Advice on where to start with the comics/books for Alien and Predator worlds?

[Hensmon]

I have just started buying some of the Alien graphic novels and am now looking for advice on what are the best ones are (there seems to be a lot) and also maybe ones to possibly ignore. I'm also wondering if there is some sort of ordering to them and finally if any of them are considered canon to the main storylines we know from the films.

The first one I read was Aliens: The Original Comic Series by M. Verheiden and A. Nelson and today I finished Alien: Fire and Stone. Both were really enjoyable for me and would love to start getting some more, so any info on this would be much appreciated.

[Xenomrph]

The current "official" canon for the comics and novels is any novel published by Titan Books and any comic that's 'Fire and Stone' or later (and the Weyland Yutani Report, although that's more of a reference book of sorts).

The Aliens comic series by Mark Verheiden is part of the "old" EU, which has been collected in several omnibus collections. They're all pretty cheap and they run the gamut from "great" to "pretty bad", but there's something for everyone so I'd recommend checking them out and seeing what you like. There's a thread in the Literature subforum dedicated to them and it lists what's contained in each volume.

There's also the old Bantam novels which are mostly novelizations/retellings of the comic book stories, but with expanded plots, characters, and myriad continuity fixes. Those have also recently been getting "omnibus" reprints.

Somewhat harder to come by are the DH Press novels. They haven't been reprinted and we don't know if they will be, but 'Predator: South China Sea' is the best Predator novel to date.

[Ectomorph]

The current "official" canon for the comics and novels is any novel published by Titan Books and any comic that's 'Fire and Stone' or later (and the Weyland Yutani Report, although that's more of a reference book of sorts).

The Aliens comic series by Mark Verheiden is part of the "old" EU, which has been collected in several omnibus collections. They're all pretty cheap and they run the gamut from "great" to "pretty bad", but there's something for everyone so I'd recommend checking them out and seeing what you like. There's a thread in the Literature subforum dedicated to them and it lists what's contained in each volume.

There's also the old Bantam novels which are mostly novelizations/retellings of the comic book stories, but with expanded plots, characters, and myriad continuity fixes. Those have also recently been getting "omnibus" reprints.

Somewhat harder to come by are the DH Press novels. They haven't been reprinted and we don't know if they will be, but 'Predator: South China Sea' is the best Predator novel to date.

I'm a relative newcomer to these parts, and I'm seeing a lot of references to an 'Old-EU' and a 'New-EU' to reflect the recent publishing shakeup, what with new comics from Dark Horse and Titan putting out new books. Has there been any official word on this or not, or is it more of a fan convenience?

[SM]

Officially, the novels released form Out Of The Shadows onwards and the comics released from Fire &  Stone onwards are currently considered canon.  Alien Isolation as well.  Pretty much everything released prior to this is not.

[Ectomorph]

Officially, the novels released form Out Of The Shadows onwards and the comics released from Fire &  Stone onwards are currently considered canon.  Alien Isolation as well.  Pretty much everything released prior to this is not.

Is there any official source stating this?

[The Alien Predator]

Officially, the novels released form Out Of The Shadows onwards and the comics released from Fire &  Stone onwards are currently considered canon.  Alien Isolation as well.  Pretty much everything released prior to this is not.

Is there any official source stating this?

The only official source I could think of is the interview with author, Tim Lebbon right here on AvPGalaxy.

Hicks asked him if his Rage War novel trilogy is considered canon and he said yes, alongside the previous Titan Books trilogy (Out of the Shadows, Sea of Sorrows and River of Pain), the new comics (Fire and Stone as well as Life and Death) and Alien: Isolation and the Weyland-Yutani Report, both of which were referenced in the previous trilogy of novels.

Amanda Ripley is referenced in Sea of Sorrows and the Report might be the one given to the mercenaries to read upon to gather information on the Aliens they were going to face. It's sort of treated as an in-universe guide. I haven't got it myself, but it's the vibe I am getting from what I've heard and read about it. SM might know more about that as he's more knowledgeable with the W-Y Report and whether it was hinted at in Sea of Sorrows, it's been a long while since I last read the book but I do remember them reading some kind of "report" provided to them by the company which to me felt like a little in-universe nod to the real life product.

