Aliens #3 1988 (From the Aliens 30th Anniversary Hardcover)

Written by: Mark Verheiden

Illustrations and Cover Art by: Mark A. Nelson

Aliens #3 drops us into the nightmare realm again. Patient interviews reveal people are dreaming about the xenomorphs, and those affected are all found in a specific geographic area. Likowski, the pilot who was “rescued” from decompression by a facehugger, awakens in a company lab. The best scene in the book is when the doctors are discussing the ethics of telling him what is going to happen, and decide to do so based on their desire to observe his reactions in response to the news, and impending birth. There is not any discussion on whether to attempt to remove the creature.

Salvaje, the xeno cultist leader, discusses the miracle of carrying a child with his wife/girlfriend. He wants to know what it feels like, and in the context of this series, it makes for a very creepy moment. He then goes to his broadcasting studio, and beats his technician who is getting cold feet about the transmissions. Salvaje warns the tech, “Don’t be afraid of the government. Be afraid of me.” Meanwhile, Massey preps his team to board the Benedict, with no survivors as one of their primary objectives. We learn they have been receiving communications from their target.

Hicks gets reprimanded for stowing Newt aboard the Benedict, but Stephens backs off when the corporal threatens him over the colonel’s own violations of protocol. One of the crewman is murdered in the most spectacular sequence in the story up to this point. The crewman stumbles upon a traitor, and is stabbed through the neck with a broken piece of pipe. It doesn’t immediately kill him. The attacker stuffs him into a space suit, tosses a grenade in the zipper, and blows him out of the airlock. The man struggles to get the grenade out, but fails and is blown into a million pieces while Hicks and the other crew watch helplessly on the monitor. Now the marines have a new threat to deal with on an already suicidal mission.

Back on Earth, Likowski is about to give birth to an alien. He goes into a rage, and manages to take a gun from one of the lab technicians and shoots his way out. He steals a car, runs down a security officer, avoids a helicopter attack, and makes it back to his wife. They take off in a small aircraft, but when Likowski looks at her, she has turned into an alien. Likowski awakens from his dream. He reaches for the gun, but is restrained. Horner, one of the execs from issue 2, decides he wants to see the birth first hand, and enters the lab. Likowski appears to be resisting the chestburster. Horner’s temper gets the better of him, and he grabs Likowski by the head and dresses him down over the importance of the alien. Likowski’s adrenaline fueled terror allows him to break a restraint, and he pulls Horner down to his chest. He tells the company man he can have it, and the chestburster tears through both men. Horner stumbles out of the lab, breaking containment. In the hallway, he succumbs to his wounds. A security officer draws a bead on the chestburster, but is shot dead by one of the company execs so the specimen can be preserved.

Overall, the art is very good, but Nelson stumbles in a few panels. In one, Newt’s wrist is bent at an improbable angle so she can hold a coffee cup. It looks very odd. In another, Likowski looks like an entirely new character from previous panels. I found it jarring, and it took me out of a riveting sequence. The rest of the art stands up very well. The gore and the impression of motion in the airlock scene made me feel like I was having a cinematic experience.

Verheiden’s writing, as usual, is superb. The focus on dreams and nightmares is a shift from the suspense and action of the first two films. It helps set the stage for the later issues in the series, while keeping it fresh.The dialog is again excellent. The scenarios keep you guessing, and are progressing toward something larger. He again leaves us with questions as to what is going to happen next. Who is the traitor? What is going to happen with the Alien now that it has truly reached Earth? How is the cult going to play into this?

Final Review: Highly Recommend

REIEW BY: SCOTT:

Aliens #1 1988 (From the Aliens 30th Anniversary Hardcover)

If you are reading this review, it is likely I don’t have to explain how great the first two Alien films are. In the late 1980s, Aliens merchandise was sparse compared to today. Even more so for an eight-year old boy. Thankfully, Dark Horse Comics produced not only one of the finer Aliens stories, but created a fantastic title for the entire comic book genre. The days of multiple Alien stories each month were blooming, and a toy line aimed at 10 year olds, based on the penis-headed monstrosities, was swirling through a Kenner toy exec’s thought processes.

Aliens #1 picks up ten years after the events of the film, Aliens. Newt is a mental patient, suffering from nightmares over her ordeal on LV-426. She can’t escape the terror. Her stress induced outbursts are only met with more medication, and hopelessness has taken over her mind.

Hicks has been busted down to Lance Corporal. He was a polished soldier before his unit was wiped out. Now he has been trapped in a quagmire of his own fear and survivor’s guilt. He also has nightmares of the Hadley’s Hope disaster, and is haunted by nightmares of his dead comrades. He abuses alcohol, and is prone to violence. When Hicks is introduced, he isn’t the Sergeant or General he could have been. Hicks is recovering from a hangover in the brig after being arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

Meanwhile, a death cult has centered around the alien, and is trying to brainwash followers through broadcasts. The death cult is okay, but the brainwashing by beaming directly into the brains of people doesn't exactly mesh well with the Alien universe. It’s my least favorite aspect and would have been more fitting in a Star Trek or Dr. Who story. It does make for a workable way to get the plot to progress.

An alien has slaughtered the crew of a mystery ship, and a coast guard vessel is destroyed when it comes into contact with the derelict. The black box transmission from the destroyed vessels reveal not only the presence of the xenomorph, but also the Alien homeworld. Specimen’s are required, and Hicks is given a chance at redemption by a company agent. Before Hicks embarks on his journey, he visits Newt to let her know he is going to face the creatures again. The visit quickly turns for the worse as Hicks see Newt dragged away and the visit is terminated.

Mark Nelson’s art is simple, but very effective. The black and white style contributes to the emotion of the story. The later colorized versions suffer a little in this respect. His cover art is eye catching, again looking better in black and white than the released color covers. Nelson’s xenomorphs are some of the best comic depictions of the beasts. His space vessels are reminiscent of the art of Moebius, and full of rich detail. Small details in the panels help the world feel lived in. Overturned coffee cups, bullet holes, and ravaged corpses litter the derelict, reflecting the chaos that broke out there. The twisted, nightmarish versions of the xenomorphs likely inspired many of the monsters of 90’s comics.

Mark Verheiden does a great job of setting the theme of fear, failure, hopelessness, dread, and the unknown. Sprinkle in some religious and monetary zealotry and you have a grade A comic book. As the final panel closes, curiosity and anticipation for the next issue is at an apex. What will the Alien homeworld look like? How is Hicks going to get there? What is going to happen to Newt? Is she going to be trapped in the mental hospital with her nightmares? Can Hicks face the monsters again and survive?

Final Review: Highly Recommend

REVIEW BY: SCOTT