovered in a book shop while out with my dad a graphic novel just simply titled Aliens: Book two. As I flicked through the pages mesmerised, I still to the stay remember the dawning realisation that what I looking at was linked to those scenes my cousin had hurriedly shown me a year prior.
Not long after I discovered the U.K. aliens magazine every month, the original AvP trade paperback with Machiko Nagouchi (still have it to this day), read genocide every other weekend in my local library, finally saw aliens, not long followed by Alien 3 late at night when I should of been in bed. For my 10th birthday my dad could see I had a thing for monsters so he showed me a clip on vhs of Arnie telling possibly the second coolest monster I had ever seen that he was ugly. Another obsession was then born. And all the while Dark Horse kept pumping out Aliens and predator comics.
Am I biased?
You're f**king goddamn right I am. These comics shaped my childhood, teenage years and have bled over into my adult life. Did some of it suck (kidnapped), sure. Was some of it lackluster and not living up to expectation (Rescue, resistance) definitely. But when dark horse hit it, out of the park it went.
A couple of years ago I did buy Cyberpunk:Trauma Team also by Dark Horse. Probably one of my favorite comic reads ever. A very simple and effective story, with great art, great characters and impactful beats. Dark horse still have it.
I know nothing about the Star Wars comics by anyone, not interested. Nor have I ever been into superheros. I was aware of what marvels art style was like though and I didn't like it for the most part. I hoped they would change for the Alien and predator comics. With the exception of Utopia, they haven't.
When marvel give me a story and setting like The Destroying angles or use an artist like Tristan Jones to do their next 4 issue Aliens comic, I will probably sing its praises.
Until then, I will continue to re-read Labyrinth, Rogue, Dead Orbit...Pig and remember how f**king cool it was to be a kid discovering these things and fan of this franchise.
