Forgot to mention that I thought "snatchers" was probably the biggest eye roll.
The Cold Forge being tied to Alien 3 is maybe the biggest stretch. There's definitely no intent there whatsoever. The back cover references Hadley's Hope, and the main text refers directly to the film Aliens. I would love to see Titan actually tie something in to Alien 3, assuming that's a separate license. It would actually be really cool if an entity other than NECA was interested in all the licensing opportunities provided by the franchise. I get the impression, based on how I understand the 2014 trilogy (which isn't 'garbage') came to be. It sounds like Titan sits around and waits for authors/agents to pitch them something. The majority of their output has been reprints, so maybe when they've milked that dry they'll take more of an active interest? I don't claim to know everything about how that system works, but they seem awfully passive about the production of original content.
Quote from: SM on Jun 11, 2018, 10:46:04 AM
Criminal Enterprise was probably the best of that batch.
I agree, which is unfortunate because it's enabling for future editors & writers to point to it as a reference for what's doable in the future, in terms of at least one standard for success. The Cold Forge is an improvement, easily, but it's not the direction I want this going in. It makes me feel crazy seeing fans who are supportive of the Xenomorphs as incidental to the plot of an Alien narrative. This would
never fly with the Predator franchise. We really got to the point where Alien Covenant Origins contains literally no Aliens. So, why is this ok for Alien?
I'm completely stumped as to why the intent of the Alien extended universe is to achieve something that continuously drifts away from the spirit of Alien or Aliens. Out of the Shadows is still my favorite because it felt the most like Alien to me, at least in hindsight. It's been a while since I've read it.