Written by: Mark Verheiden

Illustrations and Cover Art by: Mark A. Nelson

Aliens #2 begins with a misdirection. We feel like we are shown a facehugger victim’s thoughts, but, the panels slowly reveal a very interesting depiction of a developing Newt in her mother’s womb. The little human floats in a sea of fleshy tendrils and folds as her mother’s voice penetrates the realm with a lullaby. It's a beautiful, powerful piece of work. Newt, under the effects of Thoradin, is reflecting on her ordeal at Hadley’s Hope. She is contemplating the bleakness of space, and humanity trying to escape its own nature, but retreating to the primal warmth of our bodies.

Verheiden takes the probable real-world human expansion into space, and all the optimism attached to our expectations of opportunity, and brings that notion to its knees, reminding us of the cold, desolate nature of the universe. Through this lens, Newt sees her only escape from her fear is to return to space and confront the alien. She isn’t facing that reality while trapped in the hospital. She’s living a falsehood. Hicks is the closest thing to family she has left, and she calls out to him in the darkness.

Hicks stumbles out of a brothel, clasping a bottle of liquor in his hand. He’s beating himself up over the disaster on LV-426, and is ready for his chance at revenge. He’s struggling with Newt being confined in the mental hospital, but ultimately decides to leave her behind. Hicks’ volatility rears its head with Colonel Stephens, the ranking officer on the mission. He doesn’t want Hicks involved. He also orders Hicks to remove powerful weapons from their ship, the Beckett, despite our hero’s warning. Hicks isn’t wrong, but you can’t blame Stephens for not trusting him.

After a very 80s looking rendition of future video game technology, corporate executives deliver some exposition about their plans to secretly interrupt Hicks’ mission. We are introduced to the over-the-top evil Massey, a corporate agent. He is a sociopath, and enjoys killing, with a bloody history in the Colonial Marines. Massey’s son stumbles upon an unsecured communication about the alien, and he murders the boy and his wife to keep it confidential. He covers it up as a robbery gone bad. The executive states it must be liberating to be free from conscience. Verheiden is turning the “You know, Burke, I don’t know which species is worse. You don’t see them screwing each other for a fucking percentage.” dial up.

Hicks is now training the new squad of Colonial Marines for the mission. They remind Hicks of his dead comrades, but he pushes the emotions away. He doesn’t want to let himself get attached to the new squad. Hicks submits them to grueling preparation. The creative team stumbles slightly here. Hicks is putting the soldiers through conventional warfare preparation, complete with distinct battle lines and gunfire. Verheiden could have shown Hicks teaching the soldiers to hunt, or battle against swarming synthetics to better prepare the marines for the alien.

As a last resort, Newt is going to be lobotomized to control her behavior. Hicks hacks into the hospital network, and discovers her scheduled procedure. In a scene that evokes Kyle Reese from Terminator, Hicks storms the hospital, and rescues Newt. He puts her aboard the Beckett and they embark on their mission.

Nelson continues to deliver a lived in world. He manages to make it seem vibrant in a black and white medium. One small, but nice detail is the puff of exhaust and smoke from the emergency craft in a panel with a distant view of the cityscape. Bullet holes eject smoke and debris horizontally from the wall as Hicks rushes down a corridor. The Benedict, has a little bit of the dropship aesthetic, but feels more organic, again reminding me of Moebius.

Some of the character art can feel squished in a panel or two, such as when Hicks is confronted by Col. Stephens. Stylistically, I don’t care much for their gear. I would have preferred to see traditional marine armor and weapons, but Verheiden and Nelson approached the ten year gap by portraying those items as being outdated and replaced. Considering how many decades military technology is utilized in the real world, I think it would have been fine to have the movie aesthetic. It’s also likely that in 1988, the iconic status of the M41-A Pulse Rifle, APC, drop ship and the smartgun hadn’t established itself yet.

Verheiden has introduced us to a few new characters, and has progressed the plot. Hicks has now gathered a team, resources, and a transport to carry out his personal quest. He’s also rescued the one person he still cares about. Newt’s living hell has provided context for fear and dread, but now she is free of the medication. Where will her character go from here? Massey has been shown to be a sociopath, but what kind of a threat will he be? The marines are barely introduced as characters. Are they cannon fodder or are we going to learn about them in the next issue? The alien threat doesn’t make an appearance except in a vision of the queen and the eggs in a flashback, but its presence still permeates the pages through the anticipation of the executives to acquire a sample, through Hicks determination to exact revenge, and through the misery of Newt in her mental state.

Final Review: Highly Recommend

REVIEW BY: SCOTT