'Alien: Romulus' is merely the start

Many thousands of pages of drool, intergalactic terror, and defenseless colonies.

Few properties have as a rich and multiform mythos as ‘Alien’. Only sagas with many outside contributions, like ‘Star Wars’ or Marvel, can boast so many implications and other stories to movies that enhance their history. Remember that Ridley Scott’s 1979 story only contains seven pictures, including the new Romulus, which opened in theaters.

The comics have provided most of the franchise’s stories, except for the two ‘Aliens vs. Predator’ films and several computer games, such as the first and best ‘Alien: Isolation’ Since James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ and until Marvel’s latest addition of xenomorphs, the creatures’ mythos has grown there. These comics answer many of the films’ unsolved questions.

The first ‘Alien’ comic, published by ‘Heavy Metal’ (the North American version of the legendary French ‘Metal Hurlant’), was a new adaptation of the film with a script by Archie Goodwin and drawings by Walter Simonson. Dark Horse launched their ‘Aliens’ series with a direct sequel to James Cameron’s film in 1988 after licensing the rights to Fox.

Dark Horse’s ‘Aliens’ miniseries follow a different tone, style, and creative team each time. It has been used almost continuously since Marvel’s entry into the story, and it enriches the overall because it keeps the narrative short and doesn’t abuse the monsters.

The first three Dark Horse miniseries continue ‘Aliens’ ten years later, following Corporal Hicks and Newt, Ripley’s colony-rescued daughter. In the official chronology of the films, Newt and Hicks die in their escape from the colony after their confrontation with the Alien Queen at the beginning of ‘Aliens 3’, so the characters were renamed and some story elements changed in the successive re-releases of these first ‘Aliens’ miniseries, dissolving their relationship with Cameron’s film.

Due to the abundance of series (around 40 miniseries and numerous short stories in ‘Dark Horse Presents’ and ‘Dark Horse Comics’), the stories range from disposable to exceptional. Xenomorphs suit authors with distinct personalities (Corben, Sam Kieth, Jim Woodring).

Any to get close? ‘Genocide’, which introduces red aliens to the xenomorph universe after mankind knows about them, is popular. The marines capture the Alien Queen on what may be the planet where the xenomorphs were formed and where red and black aliens fight a fratricidal war after discovering that they emit a super steroid. Many ideas from this comic, which distanced itself from cinema, became widespread in comics.

Dark Horse comics often cross, thus we propose Alien Anthology to follow their dozens of storylines, but are they canon? Complex: many of the publisher’s comics are “legends.” Alien and ‘Aliens vs. Predator’ are not set in the same universe. Andrew EC Gaska’s amazing post splits movies, video games, literature, and comics into canonical lines. Must read.

Check out ‘Aliens: Salvation’, drawn by pre-‘Hellboy’ Mike Mignola and resembling ‘Alien 3’. The ship’s cook’s religious beliefs begin after a xenomorph attacks a crew. Mignola’s drawing evokes gothic fear for the xenomorph siege.

Mark Schultz and Doug Wheatley discuss these creatures (still called space jockeys, as in the original film) and their hyper-evolved civilization in ‘Aliens Apocalypse’, which is perfect if you didn’t like ‘Prometheus”s Engineers. We will see a deranged alien born from one of their chests. Who needs canon?

Disney combined with Marvel Entertainment on December 31, 2009. It acquired Fox, which produced ‘Alien‘, in December 2017. ‘Predator vs. Wolverine’ was released in 2023 and will be released in the US in August, almost coinciding with the premiere of ‘Alien: Romulus’ and ‘Aliens vs. Avengers’ miniseries by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić.

Marvel owns the ‘Alien‘ franchise and can publish comics that fit the series’ lore, just like Dark Horse did. Therefore, there’s no need for such specific crossovers (which already existed in bootleg mode: what is the X-Patrol Nest?). Five miniseries have been published since March 2021.

First three miniseries tell one story, next two another. These groups share creative teams. In the first three miniseries, Salvador Larroca draws an ex-Weyland-Yutani Corporation soldier forced to return to service by an eco-terrorist group and a mutation from a marine operation comparable to ‘Aliens’. In the third miniseries, a synthetic-only team of protagonists is unique.

A new site for the human-xenomorph conflict is the ice moon of LV-695 in the second miniseries. Weyland-Yutani residents and scientists are exploring the planet’s natural resources. After millennia, an abandoned underground complex coated in ice will unleash horror. In the second miniseries, experts try to rescue the sunken facility on the moon thirteen years later, resulting in more deadly human-xenomorph hybrids.

These miniseries are complemented with intriguing specials and anthologies. There is a direct sequel to ‘Aliens’, a comic book that accompanies ‘Romulus’, an issue of ‘Black, White & Blood’ (which Marvel dedicates to its most violent characters), and a miniseries of ‘What if…?’ answering the question “What if… Carter Burke had survived?”

‘Alien: Romulus’ is merely the start

Many thousands of pages of drool, intergalactic terror, and defenseless colonies.

By nr39r

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