DH ‘Announces’ Aliens: Dust to Dust

Started by Ultramorph, Nov 29, 2017, 12:08:15 AM

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DH ‘Announces’ Aliens: Dust to Dust (Read 75,491 times)

Perfect-Organism

There must be a better way.  All we've been getting for decades now is attempts at new canon, and then revisions, and revisions, and dead ends.  It makes it so difficult for a fan to connect with a story and follow it towards a meaningful conclusion.  This would be resolved with a simple blueprint for the overall story arc with Fox, and then direction could be given on how to fill in the gaps with stories so that they won't spoil everything.

It's how Star Wars does it.  They have their main tales, and then other details are filled in with separate volumes that connect back to the core story.  I loved how they did the Darth Vader series which delve deeper into this character on his own adventures.  There could be some great stories to be told which revolve around the core story.

SM

SM

#61
I get what you're saying about revision after revision, but you can't do it how Star Wars does it due to the nature of the story.

Most Star Wars characters don't die in the films, plus there's hundreds of minor characters that you can tell stories about.  They made a 35 comic run based on Wedge, Hobbie and Janson from Empire Strikes Back.  Because of how expansive the Star Wars universe is and the history, the possibilities are endless.

With Alien, if you want to do a story about a character's adventures prior to the film - you can't have Aliens in it and they're an integral part of this universe.  Then when 99% of characters encounter this integral part, they don't survive the experience.  They did a story about the Covenant crew's adventures prior to the film with no Aliens, and people aren't falling over themselves to get more of that.

The source material can be a bit limiting and the part where you could expand the story in a post-Resurrection timeframe - is in a post-Resurrection timeframe that only appeals to a very small audience.

Perfect-Organism

SM, you've phrased the conundrum perfectly.  I hope I'm not coming across as a whiny complainer in this regard.  I am thinking in a constructive sense here.  I really do love the Aliens franchise and hope that it can be saved on all major levels, i.e. films, literature, and video games.

The fact of the matter is that for all of their sheer awe and terror, the Aliens are animals, largely devoid of personality and character in the way that humans possess.  Using them as a common thread among Aliens literature leads to stagnation, because they are constant.  They never change or grow.  Every Alien behaves in the same way as the next.  Say what you will, but the series is still people based.  Yes, a lot of them die off.  Some are better than others, but when we as fans enjoy the series, it is through the vicarious experience of terror through these characters, not through the perspective of the Aliens.

In the classic protagonist vs antagonist sense, we have three options to choose from.  Man vs other man.  Man vs nature.  Man vs himself.  When dealing with the Aliens, it is man vs nature, and you can only have nature hit you with the same storm over and over again, before it gets old hat.

The problem then is either a lack of compelling characters, or that compelling characters are consistently killed off.  It ultimately takes us back to Ripley's story.  It was compelling.  You could really connect with her on so many levels.  Once she was killed, that common human thread was torn, and despite the Aliens being fascinating, the stories began to repeat themselves.  We need to have that common thread again to give a sense of continuity.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but the answer has been staring us in the face all along:  Retcon Alien 3 and continue the story of Ripley, Hicks, and Newt.  I am not proposing that they be Swiss Family Robinson.  The more dysfunctional they are the better, but they do represent a common thread that people can relate to and don't require continuations of the core story to be hundreds of years later in the Ripley 8 reality.

Even if the trio only lasts for another 2 or 3 films, it would still allow for the introduction of new ongoing characters, and the possibility to have stories taking place within a time frame that was relate-able to the core story.

SM

SM

#63
They're not going to retcon the films any time soon.


Nostromo

Awesome! Good job Dark Horse! Defiance, Dead Orbit, now Dust to Dust, looking like 3 straight Alien comic hits!

Ultramorph

Newsarama has the solicitation for Dust to Dust #2. Nothing spoilery, but some nice covers.

https://www.newsarama.com/38622-first-look-hardman-s-aliens-dust-to-dust-2.html

Russ840

Nice covers.

Corporal Hicks

https://iearths.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/we-talk-aliens-dust-to-dust-with_7.html

Nothing that strikes out at me as particularly new though.

Russ840

I'm looking forward to this but I am expecting very little.

Corporal Hicks

Why's that?

Russ840

I set my expectations low. This usually causes me to enjoy a comic/film/book more.

Also, there is just something about the premise of this which I find wanting. I cant place my finger on it.

I hope it's great. I like Hardman's artwork. Never read a story written by him.

Like I say. I am looking forward to reading it but I can't say that I am as excited about it as I was Defiance and Dead Orbit. 


426Buddy

I get at least some enjoyment from even the worst alien comics so im not too worried. Personally i have a good feeling about this one though. I hope he can draw a xenomorph well.






Nostromo

Amazon now has the paperback available for pre-order, Nov 27, 2018.

Ultramorph

Bleeding Cool has the covers and synopsis for issue #3. No real spoilers.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/03/20/exclusive-first-look-aliens-3-covers/

Corporal Hicks



Skull!!  ;D Definitely pushing the kid angle too.

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