When the dark horse first won the championship alien license, only two films. Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic masterpiece and James Cameron’s action blockbuster. There has not yet been much established lore or interpretation of the lore. It’s just the world of LV-426, a creature perfect for killing, a corporate infrastructure that considers human life expendable, a mystery surrounding an alien ship, a whole bunch of dead marines and a handful of survivors.
The comics originally couldn’t use Ripley, so they centered on the other two survivors alien The movie “Newt and Hicks”. Writer Mark VerheidenWith art by Mark A. Nelson for season one and Denis Beauvais for season two, the story brings the aliens to Earth. Not so much through corporate means, but focusing on military experimentation, like creating new armies, experimenting on humans, and what you would expect from those things. confusion.
“All she got was a never-ending nightmare.
The third installment in Dark Horse’s original trilogy is Alien: Earth War from Weirheiden, Sam Keith, Monica Livingston, Jim Marsalaand Pat Brosseau. It features Ripley returning for the first time in the comics, in a story that deals with an Earth filled with aliens, deals with the transmission that originally brought the Nostromo to LV-426, and a deadly plan to destroy them all .
Themes of motherhood and responsibility run through the story. First, Newt’s sense of abandonment due to Ripley’s departure manifests itself in her own desire to save another human child left behind on an occupied Earth, and continues throughout the story of Ripley’s search, capture, and Kill your queen’s wish. This is a riff on the story alien Throughout the series, including the second set of soldiers, and later in Alien: Resurrection also.
It’s been an interesting in-between period for Sam Keith. His lines and layouts look more confident and precise in design, even in his beautiful pieces Sandman and began to do more stylized and exaggerated work Max. There’s an emphasis on detail and beautiful women, while still delivering the dark, terrifying menace of the Alien. Monika Livingston’s colors are quite bold, using a limited selection of primary colors to counter Kieth’s darker inks. The simplicity enhances the overall sense of horror.
Fonts are a contrast of styles. Jim Massara wrote the first issue, which was pretty loose. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but it’s a font type Feel Hand drawn. Sometimes narration boxes and word balloons can feel stressful. Things changed from the second to fourth periods when Pat Brosseau took over. The font becomes more uniform and the spacing in the boxes and balloons becomes more even. It gives an overall more natural feel.
“Then I remembered something Ripley said: It’s not about the Earth anymore. This is for us.
when Alien 3 came out, changed the rules, and killed off Newt and Hicks, which made many Dark Horse spin-offs unorthodox. The reprints changed their names to Billie and Wilkes to maintain the storyline in the comic canon in an attempt to be consistent with the continuity of the movies, but I’ve always thought of these comics as alternate timelines. Things turned out differently. It’s not the last time, because even if Alien vs. Predator and Prometheus would change things further.
still, Alien: Earth War Written by Verheiden, Kieth, Livingston, Massara, and Brosseau, Dark Horse Trilogy is the epic conclusion to the original Dark Horse trilogy, bringing back Ripley and completing the story begun by Scott. alien. Even if you’ve only seen the movie, haven’t seen the movie, and haven’t read the first two books in the trilogy, the story is still a fun ride. It captures the horror of the first film and the action of the second. Take righteous revenge against the hidden conspiracies behind the world that have the potential to turn us all into meatbags.
Classic Comics Compendium: Aliens – War for Earth
Alien – Earth War
writer: Mark Verheiden
artist: Sam Keith
Colorist: Monica Livingston
Engraver: Jim Marsala and Pat Brosseau
Publisher: Marvel Comics (Reprinted and collected) |Dark horse (Original publisher)
release date: July 6, 2022 (Reprinted and collected) | June – October 1990 (original question)
available for collection Aliens: The Primeval Years Omnibus – Volume 1 & Alien Epic Collection: The Primeval Years – Volume 1
Read past entries in the Classic Comics Compendium!