[SM]

Weyland Yutani Report was written with Perry and Fox keeping a particular eye on the canon and references Out of the Shadows, River of Pain, Isolation, and Fire & Stone.  Sea of Sorrows is linked to WYR and Out of the Shadows.  Life & Death is linked to Fire & Stone.  Defiance is linked to Isolation.

Licensees have a list of what's canon.

[Lonely Universe]

Somewhat harder to come by are the DH Press novels. They haven't been reprinted and we don't know if they will be

Good news, Titan did acquire the rights to the DH Press novels & will be reprinting them beginning with Omnibus volume 5.

[Ectomorph]

Thanks for the clarification. It sounds like, in this case, 'canon' just means stuff that has the potential to be referenced in the current publishing lineup. I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

There is an unofficial Alien/Predator timeline book coming out early next year that looks to be exhaustive. I look forward to seeing how it tackles these matters.

[The Alien Predator]

Thanks for the clarification. It sounds like, in this case, 'canon' just means stuff that has the potential to be referenced in the current publishing lineup. I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

There is an unofficial Alien/Predator timeline book coming out early next year that looks to be exhaustive. I look forward to seeing how it tackles these matters.

I use that approach as well, I like to add as much to the Alien and Predator universe as possible. I sometimes even like to incorporate things that they might only have used in a crossover.

Like in one crossover, a Predator's body heat is visible through cloaking until he activates a more advanced setting that hides his heat when he noticed robots were able to still see him. I like to think Predators in my headcanon AvP universe could do that as well, but it'd depend on the type of cloak and its setting.

What's this Alien/Predator timeline book called?

[Ectomorph]

Thanks for the clarification. It sounds like, in this case, 'canon' just means stuff that has the potential to be referenced in the current publishing lineup. I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

There is an unofficial Alien/Predator timeline book coming out early next year that looks to be exhaustive. I look forward to seeing how it tackles these matters.

I use that approach as well, I like to add as much to the Alien and Predator universe as possible. I sometimes even like to incorporate things that they might only have used in a crossover.

Like in one crossover, a Predator's body heat is visible through cloaking until he activates a more advanced setting that hides his heat when he noticed robots were able to still see him. I like to think Predators in my headcanon AvP universe could do that as well, but it'd depend on the type of cloak and its setting.

What's this Alien/Predator timeline book called?

If It Bleeds: The Unauthorized Chronology of the Alien/Predator Universe (http://www.hassleinbooks.com/pages/book_alien.php)

It's from a publisher that puts out such 'timeline' books for franchises, unofficially of course, but they seem to be of decent quality. I have contacted them a couple times about a release date and the most recent I've gotten is that the current goal is early 2017.

[SM]

That's been mooted for a couple of years now.

I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

Fair enough.
Most of the old EU couldn't have happened however.

[Ectomorph]

That's been mooted for a couple of years now.

I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

Fair enough.
Most of the old EU couldn't have happened however.

Not sure what you mean by 'mooted'. It has been delayed several times, but it's going to (hopefully) be released next year.

As for your statement about the older EU materials, I have found that a few self-made inferences clean up some of the more cumbersome contradictions. 

[SM]

The biggest stumbling blocks are the Earth infestation and how Aliens are commonly known about.  It's not something that can easily be explained away.

Not sure what you mean by 'mooted'. It has been delayed several times, but it's going to (hopefully) be released next year.

Yeah that's what I meant.

[Xenomrph]

Somewhat harder to come by are the DH Press novels. They haven't been reprinted and we don't know if they will be

Good news, Titan did acquire the rights to the DH Press novels & will be reprinting them beginning with Omnibus volume 5.

That's great news. I've still got my copies, but if they can get reprinted so others can read them, then that's awesome.

Thanks for the clarification. It sounds like, in this case, 'canon' just means stuff that has the potential to be referenced in the current publishing lineup. I like to take a broader approach and say, "If this could have happened, it did happen." Leave no EU behind.

A man after my own heart.