Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Sep 05, 2011, 06:55:24 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on Sep 04, 2011, 05:25:04 AM
Quote from: Ash 937 on Sep 04, 2011, 01:24:14 AM
A:CM will not be canon. What is considered canon is exclusive to the films only. Otherwise, we would have to consider all the literature, comics, and other video games that already exist for the franchise and that would just be huge mess. All Alien-related things that are sold commercially need to be licensed from FOX too, not just A:CM, so the fact that this game was given "approval" by FOX doesn't really mean anything significant at all.
This isn't entirely accurate - FOX actually does consider the EU stuff to be canon and have done so for years. I've got a whole bunch of quotes and citations for it.
The fans can obviously still decide what they consider canon for themselves, though.
Can you provide links and evidence? So far, this is the only time I've really heard them go to say any traditional EU stuff is canon.
Sure thing.
1. Once in one of the forewards to the 'Aliens vs Predator' comic series trade paperbacks, FOX refers to the Alien, Predator, and AvP films, comics, and novels as "part of the same universe". (1992)
2. In the lettercol for 'AvP: War' #4, Bob Cooper (one of the editors at Dark Horse) says:
"...rest assured that no one would like to expand the scope of our Aliens and Predator stories more than I, but we're constrained to a certain extent with maintaining continuity not only with past Aliens and Predator movies, but with yet-to-exist movies as well. Fox wouldn't necessarily want us to spill the beans about too many hitherto unknown Aliens or Predator secrets before it has a chance to in an upcoming movie. But don't worry... sooner or later, in either our comics or FOX's movies, you're going to find out everything you always wanted to know about these beasties!" (1995)
Important part is in
bold.
3. In an interview regarding the game 'AvP: Extinction' (for XBox and PS2), FOX said that it regarded the game as "canon". (2003)
4. On the supplemental disc for the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, in the cover gallery for the Aliens comics, it says:
"Dark Horse Comics started publishing Aliens comic books in 1988. All of the stories take place after the events of the second film [Xeno note - this isn't entirely accurate, but we all knew that already]
and explore the rich universe visualized in the movies. The comics represent an amazing opportunity to go beyond the events in the Aliens movies and explore dozens of new stories featuring one of the most chilling species to grace the science fiction genre!
Following are cover images showcasing some of the amazing talents involved in the creation of this smash comic book series." (2003)
5. Also in the supplemental disc, FOX says:
"Dark Horse is going back through each of its past Aliens graphic novels and revising images and text to bring the entire story into a single line of continuity with the motion pictures and the wildly popular Bantam novels". (2003)
6. From author Diane Carey, on the topic of
licensed properties:
QuoteAuthors cannot arbitrarily enhance or alter these owned properties. Each book must be approved by the owner or licensor before it can be published, and therefore becomes a kind of "canon."
(August 8, 2007)
7. From Dark Horse Press editors Rob Simpson and Victoria Blake, on the topic of
editing the novels:
QuoteThe synopsis goes to Fox to make sure everything is copasetic with the rules of the licensed universe, and then, if it's approved, it goes back to the writer. Contract signed, book written, book delivered [...] Those are the kinds of things we look out for, and that Fox looks out for—the rules of the universe, but also the implications of the writing.
(June 12, 2007)
8. Email from Mike Kennedy, writer at Dark Horse:
QuoteYeah, Fox tries to make sure all of the comics and novels (and upcoming video games) fit into an approved cannon and timeline. They don't provide that timeline or restriction guide up front -- we usually have to do our own research based on pre-existing info available on the web and elsewhere -- but they do review and approve all proposals internally. If something in the proposal doesn't fit the cannon, or is based on some innacurate fan-fiction claiming to be official, then they'll flag it as something that needs fixing. They're not as strict as, say, Lucasfilm is with Star Wars, but then again they don't have as many bizarre, contradictory historical threads going on at once.
(10/18/08)
9. Email from Spencer at Dark Horse Comics (dhcomics@darkhorse.com):
"We don't keep a continuity book or "bible" for those properties as we do not own them. When we have an idea for those properties, we pitch the ideas to FOX and they decide whether we can write those stories and whether they fit into the "timeline" of their properties. We have no say in those matters." (12/03/08)
